The 8 Best Book Covers of December

Another month of books, another month of book covers. In fact, it’s been a whole year. But before we all say goodbye and good riddance to 2021, here are some of the best book covers from its final month—playful, moody, energetic, and downright beautiful. Just like we all hope 2022 will be.

Wanjikũ wa Ngũgĩ, Seasons in Hippoland (Seagull Books, December 6)

The colors! The repetition! How glorious; I feel happier every time I look at it.

Ayşegül Savaş, White on White; cover design by Lauren Peters-Collaer (Riverhead, December 7)

As June Park put it in our list of the best book covers of the year, the genius in this one lies in the seamless integration—and character!—of the text and painting.

Sosuke Natsukawa, tr. Louise Heal Kawai, The Cat Who Saved Books; cover design by Stephen Brayda, art by Yuko Shimizu (HarperVia, December 7)

I mean, you gotta love it. (Also, please click to appreciate the full image.)

Francesco Pacifico, tr. Elizabeth Harris, The Women I Love; (FSG, December 7)

As whimsical and intriguing as the book itself—and that crossed-out “A novel” is the perfect finishing touch.

Shea Ernshaw, A History of Wild Places; cover design by Danielle Mazzella di Bosco (Atria, December 7)

Another cover that made our list of the best book covers of the year—this might be the most elegant Rorschach test I’ve ever seen.

Siri Hustvedt, Mothers, Fathers and Others: Essays (Simon & Schuster, December 7)

I love this as 70s psychedelic line art; I’d hang it on my wall—and the three-sided framing with the text sets it off perfectly. (Also, it took me a long time to see the baby.)

Juhea Kim, Beasts of a Little Land; cover design by Allison Saltzman, tiger art by Jasmijn Solange Evans, landscape courtesy National Palace Museum of Korea (Ecco, December 7)

Sumptuous, threatening, and gorgeous—I love how Saltzman juxtaposes these two pieces of art; it’s so seamless that you don’t even notice at first, but when you do, it’s the perfect jolt.

Tom Bissell, Creative Types: And Other Stories; cover design by Tyler Comrie (Pantheon, December 14)

As you may know if you read this space frequently, I love a good obscured face. This is a particularly playful take on the trope—I can’t tell whether it’s funnier to imagine the “creative types” thinking of themselves as paint blobs, or paint blobbing their friends and rivals. Either way.