Friday Face-Off: Winter
Welcome to The Friday Face-Off, a weekly meme created by Books by Proxy! Each Friday, we will pit cover against cover while also taking the opportunity to showcase gorgeous artwork and feature some of our favorite book covers. If you want to join the fun, simply choose a book each Friday that fits that week’s predetermined theme, post and compare two or more different covers available for that book, then name your favorite. A list of future weeks’ themes are available at Lynn’s Book Blog.
This week’s theme is:
“Now is the winter of our discontent, Made glorious summer by this sun of York”
~ a cover that puts you in mind of WINTER
Mogsy’s Pick:
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t featured The Bear and the Nightingale for Friday Face-Off yet, because I adore this book and I’ve always found its covers to be gorgeous. But it worked out well, since I can think of no better choice that embodies the spirit of today’s topic. The first volume of the Winternight trilogy, this novel is set at the edge of the Russian wilderness, where the northern winters are characterized by ten-foot high snowdrifts and near perpetual twilight,. And yet, Arden somehow manages to turn such a cold, harsh and dark world into a place of beauty. Those who survive here have to be strong, compassionate and hardworking, much like our protagonist Vasya–a wild but dutiful daughter, headstrong and brave.
Let’s now take a look at all the covers:
From left to right:
Del Rey US (2017) – Del Rey UK (2017) – Del Rey Paperback (2017)
Portuguese Edition (2017) – Serbian Edition (2017) – Czech Edition (2018) – Chinese Edition (2018)
German Edition (2019) – Farsi Edition (2018) – French Edition (2019)
Winner:
I have to say, not all of these put me in mind of winter; in fact, some are downright summery, bursting with all the colorful flowers and birds. Naturally though, I still find myself drawn to the snowy covers because of the way they exude atmosphere, elegance and emotion. With that being said, I’m going to have to go with the Del Rey US hardcover as the winner, because when it comes to those three things, this one’s gonna be pretty hard to beat.
But what do you think? Which one is your favorite?
The BiblioSanctum 
I didn’t know there were so many covers for this one! I think I agree with you on the winner, but i also really like the French one!
(www.evelynreads.com)
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I didn’t know either! I think the number of editions/translations have exploded over the last year though, on account of how popular this series has gotten. Much deserved!
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Definitely deserved!
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I like the German version because it has the bear on it!
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Haha, yes, why more of these don’t have bears on them, I don’t know!
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There’s so many gorgeous ones here but for some reason I’m drawn to the Czech edition. I think that bear is calling to me!
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Oh, I almost missed the bear silhouette/outline!
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Wow, these are all so pretty! I’ve always been drawn to the Del Rey UK edition, but I love the Chinese cover as well😁
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Agreed, I love the Del Rey, but the flowery ones are also so nice!
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That’s the best cover indeed! I love that softly lighted house in the center of that cold darkness! 🙂
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Me too, such a nice color contrast too, a spot of warmth in a sea of cool blues.
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The original Del Rey cover will always be my favorite, but damn if the 2019 French one isn’t gorgeous!
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That one definitely caught my eye too!
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Some nice ones here! I like several of them, the Serbian and Czech editions as well as the Del Rey, and the Farsi one is great too!
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Yeah, I like the Farsi one for being quite a bit different!
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Love your pick- definitely has a very wintry feel- though I have to admit I have a soft spot for my own UK edition 😉
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That one’s gorgeous too!
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Same for me
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Yay 😀
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What a fabulous choice for this week’s choice, Mogsy! And while I do love the Del Rey cover – that French offering is also absolutely gorgeous…
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That French cover is getting lots love this week – I have to admit it’s easy to overlook with all the more colorful covers, but that one has amazing atmosphere, and I like the focus on Russian architecture.
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Yes- I have to say that it really stood out from the crowd for me… But I am always struck at just how much personal taste comes into liking a cover. I always try to work out which cover on my selection will be the favourite – and I’m hardly ever right!
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I agree with your pick!! It’s just such a stunning cover! I really like the French Edition (2019) as well! 🙂
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I agree, the French one is beautiful as well!
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So many of these are pretty. I tend to be drawn to brighter colors, but the one you chose is nice!
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Yeah, if you like color, I have to say a lot of the flowery covers this week are simply stunning, it would be tough for me to choose!
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🙂
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Oh wow. That’s a lot of different covers lol. I think I like the top 3 best.
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Indeed, it’s amazing the range of covers this one has!
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This one does have really gorgeous covers, I kind of love them all.
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This book was definitely blessed by the cover gods. Sure, some of them are stronger than others, but really I don’t think any of them are bad!
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They are all gorgeous this time!
I’d pick the same though, cause that’s how I got to know (and love!) the novel 🙂
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Haha, yeah me too, I’m quite attached to that cover 🙂
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The Del Rey US edition is also my favorite. I have a copy with that cover sitting atop a small stack of books in front of overflowing bookshelves. I see it just about every day, so it stays in mind as one I’d like to read. Now I just need to pick it up from that stack and begin.
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I hope you get a chance to pick it up soon! I loved the book, and the next two books are also great. You can just see the author’s growth over the course of the trilogy, one of my favorites for sure.
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Oh it’s a tie between the US and the French one Mogsy!
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The French one is also very popular this week, and I can see why! Love the pretty blue tones!
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Definitely agree with your favourite – I love that cover and believe it or not I very nearly went with this book this week.
Lynn 😀
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Your choice is definitely the most wintery of these covers. I really like the third one for some reason though, I think I’ve just got into covers like that lately (:
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