diff --git a/bookwyrm/activitypub/__init__.py b/bookwyrm/activitypub/__init__.py
index 852db345c..3dccc31a4 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/activitypub/__init__.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/activitypub/__init__.py
@@ -2,11 +2,12 @@
 import inspect
 import sys
 
-from .base_activity import ActivityEncoder, Image, PublicKey, Signature
+from .base_activity import ActivityEncoder, PublicKey, Signature
 from .base_activity import Link, Mention
 from .base_activity import ActivitySerializerError
 from .base_activity import tag_formatter
 from .base_activity import image_formatter, image_attachments_formatter
+from .image import Image
 from .note import Note, GeneratedNote, Article, Comment, Review, Quotation
 from .note import Tombstone
 from .interaction import Boost, Like
diff --git a/bookwyrm/activitypub/base_activity.py b/bookwyrm/activitypub/base_activity.py
index 54c2baea9..3fe44f8b7 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/activitypub/base_activity.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/activitypub/base_activity.py
@@ -23,13 +23,6 @@ class ActivityEncoder(JSONEncoder):
         return o.__dict__
 
 
-@dataclass
-class Image:
-    ''' image block '''
-    url: str
-    type: str = 'Image'
-
-
 @dataclass
 class Link():
     ''' for tagging a book in a status '''
@@ -146,6 +139,7 @@ class ActivityObject:
         for (model_key, value) in image_fields.items():
             if not value:
                 continue
+            #formatted_value = image_formatter(value)
             getattr(instance, model_key).save(*value, save=True)
 
         # add one to many fields
@@ -212,16 +206,9 @@ def tag_formatter(tags, tag_type):
 
 def image_formatter(image_json):
     ''' helper function to load images and format them for a model '''
-    if isinstance(image_json, list):
-        try:
-            image_json = image_json[0]
-        except IndexError:
-            return None
-
-    if not image_json or not hasattr(image_json, 'url'):
+    url = image.get('url')
+    if not url:
         return None
-    url = image_json.get('url')
-
     try:
         response = requests.get(url)
     except ConnectionError:
diff --git a/bookwyrm/activitypub/book.py b/bookwyrm/activitypub/book.py
index 01bdcca91..02cab2818 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/activitypub/book.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/activitypub/book.py
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from typing import List
 
-from .base_activity import ActivityObject, Image
+from .base_activity import ActivityObject
+from .image import Image
 
 @dataclass(init=False)
 class Book(ActivityObject):
@@ -25,7 +26,7 @@ class Book(ActivityObject):
     librarythingKey: str = ''
     goodreadsKey: str = ''
 
-    attachment: List[Image] = field(default_factory=lambda: [])
+    cover: Image = field(default_factory=lambda: {})
     type: str = 'Book'
 
 
diff --git a/bookwyrm/activitypub/image.py b/bookwyrm/activitypub/image.py
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..c0ad3ea30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/bookwyrm/activitypub/image.py
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+''' an image, nothing fancy '''
+from dataclasses import dataclass
+
+@dataclass
+class Image:
+    ''' image block '''
+    url: str
+    name: str = ''
+    type: str = 'Image'
diff --git a/bookwyrm/activitypub/note.py b/bookwyrm/activitypub/note.py
index 9eab952d3..aeb078dcc 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/activitypub/note.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/activitypub/note.py
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from typing import Dict, List
 
-from .base_activity import ActivityObject, Image, Link
+from .base_activity import ActivityObject, Link
+from .image import Image
 
 @dataclass(init=False)
 class Tombstone(ActivityObject):
diff --git a/bookwyrm/activitypub/person.py b/bookwyrm/activitypub/person.py
index 324d68e32..e7d720ecf 100644
--- a/bookwyrm/activitypub/person.py
+++ b/bookwyrm/activitypub/person.py
@@ -2,7 +2,8 @@
 from dataclasses import dataclass, field
 from typing import Dict
 
-from .base_activity import ActivityObject, Image, PublicKey
+from .base_activity import ActivityObject, PublicKey
+from .image import Image
 
 @dataclass(init=False)
 class Person(ActivityObject):