Comparing Covers: The Mortal Instruments Series

The new (or not) editions of the Mortal Instruments books came out a while ago, sure, so this post is long overdue, but I felt obliged to share my thoughts on this anyway.

Here was my initial reaction to seeing the new covers: WHY?!?! WHYCASSANDRA?!?! WHY DO YOU DO THIS TO ME?!?! ASDFTKDKMSKDMNSKAOSM!!!

Yup, that was me. I'm not kidding. These days, many authors are changing their books covers and I would pray and beg Cassandra wouldn't be one of them. I mean, I like the new covers, they look fine to me, but it's the changing of the covers is what bothers me a little. There's something about the originality-not in the sense of authenticity, but in terms of initial states- that I really love. Honestly, I won't have cared if the original covers were super tacky and weird (okay, maybe I would have...just a little), I wouldn't have wanted any change done to them. And it just for this series, for all the books I read. I usually prefer the original covers. It makes for a better book-reader relationship.

Let me give you an analogy: You have this friend you've known for a really long time. This person is very good friend and you've come to care for and love them for who they are, you wouldn't want them to change for anything (except for the better). One day, something about them changes, and it's not subtle, it's a substantial change. You have mixed feelings about that change, but you still love that friend dearly. Regardless of how much you love them, that change in them is going to change (to some extent) your relationship with them. (I realize that doesn't make much sense, but whatever.)

That's how I feel about book cover changes. I apologize for the sudden plunge into deep water (I'm a psychology major, what'd you expect?), but that's how I feel about this.