Pic #1

It has better contrast between light and dark. The others seem washed out.

Yeah, the others were when he was still testing out light stuff.

#1 or #2. both seem to say "i'm smart. don't fuck with me," which i think is perfecto.

#1 in a landslide, unless I can get you to reconsider one of the scooter pictures.

I'm partial to pic1 myself, followed closely by pic2 (I like the facial expression a little better on pic2 because it's closer to a smile, but pic1 looks more book-jackety-ish); I love the expression on pic4 the most, but agree that it's a little washed out and might not print right. pic3 looks the most like your other photos, but seems informal (not that there's anything wrong with that) and has the same lighting problems as pic4.

Cheers,

TH

#1 is the best pic for a book jacket. I would retake it with a bit of a smile. It's a good pic, but you look too serious.

Very cool news about the book.

i'm tempted to do a scooter pic, but somehow i don't think it screams "professional." ;)

Definitely 1 or 2. :)

I like this one -- it's got a good balance. Not too dark, not too light:

http://flickr.com/photos/93947321@N00/267139921/

Pic #1 is totally awesome, though I dig the image under the stairs. It's artsy and pretty.

I like Potential #1 - it's classy and not too light.

Scooter pic wouldn't be bad except for the colors again. Your outfit blends in with the background and your legs stand out. You know Althouse would get four or five days of material off of that.

#1 and the scooter pics are awesome.

#1 with a smile if we're only doing assigned pics. otherwise the leaning against the scooter pic is pretty rocking. it says you can be smart, wear a mini skirt, have great legs, and be a feminist. RAD!

pic #2

pic 1 is typical book-ish, and 2 is different and unusual.

yeah, i wanted to smile but adam kept yelling at me like a surly fashion photographer. which i guess he kinda is.

I like #1 and #3. #1 is very professional but cool,and in #3 and you have a really pretty smile and good hair.

You know, the picture under the stairs would be a pretty cool jacket photo.

Cheers,

TH

I'm undecided if this porntastic title is better than the proposed "Dontcha wish your girlfriend was feminist like me" one. I think I'm leaning towards yes, but only by a slim margin.

How in the world is Feminists Do It Better a porntastic title? Sextastic, maybe, but sex and porn have about as much to do with each other as gourmet cooking and dental surgery.

Cheers,

TH

Oh get over it.

#1 or #2, they look classy and professional and you look very pretty. #3 looks too much like a personal photo and #4 the lighting is all wrong. I prefer #2 best myself.

Actually Tom, we changed the title...check out the Amazon link. I'm sure folks will take issue with it, but they can suck my left one.

(Full Frontal Feminism is even less offensive. What on Earth is it with all these people who seem to think you belong in a Carmelite habit rubbing rosaries and chanting in Latin?)

And the more I think about it, the more I agree with SarahS--#2 is growing on me, though #1 is still a pretty amazing shot.

Cheers,

TH

Feminists Do It Better was, to be honest, a little too "up with people" for my tastes. Full Frontal Feminism is a little more eye-catching.

I'm pitching a book right now that, well... I'll email you about it sometime, but it's a case where I had two choices for a title and I realized that whether or not an agent would even want it would depend on which version of the title I went with.

Cheers,

TH

I concur, pic 1 is the best. I like pic 3 because you're smiling, but pic 1 is my favorite.

I'm with TH -- I *LOVE* the stair photo. I'm also a fan of the one where you're grasping a shirt hanger.

Amen on that--you know, I realize the fashion pics were just humor value, but the one that grabs me as the best book jacket photo is the under-the-stairs pic.

Cheers,

TH

I just preordered a copy, by the way... :o)

Cheers,

TH

aww, thanks tom.

Potential Book Pic2 is very "I know something you don't know," which is a look I actually like in my author photos.

It makes me want to read the book to see if I can find out what it is you know.

On the other hand, your gams look really nice in the picture labeled "scoot scoot."

So I guess it depends on whether you want to use the "dark & mysterious" angle, or for lack of a better phrase, "All this and brains too."

#1 with a smile.

Though one of those scooter pics would be even better.

unfortunately, there can be no do-overs with smile. :(

#1!

