Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Similar Covers: More Women from Behind + How Do I Find These Covers Anyway?

Here are two more exact lookalike covers featuring women from the back: Becoming George Sand by Rosalind Brackenbury and Good Things I Wish You by A. Manette Ansay. Both were published this year: according to Amazon, Ansay’s book came out in July, while Brackenbury’s came out in August.



For those of you who asked how I manage to find similar covers such as these (particularly Diane and Staci—I apologize for not answering your questions last week!), the first few I stumbled across completely by accident, but then I started collecting cover images by theme. At the moment, I have 176 folders with 1854 “possible lookalike” images in them... And that’s not including some two dozen folders with definite lookalikes! It turns out there are lots out there. (And did I mention I’m a wee bit obsessed?)

If any of you find any and want to pass them on, feel free to shoot me an email!

27 comments:

  1. You are obsessed! I think that's the same photo reversed with the dress color changed.

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  2. I'm quite interested in these collections. There's something very interesting in that publishers don't mind using similar photos and also in that these are apparently photos that sell. What does this say about publishing and about book-buying? I'd be fascinated to go through these 1854 possibilities to see just how many are exactly the same, and then see the similarities within the stories...

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  3. Those are creepily similar. I think I'm with bermudaonion on this one; it's totally the same photo. You're on to those lazy book art editors!

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  4. I find it fascinating that so many book covers are similar. I am surprised that these books which were published a month apart share such similar covers! I really wonder, again, what the authors think. If I were Manette Ansay I would be happy that my cover is the more colorful one (but that's me speaking of the cover I prefer) rather than the more subdued one of Becoming George Sand.
    Thank you for sharing your discoveries with us! That's quite numerous collection of similar covers you have!

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  5. I have noticed that some covers are similiar, but you seem to notice ones that are from the same source! Cool. Do you consider yourself having a photographic memory?

    "A Middle Place" by Kelly Corrigan and "Ya Yas in Bloom" have similiar girl-jumping-in-midaire covers, but not exactly the same. I bet there are a few others like those two.

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  6. Same cover with minor photoshopping, eh? Very cool!

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  7. Ah! Women's backs are everywhere! I saw a display of only books with women's backs not too long ago. Seems like there might be an epidemic...

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  8. I enjoy this feature on your blog Avis and I always wondered how you do it. Now I know. Thanks for sharing.

    Plus there are worse things you could be obsessed over.

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  9. I love when you feature the similar covers on your blog. I'm amazed that there are so many of them!

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  10. That is obviously the same photo!

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  11. So what's wrong with obsessions? LOL! I love this feature on your blog.

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  12. Wow--I had no idea how hardcore you were! LOL

    BTW, I gave you an award!

    http://bibliofreakblog.com/memes/time-awards/

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  13. I love these two covers. For once, I really can't pick a favorite!

    You know I'm fascinated with book cover's similarities, too! Like you, I have collections of those, although not as many as you do! Your collection seems very organized, too. Can't wait to see what more you have in store for us :D

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  14. LOL....I commented on the cover similiarities to girls floating/jumping in mid air and then just today came across the cover of Wally Lamb's "The hour I First Believed", with a boy in mid air!!

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  15. your OCD and my OCD should get together and have a party! :)

    i LOVE your covers features...so cool but i'm sure it's a ton of work.

    have a great weekend.

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  16. I'm always amazed how you manage to remember that these covers are similar. I'm just not that quick. lol.

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  17. I'm so glad you are obsessed because it is so fun to see these posts!!!

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  18. You've got quite the memory!! Now you've got me checking out covers while I'm at B&N and trying to find look alikes!!

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  19. Take photots from the head of the person,I never thought it before,it's interesting.

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  20. I think it's genius that you've got that many collections and work that hard on finding them. It's always fun to visit your blog and see what other covers you've found.

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  21. Wow! That's dedication not obession. Thanks for your hard work!

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  22. Almost everybody collects something! I can't believe you have that many photos stored up though. :)

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  23. Kathy, yup I'm obsessed and yup I'm sure that's the same photo too!

    Anonymous Child, interestingly, these two books do have similarities other than their covers: both feature split story lines set in the present and past, and both have musical connections. Becoming George Sand is in part about the love affair between Sand and Chopin, while Good Things I Wish You is in part about the relationship between Clara Schumann and Johannes Brahms. However, neither of these covers is particularly musical!

    Bookshelf Monstrosity, I have no doubt it's the same photo!

    Amy, to be fair, in this case, the first book was published by a Canadian publishing house, while the second was published in the UK, so they are on different markets. But if I were an author, I wouldn't be very pleased anyway!

    Valerie, I'm not sure my memory is photographic (it's not that good, actually), but it's definitely visual. And I've actually seen a post on someone's blog about the two books you mentioned (and they are also in one of my collections!).

    Glad you enjoy these posts, Donna!

    She, epidemic is a great word for it!

    Thanks, Cindy, that's what I think too (that there are worse obsessions)!

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  24. Kathleen, I am too. When I first heard of the phenomenon of lookalike covers, I thought it would be a rare occurrence (and in fact my first posts are about covers that are similar, but don't feature the exact same image), but in fact it's pretty common for the same image to be used more than once (and in some cases, many many times).

    Ti, absolutely!

    Holly, yay, thank you!

    J.T., as Cindy said, there are worse obsessions. Thank you for the award!

    Linda Ellen, LOL!

    Kay, I look forward to your posts too! (And it's nice to know I'm not the only one with a collection!)

    Valerie, as I mentioned, I have a collection of "leaping kids" (and there are quite a few out there), although I have yet to find two books that use the exact same image.

    Nat, I love that idea!

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  25. Dar, collecting them helps (I couldn't possibly remember otherwise!), although every now and then I come across what I think is a double but turns out to be the same cover I'd already seen!

    Jenners, I'm so glad this feature appeals because it's one of my favourites!

    Staci, let me know if you find any!

    Property manager, there are actually lots of women's body parts on book covers (hmm, didn't mean to make that sound gross!).

    Alayne and Ladytink, thank you!

    Melissa, I didn't realize there were so many until I wrote this post!

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  26. I always wondered how you found them. I remember working in a bookstore and seeing exactly the same cover on romance novels occasionally. I thought it was rare, but I guess not.

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