The 18 Best Book Covers of February

Another month of books, another month of book covers. It’s been a cold and snowy winter in the Northeast, and February—despite its literal length—has been feeling like a slog. No doubt there are a few other factors at play besides the weather, but still. At least we have this abnormally long list of really excellent book covers, stretched like a little string of (primarily green and hot pink) lights across a dismal month.

Brittany Newell, Soft Core; cover design by Rodrigo Corral, art by Aistė Stancikaitė (FSG, February 4)

You can just about feel the squeak. This cover is incredibly uncomfortable, in the best way.

Virginia Feito, Victorian Psycho; cover design by Jaya Miceli (Liveright, February 4)

The yellow feels like an inspired choice here.

Lucy Rose, The Lamb; cover design by Joanne O’Neill (Harper, February 4)

An excellent juxtaposition of title and image. Also: the teeth.

Ira Madison III, Pure Innocent Fun; cover design by Ella Laytham (Random House, February 4)

How can you not want to pick up something that looks this much like it has the good drugs in it?

Michel Nieva, tr. Rahul Bery, Dengue Boy; cover design by Rodrigo Corral, illustration by Sophy Hollington (Astra House, February 4)

I love this hectic, exuberant neon cover—the kind of thing we very rarely see (and just the right tempo for the book).

Lauren Markham, Immemorial; cover design by Anna Morrison (Transit Books, February 4)

And I also love this cover, which is basically the opposite of the above: restrained and calm, though with a similar human touch.

Ali Smith, Gliff; cover design by Linda Huang, illustration by Simon Pemberton (Pantheon, February 4)

For the sense of movement, and the horse’s-ass of it all.

Evelio Rosero, tr. Victor Meadowcroft, House of Fury; cover design by Tyler Comrie (New Directions, February 4)

A little bit funny, a little bit inscrutable.

Sarah Chihaya, Bibliophobia; cover design by TK TK (Random House, February 4)

Daring text treatment and use of blank space.

Sonya Walger, Lion; cover design by Katy Homans (NYRB, February 4)

I always love to see the way Katy Homans works with the NYRB cover templates—this image is just about perfect.

Margie Sarsfield, Beta Vulgaris; cover design by Joanne O’Neill (Norton, February 11)

So weird, so good. This would make me pick up the book immediately.

Justin Haynes, Ibis; cover design by Eli Mock (Overlook Press, February 11)

When you’ve got an ibis, you have to use it—and you have to put “a novel” in its beak.

Alejandro Heredia, Loca; cover design by Matt Roeser (Simon & Schuster, February 11)

The full-length title! The absurdist palm tree! The cracked sky! The snuck-in secondary text! I love everything about it.

Fernando A. Flores, Brother Brontë; cover design and art by Na Kim (MCD, February 11)

A custom painted cover is one thing, but the hand-painted text treatment—which almost looks like it was drawn with a finger—is highly unusual and wonderful here. (No surprise coming from Na Kim!)

Edgar Gomez, Alligator Tears; cover design by Arsh Raziuddin (Crown, February 11)

The color story, the collage, and the sense of vertical movement are all working together beautifully here.

Omar El Akkad, One Day, Everyone Will Have Always Been Against This; cover design by Janet Hansen (Knopf, February 25)

Already iconic.

Alex Higley, True Failure; cover design by Christina Vang (Coffee House Press, February 25)

Another one I like because of how unlike most book covers it is.

Nicole Galland, Boy; cover design by Mumtaz Mustafa, painting by Francesco Mazzola (William Morrow, February 26)

What can I say? It makes me laugh.