Seeing what a sassy chick, you are these days, why don’t you just do a full frontal.

#1.

I would go with #3. I think it best reflects your writing style--intelligent but with humor and verve. The others look too stern or depressive. I think a smiling photograph would be a good complement to what I'm sure will be an intelligent and serious, but not stilted, book.

Pic #1 or Under the Stairs for sure. And I'm so glad you're claiming "full frontal" for the feminists! I'm so into it.

Pic 4 is the best! Yes, 1 is nice, but I think you look a bit too angry. :)

one or two, definitely!

In descending order of preference: under the stairs, #2, #1.

Cheers,

TH

#1 is my favorite of the book ones. Truthfully, I like the "Stretching or wishing I was a shirt." one best, though. I'm not sure what it says, but it definitely says something.

If you don't need to be too serious, I really think the stretching one is great.

Stretching, #2 and Scoot are growing on me.

I think #2 is the best, followed by #1.

Are you or your publisher sending review copies to interested Feministing commenters?

i'm partial to the "what the fuck am i looking at" photo myself, but #1 definitely works as a book jacket photo.

#1.

Second choice: "What the fuck am I looking at?"

I vote for #2, if you can do something about the lighting. In fact, if you get the opportunity to do more photos, I would do something along the lines of #2. I think it's important to show that feminists aren't sulking around but have fun and look cute and smile and that's what #2 is about :)

#1

I like pics 3 and 1 best. But speaking as a young woman, I wouldn't read something named "Full Frontal Feminism." People use sex to sell everything else, it's disheartening to see it being used to sell feminism - and to see myself mocked as a prude for having objections to that. I'd have no objections to a feminist sex guide with the same title, but as a primer on modern feminism, it's a real, y'know, turnoff.

Sorry you don't like it, but it's mean to be provocative. I don't think you're a prude for not liking it, but I think it's unfortunte that you would judge a book, well, by it's cover. :)

#1 is decent, but the one that really jumped out at me was the "shirt hanger" one. Wow, what great lighting, colors, and the bed looks so, so comfortable ;)

I like #2 best, but...you do have boobs in it. Perhaps best to go with #1, my second choice...

Full Frontal Feminism sounds empowering to me although some will feel victimized by it. I love it.

I agree with Tom. It's much better than Feminists Do It Better.

#1, followed by #3.

Pic 3 shows a smile and some teeth. I am not a fan of serious pics. I sort of like nice teeth, so I guess I am biased.

#1 and What the fuck am I looking at? and I am one tough scooter-riding bitch.

The last one would be awesome.

#1 and #2 are my favorites, but #1 is the best imo.

All beautiful pictures :)

my pick: Potential Book Pic3.
easy peasy photoshopping to balance out the contrast--the picture is a bit too washed out//bright//white--and itll be tops.

p/s.: if photoshop challenged, i am sure your friend adam can change the contrast in two mouse clicks or less.

it seems the popular vote is photo number one, and in my head i am screaming "no"!

short reason why: the whole tone of it seems too serious.

i dont know why, but for some reason i expect to see photo #3 if i picked up your book (and amazon will be seeing my credit card soon!)

Yeah, #1. 3 is good too, but #1 is exceptional.

pre-ordered! w00t!

#1 is great... They're all gorgeous. But 1 is my favorite.

None. You look better in shots where you're looking back towards the camera a little ie not square-on eg look at shots where you are with others and your head is just at a slight angle.

#1 too hard, you want empathy. #2 looks like the morning after the night before. #3 too everyday. #4 Uninspiring.

Perhaps take a shot a little bit futher away, then bring it closer with editing.

#1.

Or "people under the stairs."

What, no profiles showcasing your breasts for the conservatives to blog about? How boring.

Seriously, my choice is #1 with the scooter, although you might crop in a bit closer. I would have preferred a smiling shot because your face really comes to life then, but your friend's probably right. You don't want a yearbook picture on your book. Go with the scooter shot.

#3 is best if you want one where you're smiling, but I think my preference is #1.
You look a little stern around the chin, but the lighting is the best and you have a look in your eye that appeals to me--a hint of challenge that says Read this, you might learn something.

