The thing is these days there is too much choice. When I was younger, you were grateful with what you were given (Arthur Pepper)

Wie geht's?

The 'charms' in the clever title of this book refer to some items on a charm bracelet that Arthur Pepper finds in his late wife's shoes.

The pictures on the cover are of the charms - a tiger, an elephant, a heart and so on.

Basically, by deciding to track down where the charms have come from, Arthur heads off on a series of unlikely adventures to find out more about his wife's past before he met her about 40 years ago (Arthur is about my age).

That period before you meet your spouse is an interesting one and it's ripe for intrigue and mystery.

Phaedra Patrick writes well, which is a welcome thing after the sometimes clunkily written rock autobiographies I've been reading lately.

But what I really wanted to focus on here is the array of covers for this book. I'm always been a keen student of the various graphic designs chosen for later editions. 

The one pictured up top is the orange cover of the edition I'm reading which cost $3 from The Little Red Bookstore. 

They've tried various colours (like the blue/greeny one below)  but I like the orange. The choice of font is a key aspect and, again, I prefer the one I'm reading.

Here are a few of the other ways they've tried to catch the buyer's eye:

 

The live action one doesn't work for me. Not only is Arthur bizarrely cut in two on a weird sofa, but the picture frames and images inside them are too obtuse.

The travel luggage one is slightly incongruous to the story (it gives the impression that it's a bit of travel writing) but I like the colours and the vague sense of adventure.

The one with the landmarks indicating India, Paris and London correctly hint at exotic locations that figure in the narrative, but again - travelogue rather than fiction is the impression I'm left with.

So I'll stick to the top image - even if the cartoon Arthur is not how I picture him.

Love and peace - Wozza