There’s something undeniably transporting about beautiful visuals. In movies, these often manifest in literal color schemes or a tint used to create a particular mood. Think Twilight and its iconic blue sheen that gives it the perfect amount of angsty-teen-pacific-northwest brooding. Would it be the same without that filter? Probably not, nor would it be as recognizable. The careful choices directors and movie crews make bring other worlds and people to life, showing us a glimpse of a world we wish we could plop ourselves into.
Now, it doesn’t seem like it, but books have an aesthetic as well. These are contributed to by the time period in which it takes place, the descriptions of imagery from the author, and even the cover. They might be hard to put into words because all of the action occurs in our heads, but our own mental mood boards do exist and influence the genre we stick to. They’re a mental calling card, a ticket to literary lands yet undiscovered or ones we should revisit again.
Some talented Tik Tok users have started a trend of compiling images that fit a novel’s aesthetic in order to entice a viewer to read a specific book or in the hopes commenters will suggest others that fit the trend. The image above is one of my favorite aesthetics and has led me to many books that have captured my attention and heart. They might get me dreaming of how cool it would be to be a dangerous young heroine in a magical, medieval inspired land and thus keep my head in the clouds, but I just can’t seem to break the obsession.
If you, too, are looking for entertainment that fits this feeling, allow me to suggest a few books that are too good to resist:
- Throne of Glass by Sarah J Maas
- The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
- The Lord of the Rings series by J.R.R. Tolkien
- Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard
- The Dragon’s Boy by Jane Yolin
- The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
May your next read be one that makes you feel at home in its pages!