Anthropology of an American Girl
I admit it...I totally judge books by their covers. Always! And you know what, about 85% of the time the opinions I form based soley on the cover design end up being true by the time I make it to the end of a book. Does that happen to you too?
The latest tome I scrutinized is one whose cover caught my attention while I was awaiting my recent connecting flight in the Tennessee airport: Anthropology of an American Girl. I am only one third of the way through, but have already fallen in love with first-time author Hilary Thayer Hamann's brilliant style. She writes about heavy subjects and simple things with in words so exquisitely expressed that I find myself reading and re-reading single sentences over and over again just so that I can feel the emotion her words evoke again and again. Like this description of a beard (of all things). "A scratchy copper beard dusted his chin, making a wafery layer like penny-colored frost on a windowpane." Isn't that brilliant!
Anyhow, the content will not be for everyone...and I generally tend to think that recommending books is much like suggesting how someone should cut their hair or raise their child (not generally recommended). So please take my words of praise as a simple opinion and feel free to judge this book by its cover or in whatever way that you see fit. xo Ez
Cover design by: Greg Mollica | Cover artwork by: Leanne Shapton - You really must check out her site, especially her pattern designs (which oh my goodness...I just realized that I blogged about in 2008! Fun!).
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| by Ez Wednesday, August 10, 2011 
Reader Comments (7)
Cool post ! Thanks for sharing on this blog.
A friend recommended this book to me awhile ago & I forgot all about it. Thanks for the reminder!
The watercolor texture is fantastic! Thanks for the recommendation!
This cover is amazing and makes me lament the invention of the Kindle, with which I'm usually quite happy.
yep i usually judge a book by its cover and i'm usually happy with the outcome too. it works with album covers as well. if i love the artwork i usually love the tunes. bon iver, bright eyes, sufjan for starters...reminds me i keep meaning to post something about inspirational album artwork. thanks for the tip on the book. looks good.
Yep, I totally judge books by their cover; and like you, I am usually right too. Plus, I love the fact that I can take in the art work every time I pick up the book to read it.
This is how I buy wine. I refuse to buy a bottle with a boring label.