The Great Gatsby
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How important are covers to your decision to read a book?
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Amy
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Jul 05, 2013 06:24PM
Covers are very important!! I usually wont look twice at a book with a boring cover, unless I hear very good reviews on it. I often find myself walking around bookstores raking through books with intriguing covers. In the case of The Great Gatsby, I dont find the cover appealing; however I heard how gatsby was all the rage and read it anyway. I was very pleseantly surprised, I LOVE this book. Obviously you can't 'judge a book by its cover' but the cover on a story is its first impression, and is very important....
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I hated the cover. It looks like poster art for a Las Vegas bordello.
Well, they were very important to me when I was younger. If I saw a book with a cool/interesting cover, I was more apt to read it. Then again, I would read the summary or synopsis before I made a decision, but it definitely helps attract my attention to the book. Can't say the same for all books, though. Sometimes you can judge a book by it's cover, literally...and a lot of the times, you just can't.
Covers are important to form your first impression; it should work like a magnet, so you can pick the book from the shelf. But you never judge a book by its cover. The cover of Great Garsby is one of the most famous covers of American literature. I have this book in my collection published by First Edition Library (FEL). FEL created books that are exactly like first edition books with the same covers, fonts, weight, even the same original printed errors. I enjoy this collection, and I absolutely love its covers.
A cover can give you a hint of what the book is about. Romance novels in grocery stores spring to mind. Need I say more for those books? Now, whenever I'm looking for a book, I look at the cover and the title. If either of them are interesting, I read the back cover or the inside flap for more information. After that, I either read or don't read the book. Covers are just a piece of the pie in searching for a book. :)The cover of this edition of The Great Gatsby left me feeling gloomy. I finished the book feeling the same way, so the cover was almost prophetic.
Yes I think book covers are important because I wouldn't be drawn to them at the stores if I didn't notice what was on the cover (unless I already know the author's name).And I kind of like the Gatsby cover. I feel like it captures a glamorous period while also having some surrealism to it to let you know that the story within the book is deeper than just the setting.
But maybe I have no say to reading The Great Gatsby by its cover. I had to read this book when I was school so I had no choice to get into it. It was still a great book though.
I think covers are important. Whether we like it or not, the first impression the cover makes affects the way we feel about the book. I personally believe it is best to acknowledge that as a fact and try to remain open to the book taking you somewhere you didn't expect to go based on that first impression. I published my first book in February, and I feel the cover I chose limits the appeal of the book for some people (even professionals like librarians and distributors). I went with it anyway because I felt it would resonate with my principal audience.
Noe wrote: "Hemingway thought the cover of the Great Gatsby looked like some bad science fiction book, and I must say the cover does not look particularly appealing to me either, but I am reading the book none..."Fitzgerald's writing style is quite good, I would rank it in the top 5. Problem is for at least me the stories are not that interesting. Fitzgerald could never write "epic" such as Steinbeck,Hemingway.
Thats a little double edged in my case. A cover will definitely attract or repel me if I dont know the material. If something becomes known to me and the idea interests me I can ignore an ugly cover. But Book shopping...yeah a nice cover will catch my attention first.
I'm currently floating on the side of wishing all books were white with black print and no art. I'm usually attracted to the blurb on the back and sometimes I will skip over what is potentially a good book by the horrifying art chosen for the cover.On the other side, I've picked books with great and stunning cover art and been hugely disappointed by the contents between the beautiful covers.
So, TL;DR: I pick books first on the blurb, but have been led astray by the art to the good and the bad.
Ah yes Jeni but Great book art is amazing think of all the amazing covers done by the like of artists Like Whelan, Vellajo and others...I'd hate to miss those :)
I love the cover, but I haven't read it because I don't like the movie cover and its too expensive with the regular cover.
Drew I think Your saying you havent read it. It takes at least for me a bit to get into though its short, but there comes a point when it comes together as a story I can appreciate. This is a book you could easily get from a library if your interested. Even if you don't like it as short as it is its worth the read for the experience.
Paul wrote: "Ah yes Jeni but Great book art is amazing think of all the amazing covers done by the like of artists Like Whelan, Vellajo and others...I'd hate to miss those :)"Some art is gorgeous, but when I spend a lot of time invested in a book and the characters, my imagination is complete with what they look like. It's rarely similar to the cover, honestly. :)
Typically I pick out books before I buy them and just go pick them at the store, however when I do go to browse I certainly judge by a cover. If a cover does not appeal to me I am not very inclined to pick up the book. That being said, I won't not to read a book because the cover is not attractive.
Normally the main factors of choosing a book for me are based on the author, reviews of the book and the summary. The cover is only important when it comes to actually buying a book.
not much important for me......i care about the books, not covers..
I´ve learned over the years to pay attention the accolades in the book´s beginning. Also some publishers just put out better books than others. Viking currently comes to mind. Penguin always has a good selection.So does Borzoi and Vintage.
