Be bold: bring some color to your bookshelves

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Have you seen the Puma Rise Tie-Dye Sneakers? They are rainbows for your feet! They are fun and so colorful that they are my favourite. I’ve been wearing them for a while now whenever I need a little uplift. They just make me smile as soon as I look down at them. I’ve always been a color-attractive person and have early childhood memories of being angry about colors being gendered because it meant I always automatically got pink things instead of blue, my favorite color. I got very good at asking/arguing about the blue – not a hue (heh) to pink. And I know I’m not alone when I have emotional reactions to color, because color psychology is a thing that exists.

As you can imagine, I am absolutely drawn to book covers and have been reaching for colorful and bright covers lately. They can add a wonderful pop of color to your bookshelves if your shelves aren’t already filled with paint. But a colorful book on your coffee table or in the corner of your desk also makes a room brighter. If you want to go full color you can even go the rainbow bookshelves route – of course my shelves are organized that way! You don’t have to go for color though – I also love black, dark and moody. You can simply add one or a few very bright or colorful books to your collection for nice pops of color to look at when you need a little color boost.

Yellow for indoor sunshine

Lemon by Kwon Yeo-Sun, Janet Hong (Translator)

This South Korean crime novel may not be bright on the inside, but the paperback’s minimalist cover, in its all-yellow cheerfulness, is. It’s sure to add a nice pop of yellow color wherever it’s displayed.

Speak: Find Your Voice, Trust Your Gut, and Get From Where You Are To Where You Want To Be by Tunde Oyeneyin

Since Oyeneyin talks about “how she successfully created a conscious, joyful life for herself,” this book at least offers brightness in and out of the book. Plus, the pop of color is a perfect contrast to Oyeneyin’s beautiful dark skin and bright red lipstick. I can’t help but smile looking at this cover.

Rainbow Covers

The Book of Pride: LGBTQ Heroes Who Changed the World by Mason Funk

Let’s start with a rainbow cover depicting the rainbow flag! Not only do you get history and biographies of LGBTQ activists from the ’60s to the present day, but you also get a cover for fans of color. For more rainbow covers for pride here is 41!

Cover Photo: HarperCollins Cover Photo: Vector FX | shutter socket

Crying in the Bathroom: A Memoir by Erika L. Sánchez

This is a beautiful swirling messy melt of colors. Perfect to represent a memory of the life lived so far with all its complexities. This could also have been an abstract painting and just begs to be seated, facing outwards, in all its colorful glory.

Designed by Amanda Dewey

If I Survive You by Jonathan Escoffery

Maybe you love colors and the rainbow, but prefer your colors to live somewhere between bright and pastel. You’re a “middle” guy. With a title that feels like a hit, the lovely calm colors here provide a wonderful contrast and look lovely on a shelf.

Cover Designer: Na Kim

Bright pink for that neon ’80s nostalgia

We ride on Quan Barry sticks

Here’s a graphic, minimal design that lets the bright colors do the talking. While I’m initially drawn to the hardcover because it’s a beautiful teal – seriously, all shades of blue are my soul color – I’m very drawn to this pink. The 80’s neon vibe is on point and I can’t help but smile.

Book design by Anna B. Knighton

Her Majesty’s Royal Coven (Her Majesty’s Royal Coven #1) by Juno Dawson

Confession: I often wish we could get the same cover release in the US as we do in the UK because it’s often the one I prefer. In this case, I’m in love with the UK cover of Her Majesty’s Royal Coven. The yellow and white writing is such a great contrast to the bright pink cover, this book draws me in.

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Stop on behalf of Read

Olga dies dreaming of Xóchitl González

If red is your favorite color for a “pop of color,” here’s a great color for fans of screenprint art. Not only does the red stand out, but the contrasting yellow adds an extra layer of vibrant colour.

Cover design by Lauren Peters-Collaer

Fighting for Our Lives by Saeed Jones

Here’s a red scream on the hardcover edition of Jones’ memoir. It also makes a great cover for fans of “What’s the Image of?” On the other hand, if you’re a fan of black with colored lettering (basically the inverse of that HC), check out the paperback edition.

Ocean to Land, Blue and Green

The Less Dead by Denise Mina

It makes me think of the zinc sunscreen I wore on my nose as a kid – and now I have to see if it’s still available. Anyway, if you’re a fan of green, neon, and a splash of shocking color, this is your cover.

Cover design and artwork by Jim Tierney

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez

This gives me a touch of glow stick and I love it. It’s the kind of cover that, because of the color choices, instinctively made me want to pick it up without having to know anything about the book.

Cover photo: istock.com/barsrsind | Book design by Edwin Vazquez

Hopefully those colorful covers gave you some color therapy – something? Who knows, but I personally enjoy looking at colors. If you want to check out more covers, here are Rioters picks for the best book covers of 2021.

*If a book is missing cover designer information, I’m really sorry. I did my best to check the book’s copyright page, the publishing website page, and did an internet search, but sometimes came up empty-handed.