"...Don't judge a book by its cover."
But here's the problem: we all do it. It is estimated that 275,000 books were published in 2008, in the U.S. alone. A book has to work hard to get noticed, and its cover is one of its best weapon. I bring up this topic because Ann and I are heading into a week-and-a-half of sales teleconference meetings. We'll be discussing books coming out in the first four months of 2010. Invariably, several times throughout conference, someone will ask, "Is that the final jacket?" which usually translates to, "I really hope that's not the final jacket." Sales reps often try to play backseat designer! 
Like the books themselves, jackets are a matter of opinion. Few, if any, are universally loved, but still, there are so many good ones out there. The Book Cover Archive is a fantastic site, currently showcasing over 1100 book covers, searchable by designer, author, illustrator, publisher, even typefaces used! They've also got links to designers' sites as well as other sites devoted to book cover design. I've spent many hours on The BCA and it's addictive. So if you've got work to do, don't click on that link!
The BCA lists several books on the topic of jacket design. One of my favorites is designer-specific and is a work of art in and of itself. Chip Kidd: Book One: Work: 1986-2006 is a comprehensive, lavishly illustrated look at the work of one of the most popular book designers working today. (It also wins the award for most colons in its title.) In addition to finished jackets, this book also includes preliminary sketches and some of the work he's done on comics and graphic novels.
Speaking of comics, there's a site, similar to the BCA, just for comic books. Cover Browser features over 450,000 covers from comics (and some books). It's not quite as easy to navigate as the BCA, but I've still spent way too much time clicking around. It's so much fun and very nostalgic for me.
Finally, Cover Love is an occasional feature from our friend Rob Burdock at Rob Around Books. I love seeing these covers because I love seeing what books look like in different countries. Sometimes it's books we don't have over here, sometimes it's a book I know with a completely different look. Plus, the Brits do a fantastic job of creating sets of books with matching covers. I usually want them all!
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