The end of 2009 does not only signify the closing of another eventful year but also the culmination of a decade, the 2000s, often referred to as the noughties. With this in mind, a lot of Web site publishers have come up with their decade-ender lists, the most common of which center on the best films, albums, television shows and books from the past decade. One of the more uncommon lists that I’ve come across is the one put together by one of my favorite sites right now, the Book Cover Archive. It is, quite predictably, a list of the best book covers of the noughties.

People who know me well know that I am as much a collector of great book covers as I am a reader of great books. I am particularly fond of the consistently gorgeous designs of Vintage Classics releases, including Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse 5 and J.M. Barrie’s Peter Pan, as well as of the brilliantly minimalist covers of the titles in the Gollancz Sci-Fi series, including Daniel Keyes’s Flowers for Algernon and Philip K. Dick’s Ubik. So, stumbling upon the Book Cover Archive’s one of a kind list is nothing short of awesome.

The list names the best book cover and a runner-up for each year from the past decade, citing a total of 20 books, along with their authors and art directors or photographers. Among my favorite designs included in the list are the ones for Peter Buchanan Smith’s A Shortcut Through Time, which was judged the best cover art for 2004, and Vladimir Nabokov’s The Original of Laura, the runner-up for 2009. See the complete list here.

(Photo via davidkaneda)

12 December 2009 · Comments · Permalink · http://aldr.in/280058861

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• gollancz
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