Welcome to Top Ten Tuesday, a weekly bookish meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl that features a different bookish topic every week.
Today’s topic is Cover Freebie
I’ve been seeing a lot of books and other media featuring octopodes in recent years and thought I’d feature them today. I’ve only read maybe two of the books featured and don’t know very much about the other ones, so if you’ve read them, let me know!
Top Ten Books featuring Octopodes on the Cover
- The Call of Cthulhu by H.P. Lovecraft – I’ve heard references to Cthulhu, but I don’t think I’ve ever read a single Lovecraft story.
- Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt – The only one I’m sure I’ve read. It was a bookclub BOTM and I quite enjoyed it.
- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne – I think I’ve read this, but I don’t remember if I read the actual unabridged book or if I read some abridged children’s version because it was so long ago.
- The Soul of an Octopus by Sy Montgomery – This is nonfiction and I’m quite interested in reading it. I know octopodes are a lot smarter than we realized and I’m very curious to find out more.
- Kraken by China Miéville – I recently read a different Miéville book, Perdido Street Station, and it’s so good but so heavy. I’m a fan and I want to read this one too, but I’m scared!
- The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler – I have seen this book featured in scifi circles but wasn’t interested at the time. I looked at the description while searching for books for this prompt and now I’m intrigued!
- The Benefits of Being an Octopus by Ann Braden – This is a middle grade book that is more about growing up as a human than it is about an octopus but it sounds interesting!
- Other Minds by Peter Godfrey-Smith – Another nonfiction about octopodes I’m curious to read!
- Three Blue Hearts by Lynne Kelly – Also a middle grade book; the young MC finds an injured octopus and cares for it while it heals.
- Beyond the Graves Waits Mist and Sea by Kathleen Kaufman – This one hasn’t been released yet, it’s only coming out in September 2026, but it sounds so mysterious and scary! I’m excited to read it once it’s out!
Have you read any of these books? What did you think of them? Would you read any of these books?
Excellent choice of prompt, and also, I loved The Mountain in the Sea. Or at least, two of the plotlines — the other was a bit meh. I still gave it… I think 4/5 stars overall, though?
That is…a surprisingly big number of books with octopods on their covers, or maybe it is not big enough? 😂 I have to admit I haven’t read any of these but I did remember a book that might fit this TTT called To Kill a Kingdom which is on my TBR! 😄
Ooh, this is a unique one. Octopuses (Octupi?) are so interesting.
Ooh, I love that you’ve found so many and that they’re all so eye-catching too! The only title from your list that I’d heard of is Remarkably Bright Creatures and I loved it. Great pick 🙂
I haven’t read any of these, but have heard of Shelby’s book and only recently (finally) watched the film adaptation which I did think was good. 🙂 Thanks so much for visiting my list today!
Very unique idea! I have not read any of these, but have heard of a few of them.
An interesting choice. I had no idea that they were on that many covers!!
Have a great week!
This is such a fun topic choice! I haven’t read any of hem yet, though I did watch the Remarkably Bright Creatures movie adaptation and really enjoyed that 🙂
Great collection of covers! One book I read that featured an octopus on the cover (at least the one I read) is Washington Black by Esi Edugyan.
Here’s my TTT for the week: https://readbakecreate.com/favorite-covers-for-the-murder-of-roger-ackroyd/
I’m on the waiting list for the audio of Remarkably Bright Creatures. And I’m waiting til after reading the book to watch the movie.
I just learned that “octopodes” is a valid plural form of Octopus! (I googled it and learned a lot 😀 ) I haven’t read any of these but I love your choice for the freebie! The covers are all very different but still vibe together really well!
This is such a fun topic! I loved Remarkably Bright Creatures and I have a copy of Kraken but I’m not sure I’ve read it.
So many people have been telling me about how much they enjoyed Remarkably Bright Creatures—even people who really are not readers.
What a fun topic! I’ve read Remarkably Bright Creatures and The Mountain in the Sea — two very different books, but I loved both!
Who knew there were so many books out there with octopodes on the cover? I’ve read REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES, but that’s it from your list.
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
I love this topic that you picked because I find Octopodes beautiful and interesting I’d like to learn more about them for sure. A few of these are on my tbr but I need to add more of them. The simplicity of that edition of The Call of Cthulu is so striking, I love that cover! Beyond the Graves Waits Mist and Sea sounds very intriguing I’m adding to my tbr.
Here’s my TTT this week: https://darkshelfofwonders.com/top-10-books-with-peridot-covers-to-celebrate-august/