Not going to lie. It all depends. If I am online and I read a description that sounds like it may be interesting, but the cover looks boring or bleh, I may not actually read it. I won't go for a book that sounds like it's going to bore me to death though if it's cover catches my eye. At that point, I just kinda shrug sadly and keep browsing.If I'm in a bookstore though, it's all about the cover. I almost never go in looking for something specific. I browse the shelves, waiting for something to catch my eye. Gatsby, for example, catches my eye. Although I don't think the cover is a good representation of the style of writing, I like it even if it is a little creepy.
I won't deny that I want my reads to appear aesthetically pleasing in some way. Both collector's volumes with gold-edged pages and worn thrift store paperbacks can share a sense of life and character. I will admit that a book with an awkwardly designed cover would probably deter me, but not enough that, if the story sounded interesting, I wouldn't go looking for a different edition with a more fitting cover. All that being said, the original Great Gatsby cover art is perhaps my favorite -- I even own a bag with this illustration on it. It was on the first edition of the book I read, so it's memorable for that reason as well. Plus, as I believe it's been touched on above, the vibrant, bold colors and glittering city below speak of the surface glamor of the jazz age. I get a very 1920s vibe from it. It's distinctive and does its job in catching attention, and looks like an advertisement from the time to my eyes.
I enjoy looking at book covers but usually they don't influence if I buy the book or not. It's the title that gets me. If I see a title that intrigues me, I'll open the book to see how the author writes. I won't buy a book without reading a little of it first.
Like anything else you want to make a great first impression. A favorite author I would buy his book immediately if it was wrapped in a brown paper bag. A newer author (less well know) better get my attention or I probably wouldn't give it a shot. Pretty girls get the most attention sometimes.
Covers are important for first impressions. They make a sort of promise to the reader about what the book is about. However, I think covers these days are geared to attract certain audiences, so I sometimes end up ignoring the cover and focusing on the first chapter. I read a lot of YA on my Kindle where I can't see the covers because a lot of YA covers are terrible.
There is an interesting TED talk on book cover design. There is a lot that goes into the planning of a cover. I for one am often sucked in by an appealing cover. Covers like The Casual Vacancy are a turn off to me. I will read it, but it doesn't call out to me from my coffee table.
I love beautiful covers and pretty books, but I will not base my reason for buying them on these two factors, it does help if a book have both an interesting synopsis as well as an impressive and beautiful cover, then I am probable hooked.
Noe wrote: "Hemingway thought the cover of the Great Gatsby looked like some bad science fiction book, and I must say the cover does not look particularly appealing to me either, but I am reading the book none..."A cover has one purpose, to entice you to pick up the book and open it. The decision to buy/read the book is secondary and occurs only after you read the first paragraph or first page or first ten pages. Or it could have been recommended. Or it could be selling like hotcakes and you want to be in the "in" crowd. Or...
I am fascinated by the cover to TGG. I think it is brilliant. It's one of the most intriguing book covers I've ever seen. It's a work of art. Hemingway has a right to his opinion, as does everyone.
Covers make me buy books I haven't heard of before, but most of the time, they end up disappointing half-way through. The best books I've read tend to have familiar (even but a slight, perhaps, soundwise familiar) titles or authors. And I try not to fill my head with excess information so whatever left in this head must've related strongly the first time I heard of it.
A cover will catch my eye. It could either be absolutely hideous or beautiful. But it's a synopsis that will commit me to reading the book. So no, covers are not a decision maker for me. However, a pretty cover is always nice to look at.
I like books covers. I like the ones that reveal their meaning only as you read the book - like a movie trailer, they should show enough to spark a curiosity but not give anything away. It's the marriage of art and literature and I couldn't possibly not love that. The covers of my favourite books remain fondly with me, wrapped up with the memory of the text.
I am surprisingly good at judging a book by its cover though I hate to admit it! That's not to say that I won't give many other books a second or third glance but I can usually tell by the cover whether its a me book or not. I strongly believe book covers are an important part of the publishing process especially for a visual person like me!
You should have seen covers of Soviet books. Nothing. Plain texture with author's name and title. That's it. Yet, adorable books.Cover may attract attention, but in my opinion title plays bigger role. Can't say that I'm a good reader, but I know that good readers judge from the table of contents and other info at the end and beginning of the book.
I never go for the cover. It's like when I see a book, a sudden spark runs through me and thats when I know that I'm going to buy that book. Other than the spark, I rely on the reviews!
I would have to consider the cover before I buy it. I don't want to be seen reading a book with some naked corpse spread-eagled across the front (as interesting as that book would be).
If the book is a classic or an otherwise known quantity, I pay the cover no mind whatever, but I realize I do use cover art to make snap judgments about books I don't know. Is the cover pink and green? Probably chick-lit, and definitely so if there's a drawing of a shoe or a martini glass. A cottage by a meadow or a sand dune? Could be domestic fiction, not always my thing. Black or brown background with big, bold red or orange letters? Formula suspense, especially if the author's name is bigger than the title. If the cover art is very spare and the title is off-center or vertical or written in a very odd font, the writer is probably young.
