“Don’t judge a book by its cover.” We’ve all heard it before – in reference to books, people, music, most anything. It’s a simple philosophy, really: sometimes things look better than they are, and sometimes things are better than they look. The thing is, though, do you know how many books are in just the one bookstore in which I work? Me neither, but I can tell you it’s a lot. With so many options to choose from, I feel the cover can make a significant impact.
I read book blogs and talk to a lot of people who read books, so I actually have a little notebook where I write down recommended books I’d like to read. However, thanks to my impulsive nature and bookstore addiction, I often finding myself wandering through the aisles without my book of books. So, in that situation, I have to admit I very often judge a book by its cover. Obviously I take the genre, plot, author, etc. into consideration, but, when there’s a tie, it honestly just comes down to the cover.
Working in a bookstore, there’s no way I can read the write-up on every book I see. For the most part, I just look at the genre and the author’s last name so I know where to shelve the book, but every now and then, I take a moment to open it up and read the blurb on the book jacket. And, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, the one thing that causes me to do that is an interesting cover.
So, I have two questions. First, is it really all that wrong to judge a book by its cover? Second, since most of us do at least have an initial reaction to a book based on its cover, what covers do you find most interesting? For myself, I like classic-looking covers. Covers that replicate antique books always jump off the shelf at me. I like unique, but not over-the-top weird. I don’t like bright colors; I don’t like photos of people (as opposed to drawings or paintings). I won’t even consider a book that has a raunchy or disgusting cover.
To sum up, I just think there are too many books out there to not judge a book by its cover, so authors beware... choose a good cover.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I'm definitely influenced by a book's cover and the ones that catch my eye are the first ones that I pick up. I am drawn to the more classical ones and I hate the ones that remind me of comic books or graphic novels. I don't like bright colors and abstract themes on covers, for the most part.
I've probably missed a few good books because their covers turned me off them...but that's their problem, IMO.
Oh, I forgot about the graphic novel covers. I'm with you there - I don't like them either.
I'm glad I'm not the only influenced by the cover. :)
I also judge books by their cover. My wife and I were talking about that this weekend as we walked through Borders. I find it almost impossible not to judge by a cover, there are so many books it's overwhelming so you need something to set them apart.
I also don't like photographs of people on book covers. I'm always pointing out books to my wife at the bookstore that break my rule of no real people on the cover. Especially when it shows their face.
Sam and I seem to part ways here because, while I'll pick up a classic-looking novel if I'm familiar with the title, I always go for the books with the bright colors or abstract themes if it's something I've never heard of before.
I won't however pick up something with pictures of the characters on the cover because I hate it when the pictures don't look anything like what I've constructed in my head. I think that the cover of Jonathan Lethem's You Don't Love Me Yet is a good example of where that rule wouldn't apply though...
Post a Comment