Number one I reckon. :)

Pic #1 is absolutely the best. You don't need to smile for a book jacket. And it doesn't look like you're trying to win a staring contest or intimidate/humiliate the viewer, either. You're just looking like you're comfortable, serious, and comfortable not offering to smile for the camera.

Number one is very nice. And for the love of God, don't look to sexy or anything like that or else Althouse will get mad at you! [sarcasm] :)

If you do a picture, #1. Or one of those goofy photos, even.

I'm always a fan of feminist writers not having a photo.

Best of luck either way though, I think choosing would be a tough decision.

No question: "Potential Book Pic 2". Makes you look serious & scholarly.

1 is the best IMO. I liked your expression in 4 too, but the image is too washed out.

The point is: you are not preaching to the converted or appealing to pseudo-intellectual uni students ... you're trying to reach "young" women. No point intimidating them with stern intellectual superiority, represent the fresh "new" face of feminism, not the old.

Photos are cheeseball. Don't have one. The moment some network wonk gets ahold of your book, he's gonna say "we gotta get this girl on TV!" and bang! you're another talking head being judged for her looks and not her whole being. I say fuck it. I'll draw a cartoon of you if absolutely must have something.

Uhm, so the way not to be judged by your looks is not to have any?

That seems just a tad extreme.

Cheers,

TH

She has plenty! Anyone who wants to can go ogle her anytime they want on her flickr site.

I am being a bit extreme, though, but here's why: Jessica's gaining a lot of popularity, and is the most high-profile of the feministing bloggers. I love this blog and her work. Now she has a book coming out, and with that means that all these new pressures are going to be in her life, largely revolving around selling the damn book. That's fine. That's reality.

But it's also reality that Jessica's pretty fucking attractive, too. And nobody has to tell you our society commodifies beauty. It would suck if Jessica became just another product. The obvious parallel are all the "glamour" and "beauty" shots done of Coulter and Malkin, who embrace it!

None of this stuff is anything Jessica would do herself, but we're not operating in a vacuum here, either. I've always been of the belief that books are about what the author has to say, and are not really about the author themselves (if that makes sense).

Does she a need a photo of herself on the book jacket? Is there a reason to put it there other than to show her readers what she looks like? If people really are deciding what to read based on the facial expression of the author in their picture, is that something to be embraced or not?

I don't have the answers. It's a minor thing, really, and I can see I'm stretching here a bit. I certainly won't think any less of Jessica or feministing if she has a picture of herself on the dust jacket.

I just have this nightmare of turning on MSNBC in six months to see Jessica debating Malkin with the crawl reading "cat fight!", you know?

If that happens, that's a problem with MSNBC that reflects MSNBC's need to change its behavior, not Jessica's need to change hers. I mean, I get that what you're describing is a very real phenomenon--and I can sympathize with what you're saying--but it's not anything Jessica should feel reluctant to show her face about. It's something we should all get together and bitch out MSNBC about if and when they do it.

Personally, I'd love to see Jessica on MSNBC, even with an idiotic "Catfight" ticker at the bottom if necessary, because I have a sneaking suspicion that anything she'd say in a public media outlet would promote feminism in a manner that would vastly outweigh any damage done by bad coverage.

Cheers,

TH

I actually agree with you, TH, but the cynic in me fears the worst. Circumspection is never a bad thing, though, so I figured I should write my concern anyway, however unlikely it might be.

Jessica can do whatever she wants and will have my full support. I would certainly never claim it was Jessica's "fault" should others attempt to exploit her. That ain't how I think. right on.

|T|

There's also the reality of the publishing industry: not all books have about the author photos, but many publicity departments use them to market the book. And if a lovely photo can help Jessica's book reach a wide audience, I see nothing wrong with it.

Furious, so you think she should wear a burka?!?!?!

(I kid, I kid.)

Picture #2 - It looks like an intense woman who would write a great book.

I'm disappointed. We should start a flame war over whether Jessica should choose picture #1 or #2 (or #3, or #4).

Couldn't resist.