Our Shared Shelf discussion

I'm only partway into the book (and thoroughly enjoying it so far!), but the thing that has stood out to me from the beginning is the incredible cover.

Based on what I've read until this point, I think it really captures the whimsy and irreverance that I'm coming to expect from Thom's writing.

I thought it might be fun to discuss the cover design!
Just some questions I have:
- How does a cover impact your book choice?
- How does a cover influence the expectations you have for a book before you start to read?
- How does the cover of Fierce Femmes impact your reading experience?
- Or in what ways does it reflect the content?
- What are some of your favorite book covers and why?

Well I just started so I don't have much content to go by. One thing that struck me is the juxtaposition of the sweet, femme fairytale images with the images of flies and the knife. I'm expecting to see some reality with my fairytale.

I have not yet read the book and I am not a graphic designer, however I did once propose, by petition, a mandate be enacted which would limit the publication of Dr. Seuss' The Lorax to a Kindle-only edition to protect its content from hypocrisy, so I'll attempt an analysis of this jacket:


Some have previously described the cover of Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir as a sugar-coating for fantasy. There has been no display of resistance against the graphic appeal of the book and against the influence it may have on the Hensel and Gretel of today. Included among others in famous German fairy tales (which one may find in The Brothers Grim Fairy Tales), Hensel and Gretel are remembered for following follies of curiosity and falling victim to ferocious witchcraft. Consider the dangers revealed by the cover of Fierce Femmes and Notorious Liars: A Dangerous Trans Girl’s Confabulous Memoir:
How many calories are in strawberry cheesecake?
Has the lipstick been tested for harm on reptiles or other innocent creatures? Do we condone, as feminists, the abuse of lumbar comfort even if the heels are pink? That is a newly-lit cigarette held in a phantasmagoric and inviting gesture by a pair of hands from which appear to tumble objects of desire. Along with a tampon. Kai Cheng Thom allures the prepubescent girl, the big fish in a marketplace of flies. We bleed when they bite, the flies, and they share no gender bias for flesh. This cover also entices the lad curious of all that is muktzeh for him; he should have none of these things yet he is told by this cover that androgenism is nothing that a manicure can't solve. The word "dangerous" appears in the subtitle as a beacon abroad the mundane.

Theodore wrote: "Has the lipstick been tested for harm on reptiles or other innocent creatures? Do we condone, as feminists, the abuse of lumbar comfort even if the heels are pink? That is a newly-lit cigarette held in a phantasmagoric and inviting gesture by a pair of hands from which appear to tumble objects of desire.."

I didn't realize how provocative the cover was, thanks for enlightening me ;) But I think you're right, for instance a lit cigarette is not only a common vice, but also a major personal statement in today's society.

Sadly I haven't got a hold of the book yet, but when I look at the cover I imagine a larger-than-life character, who enjoys the many pleasures of life. Definitely not a health fanatic. But I'm curious about the flies, they make me think of rot and decay, or maybe mortality.

I often judge a book by it's cover. I love vintage covers and covers designed by a painter or a scetcher. For instance this:

Katelyn wrote: "I'm only partway into the book (and thoroughly enjoying it so far!), but the thing that has stood out to me from the beginning is the incredible cover.

Based on what I've read until this point, I ..."

I loved the cover when it was first announced, thinking it was very whimsical and went with the idea that there was some magical realism involved in this book. But now looking back I really see how it is just another layer of how well thought out this endeavor was. The bees, the knife, the lipstick, the mermaid all play a part within the story Kai weaves. And Thank you Katelyn for bringing this up because I didn't think to go back and revisit the cover afterwards.

Karen wrote: "Well I just started so I don't have much content to go by. One thing that struck me is the juxtaposition of the sweet, femme fairytale images with the images of flies and the knife. I'm expecting t..."

Oh, I guess that is a knife.

How does a cover impact your book choice?
3+ years ago I would have been very wary of pink books. Especially those with lipstick and heels. But after reading some amazing books that are pink as well as on OSS that help me accept all aspects of femininity and "femaleness"; that I'm beginning to not censor myself against a color.

I'm also seeing a lot more organizations and ideas being coded as pink. Ranging from breast cancer awareness to planned parenthood. It's no longer a panty only color.

- How does a cover influence the expectations you have for a book before you start to read?
Again, the over-feminization of items; sex kitten heels or lipstick or long nails has never been my symbols for my femininity. I have no qualms if they were others; but I also knew that we probably didn't have the same appreciation for the time involved nor the work that makes those symbols feel empowering.

Soooo I was a bit worried about jumping into this one as much as I was wary of the Vagina Monologues. There are just some words or symbols for sexual pleasure that I do not feel comfortable flashing out in public; be they on me or a book.

- How does the cover of Fierce Femmes impact your reading experience?

The first thing beside the pink cover that I noticed were the dissociated hands. Blue with long red nails. It reminded me a lot of Rocky Horror with the giant painted mouth. And also about the objectification of women i.e. we are not one whole complete person, but we are one part. And this part tends to be idolized as something more than the purpose it was intended. Lips are not the vehicle to use to talk and communicate, they become sexualized.

But looking at it further, it's not one part. It really is a collection of parts that add up into being who she is. So I was able to relax a bit.

- Or in what ways does it reflect the content?
I really enjoyed how the bits of the cover where used as chapter markers. One it helped with continunity. So I began to anticipate which one was next.

