Bookstores are eye candy. Art is on every shelf, in every nook and cranny. “You can’t judge a book by its cover,” or so the saying goes. I beg to differ. I do it all the time. And I’d venture to say you do too. Mere moments – that’s all it takes for you to react to the colors, typography and imagery. Good design can make the difference between you picking up the book and passing it by.

Here’s my round-up of 50 of the best book cover designs to hit the shelves in the past year. Some are New York Times bestsellers while some are lesser known titles. But all in all – between the reprinted classics and modern lit released in 2011 – there’s a wealth of eye-catching book cover designs.