Never publish a book with a lot of black on its cover. This is one of the cardinal rules of the publishing business-I had a colleague, Roswell Angier, who published a photo book, CONVERSATIONS IN THE COMBAT ZONE, a brilliant piece of work about strip tease dancers in Boston´s red light district, and the cover was black. Boy, did he learn his lesson the hard way.
Being a mainly Kindle user now the cover is not that important to me. However when I do browse in a bookshop a quick glance around will encourage me to move on or look further. I'm not into chicklit for example but the covers for these tend to all be similar so I wouldn't inspect anything with that sort of cover. I'm sure I miss out on some good books doing this but there has to be some way of narrowing the options down :)
The cover is of course, one's first impression and will entice me to pick up the book and read the synopsis. It is the storyline however, that personally decides the purchase for me.
Interesting issue. I'd like to say covers have no affect on me, but I bet a social scientist could disprove that. I do know that certain genres have distinctive cover imagery that functions like a danger sign that warns me away from them (sci-fi, horror, YA, romance, fantasy, crime/mystery/thriller). I normally base my purchases on prior research, so I normally pay no attention to the cover. When I do browse, I find most fiction covers pretty lame, and I don't normally impulse buy. Non-fiction covers can often be more interesting than fiction artwork. One thing that does influence me in fiction purchases is the size of the book. Literary fiction tends to come in a larger format than genre fiction, so I tend to avoid those little paperbacks.
Personally, the cover doesn't usually affect me. It's the author, the title and the subject of the story that helps me decide whether I want to read a certain book or not. Although I can say that when you are at the library, checking out the books, there are covers that might increase your interest in a book you have probably never heard of before. On the other side you pay little attention or don't notice at all covers that seem dull and that might cause you to miss on a great book. Anyway the cover has its own importance and it offers different appeal to different people, but I don't think we should base our thoughts of the book on its cover. After all, the cover might have been created by a terrible drawer or designer, while the book might have been written by a wonderful author.
I'm in an artistic field, so a well designed (or shocking) cover with smartly chosen typography will always attract my attention and respect first and lead me to examine the book further, but I always, always read the summary. If it sounds boring or is not a subject I'm interested I don't read or buy it. The only exceptions are books by an author I've already read and liked, books that are recommended to me, and classics.I could also say the same for book titles. An intriguing title will also lead me to pick up a book.
If the cover draws my attention, then it has done it's job.
When a cover is done well, it'll make you want to read the book so much more, and will ooze professionalism and class.
When a cover is done well, it'll make you want to read the book so much more, and will ooze professionalism and class.
Given the nature of publishing and how a book can have several different editions with entirely different covers, I usually ignore the cover and base a decision on what I have heard about the author and the book itself. However, if a book is in the 'Popular Penguins' series (The orange and white ones), then I will be more inclined to read it as I have had lots of good reads from that series before and trust them only to release good books.
I am starting to lean away from book covers. I am starting to notice that the fancier the cover the simpler the story and least amount of enjoyment to be had. I am moving forward and going to start relying exclusively on goodread reviews from creditable reviewers and not a total score.It does seem that publishers are getting aggressive to chum up sales for their vip writers. Publishers are going rogue and betraying their audience and I"m sure that there will be a large backlash in time.It also seems to me that more and more reviews appear to me to be bought and paid for. If a reviewer gives to many 5 star reviews or to many 1 star reviews I will immediately discredit anything that they have to say. Of if a reviewer favors a certainly book company.... I'll not read any further reviews as well.
Covers & titles catch my attention enough so I flip the book over to read the short synopsis about what the book is about. If the synopsis isn't well written & doesn't intrigue me, it doesn't matter what the cover looks like, I won't by the book. Except of course, if someone has recommended it to me.
With the Great Gatsby cover it shows you a little bit of what's going to happen in the book.
I find book covers to be a highly important aspect before I begin to read or even consider buying a book. Usually, if I hear good reviews about a book or even have it recommended to me, I will go out of my way to find the original or the most appropriate looking cover. Oh, and movie tie in editions, don't even go there! No matter what the cover looks like, I refuse to buy a book which has a movie tie in edition cover.
I wonder how much book covers hurt the sales of Dune? Some of the worst book covers right there.
Cate wrote: "Covers & titles catch my attention enough so I flip the book over to read the short synopsis about what the book is about. If the synopsis isn't well written & doesn't intrigue me, it doesn't matt..."Same here. You have to look at everything before you settle for a book.
Pretty important, it's true not to judge a book by its cover but sometimes the cover helps create a setting in my mind for how the book will play out.
Covers are extremely important in my book buying habits. In my quest to acquire all the books (he said only slightly kidding), I am prone to impulse buys frequently, and those will always go with books that are designed well. Part of the the day job, so I can't help but be influenced. I have actually held off buying certain books because of a cruddy cover (the aforementioned DUNE being one of them).As for the traditional cover, it's quite great. It's visually appealing to a certain extent, but very intriguing. Quite ethereal. The symbolism it extolls is great, too, but perhaps only if you've read the book.
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