We ignored the cardinal rule of literature—don’t judge a book by its cover—to assemble this gallery of 2016’s best book* covers.

The simple reality is that a striking design can influence whether we’ll pick up a title or leave it untouched on a shelf. So talented designers craft images that will catch our eye as well as communicate a book’s content.

With this in mind, we selected 30 gorgeous covers that weave creativity and practicality into memorable designs. These are by no means the only exceptional covers released this year, but they are some of our favorites.

Enjoy browsing the gallery to view our picks, and check out last year’s collection for even more brilliant covers.

*We also included a few novelette and short story covers.

1 of 30 The Vegetarian



Cover designed by Christopher Brand

2 of 30 Pond



Cover designed by Alex Merto with artwork by Margriet Smulders

3 of 30 The Stargazer's Sister



Cover designed by Oliver Munday

4 of 30 "That Game We Played During the War"*



Cover illustrated by John Jude Palencar



*This is a short story that you can read online here.

5 of 30 Cannibals in Love



Cover designed by Na Kim

6 of 30 The Lesser Bohemians



Cover designed by Oliver Munday

7 of 30 Imagine Me Gone



Cover designed by Keith Hayes

8 of 30 Version Control



Cover designed by Janet Hansen

9 of 30 American Girls



Cover designed by Philip Pascuzzo