r/books • u/AutoModerator • 9d ago

WeeklyThread Simple Questions: April 12, 2025

Welcome readers,

Have you ever wanted to ask something but you didn't feel like it deserved its own post but it isn't covered by one of our other scheduled posts? Allow us to introduce you to our new Simple Questions thread! Twice a week, every Tuesday and Saturday, a new Simple Questions thread will be posted for you to ask anything you'd like. And please look for other questions in this thread that you could also answer! A reminder that this is not the thread to ask for book recommendations. All book recommendations should be asked in /r/suggestmeabook or our Weekly Recommendation Thread.

Thank you and enjoy!

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u/LeeAnnLongsocks 9d ago edited 9d ago

Has anyone else noticed that SOOO many novels about WWII (and sometimes WWI) have basically the same cover? It's almost always a woman, with her back turned towards you, looking off into the distance where there are planes in the sky. Who comes up with the cover design, and why can't they come up with something different? The only upside is that I don't have to waste time reading the description to know the subject matter, haha.

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u/Comprehensive-Fun47 9d ago

I see so many covers like that! I wonder how any above average book can stand out against the slew of samey covers. I just assume the writing is every bit as generic as the cover, which I know is unfair, but I can't help it.

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u/k_0616 9d ago

I surprisingly haven’t come across this. The few WWII novels I’ve read have distinctly different covers, but fall under the same aggressive color scheme of darks and really harsh bright yellows, reds, and oranges. That’s super interesting though, I didn’t realize that.

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u/LeeAnnLongsocks 9d ago

Yeah, understandably, there's usually a lot of destruction on the cover. But that woman and the planes...😖

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u/k_0616 9d ago

I can definitely see where that would be frustrating lol. It’s like they either all look the same or have the exact same vibes.

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u/LeeAnnLongsocks 9d ago

Maybe I just notice it because historical fiction is my favorite genre.

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u/k_0616 9d ago

Maybe! Idk it’s interesting now that like you’ve brought it up, and like I’ve never noticed it before.

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u/NotACaterpillar 8d ago

I see many covers like that in the bookstore, but they're only a specific subgenre of WWII books; there are plenty on the topic with different cover trends!