There are tons of ways to turn your books into decor but what about those books that are beautiful enough to be decor on their own? With all the new takes on classic titles, we are collecting books to make our shelves works of art on their own. They’re almost too pretty to read—almost. Don’t forget! You have until Monday night to tell us your favorite summer read for a chance to win a Kindle Paperwhite! Get details and enter here.
1. Clothbound Jane Austen ($15–$20 each): You can’t talk about beautiful books without mentioning the clothbound series designed by Coralie Bickford-Smith. We’ll be collecting the all the Jane Austen titles, which you can see here: Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, Emma, Pride & Prejudice.
2. Well-Read Women($20): Painter Samantha Hahn has taken her fashion illustrations to a new level with portraits of literary heroines. The book also includes hand-lettered quotes.
3. Oliver Sacks Series by Cardon Webb: While each of these books is stunning on its own, the real magic comes when you place them together to get the whole picture. (image via Spine Out)
4. The Road ($15): We love this typographic version of Cormac McCarthy’s dystopian novel. David Pearson, the designer, has tackled each of McCarthy’s titles—check them all out here.
5. The Visual Miscellaneum ($19): Not only is the cover stunning, the inside is filled with a colorful array of infographics. A great gift for anyone who loves poring over collected information.
6. The Flavor Thesaurus ($11): Even if you’re not much of a cook, this colorful cover, is a great addition to your shelf of cookbooks, or your coffee table.
7. The Art of the Hobbit ($27): See J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic in a new light with this illustrated edition of the book.
8. Devil in the Details ($12): We can’t imagine how long it took to get all those candies lined up just right.
9. Penguin Drop Caps ($22–$23 each): Slowly working her way through the alphabet (and the rainbow), Jessica Hische is giving new life to 26 classic titles.
10. Z: A Novel of Zelda Fitzgerald ($18): The beauty of this cover is in its simplicity, and the way Zelda’s profile just barely peeks out from the shape of the Z.
11. The Time Machine ($15): Not only do we love this design, we love the site—Recovering the Classics—that sells it. Recovering Classics lets designers submit new covers for 50 classic titles, and let’s people buy copies of the books with those original covers. Which book would you redesign?
12. Fresh & Easy ($30): You’ll want to display this beautiful watercolored book as decor in your kitchen, when you’re not using it to cook that is.
Have you ever purchased a book just for the cover? Tell us which one in the comments!