And two, it reminded me a lot of the heroes journey. Part of Campbell's ideas is that it's all laid out exactly the same. No matter the hero, the path is the same: the denial, the wise leader, etc. 1) it was really fun to see these symbols as part of that path as if they were sign markers on this well trod road. and 2) I have not read of many female led hero quests. This isn't to say there aren't many female heroes. But not any that follow the typical male hero path so nicely. So move over Frodo and Luke Skywalker!

- What are some of your favorite book covers and why?


An Iconic image of the girl with the strange do. But this time with a pencil as a nod to the diarist part. It so completely captures Fisher's point and the irony and pain of it all as you do not get to see the full face. You only see a piece of her; and then, only the piece that you think is more important (the hair; not the eyes or the soul behind them. Add to that the font of how the words are hard to read and it's spellbinding


The cover once again in a limited fashion tells you everything you need to know. Technology, man's creation, creating chaos in a weird, old school sci-fi way.


Again, just another beautiful tie in where the title is almost secondary. Absence, fragility, want, darkness. It's visual poetry.

Hi! I am new to this group, and this is my first OSS book! I just started the book. I love the colors on the cover, and I have always been attracted to collage-stye art. I love that there are so many drawings to look at. I enjoy the feminine yet gritty details (esp. the broken nail on the right hand and the nail jewelry in one nail on the left hand). The bees are very detailed and even the cigarette butt has little dots. I commend Samantha Garritano's work.

- How does a cover impact your book choice?
While I am attracted to books and their covers, I am more likely to buy a book if it has an intriguing cover and synopsis. I won't choose a book solely for the look of the cover.

- How does a cover influence the expectations you have for a book before you start to read?
I like when I can immediately connect the images portrayed in the cover to something in synopsis. It pulls me toward the story more, and makes me want to know more/ to figure out how everything plays together.

- How does the cover of Fierce Femmes impact your reading experience? - Or in what ways does it reflect the content?
I have read about the bees and mermaids so far. I like being able to read those passages and revisit the cover as I read (sort of how an adventure book may have a map you can revisit). I could say that the images on the cover directly reflect the content, but I feel like they are symbols or metaphors for something else as well. What exactly? I have my own theories.

- What are some of your favorite book covers and why?
I cannot think of any specific ones at the moment (there are probably too many to list), but I enjoy hardcover books and the simple print of the title and author under the book jacket. I especially like when metallic lettering is used and there are contrasting colors (the spine is one color and the rest of the cover is another color) like purple and green,

From a previous comment:
"...and inviting gesture by a pair of hands from which appear to tumble objects of desire." I had not noticed that it looks like the items are falling from the hands until I read this. I actually really like that interpretation and reassessed the cover. I see the bolts and bubbles around all the drawings. The bolts could be magical or show action. Maybe everything is falling out of the hands and sinking under water with the mermaid due to the bubbles (but then the bees wouldn't really fit). Just more musings.

Wow, I'm loving reading all of these responses!

Like Vanessa, I've been enjoying returning to the cover periodically as I read to reconsider the drawings there. I also didn't think of Theodore's interpretation until he posted and now I'm so glad you shared! It definitely changes the way that I understand the symbolic significance of the various images.

I am usually more likely to read a blurb to decided on a book than focus on the cover (although that may be what initially catches my eye, it's not usually the deciding factor). But the cover of Fierce Femmes really captures the content of the book in a special way!

I liked the cover better after I had read the book than I did beforehand. I had thought it was a bit cluttered and too pink, but reading the book explains the visual references and the tone of the book is very different from what a candy pink cover might lead you, or me at least, to expect.

hello :)

Let's get a try to that thread !!

How does a cover impact your book choice?

I ask my self that question oftnely when I enter a library, actually, I oftenly choose a book for its cover unless it has been a recommended book... Or for its Title, but I belive we can include the title in the cover...

If the cover attracts me, I read the back cover's blurb, and if the blurb attracts me I buy it...

For many reasons I know that it's a real job to make a cover that fits both the autor, the content and will be attractive enough for a lot of people to be attracted in by it....

Sometimes, I confess I bought a book because its cover is a piece of art!


- How does a cover influence the expectations you have for a book before you start to read?


The feelings conveyed by both the title, the art on the cover and the burb will drawn your attention and bring a lot of expectations and sometimes you will be disapointed reading it...

I recognize myself in reading a book and looking at the cover to see if it fits my first expectations regarding what I've already read.

Is that the cover I would have choose as the author or etc ... Sometimes if the content dispoint me I feel like being scammed by the cover and sometimes I feel really happy. As a man who love to finish what he began, I feel happy or bored I've to finish it...

- How does the cover of Fierce Femmes impact your reading experience?

Joker on that one... Because I don't succeed to get the book yet...

But I love the cover for its art, and its flashy colors who are really provocant and I confess I have a lot of expectations of stories of casual life experiences. Plus we had a presentation that was actually really glamourous and enticing and engaging...

- Or in what ways does it reflect the content?

Joker... I belive it refers to the sensibility of the author and by transitivity to the content according to the rules of definnig a cover as a professional...

- What are some of your favorite book covers and why?



https://images.gr-assets.com/books/14...

I took one as an example, but others from that collection are pretty good to me because they are visual art, and they are classy and sober... Like this one of pam's selection !




But I may have a crush for a provocative cover !!

I do judge a book by its cover, guilty! Feel a little bit guilty when I do it but was the fabulous cover that drew me to The Essex Serpent and I loved it. Also it will determine if I buy a book on paper or kindle. Or if I buy first in kindle and then end up buying again when they release the paperback with a stunning cover.