The Great Gatsby
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How important are covers to your decision to read a book?
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Zoe
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Jul 25, 2013 08:13PM
I am a very visual person, as well as literal, so a book cover, as well as what's on the book jacket makes or breaks my book buying experience. So if the cover is pretty, or interesting then it makes me wonder what the books about!! :D
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Covers have some importance, but in no way do I consciously use them to determine whether or not I'll read a book. On a subconscious level, however, I'm pretty sure that they have some sway.
I love walking through book stores and looking at all the covers. I do find them to be very intriguing, and I love the art behind them and what they suggest about the book. As others have said before, a cover will get me to pick up a book, especially if it hints that the book has subject material that I might like. However, the description on the back cover is the basis for my decision on whether or not to read a book.
I do several things in deciding whether the book is one I wish to read. Considering that I live in Mexico, the opportunity to purchase a book is almost nil, however I have access to two English libraries in the Yucatan peninsular and avail myself well with both.In addition to what others have posted, I also will open the book and read a page. If the writing style is a good one, I will check next the synopsis on the back cover. Then I proceed to the endorsements in the front. The latter is the greatest decision breaker for me, matched only by the choice of publisher. Viking and Vintage can`t go wrong. They`re both publishers of some of the best literature today and if I see their imprint, I`m immediately intrigued.
When I am shopping in a book store it is the cover that gets me to pick up a book and read the flap. I don't know what I am missing because of all the covers that don't make me pick up the books.
I never used to think that I was affected by a book's cover, at least since childhood. But the cover of The New Jim Crow definitely got my attention and reeled me in. That cover is true to the author. I also realized recently that although I love mysteries and crime fiction, I got to the half-century mark w/o reading anything by the legendary James Lee Burke. How so? I was going through his early work, having discovered him, and what's on the cover of one of his first books? A cowboy hat with a fish hook through it. This would definitely keep me from pulling a book from the shelf to look further, at least until I already knew I liked the author!
As for Gatsby, it's a terrible thing for a teacher to admit, but now that I'm retired I'll just go ahead and say it: I found it dull, cover or no cover.
I think a good cover is important -- it should reflect the genre and content of the book and catch the reader's eye. I am not really fond of this Gatsby cover, although I love the book.
Dale wrote: "I wonder how much book covers hurt the sales of Dune? Some of the worst book covers right there."Funny you mention that -- I never read Dune and I always thought that cover was just sooo awful!
the japanese edition of this book looks like something i would want to read (but could not... Japanese?!?!?)
Covers and Titles are constructive to any of my decisions. I love how the Great Gatsby cover looks like a painting from someone on LSD. Poetic really.
The outside image on the book cover is not very important in my decision to read a book. The book jacket description is more important to me.
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..."Covers are crucial to me, not merely in choosing one book over another (although this does weigh in my appreciation often very heavily, as too much digital-era cover art is crap) but more importantly, covers always remind me of the value and pleasure of printed books over ebooks in the first and most fundamental regard. Ebooks can't simulate covers worth a godamn. I hawk and spit on them. [Ptooey!]
There's nothing finer than turning the last page of a novel then turning it over in your hands to gaze with new, understanding eyes at a cover which, (back when you began the novel), formerly seemed incomprehensible to you. As the last chapter closes, realization dawns and you grasp why the artwork or typography or binding were all chosen, as they were, with obvious forethought and care on the part of the publisher.
The combination of printed art and printed word are unbeatable when it comes to creating a lasting mental impact and satisfaction.
I used to buy a lot of paperbacks at airports to read on the plane. I'd usually finish these pretty quickly and leave them on my seat afterwards. For those it was generally a quick browse for the latest thriller or mystery, and the cover definitely had an impact on my choice.Now I don't travel for business and fly a lot less frequently, and I get my books at the library. Covers do mean something, but since I have a lot more time to browse I can be more selective.
If it's a book I know about beforehand, then the cover means next to nothing.
I learned very early on never to judge a book by it's cover (pardon the pun.) If a book cover looks boring or the book happens to be cover-less, then I always pick it up. My experience has been that the more flashy the cover the more useless the book. Of course, there are always exceptions. All of Sarah Addison Allen's books have beautiful covers and they are beautifully written as well.
Feliks wrote: "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 t..."Well said! As someone who works in the print industry, I wholeheartedly agree with your answer. :)
Don't judge a book by it's cover! While it might be the first thing that draws me in, if I like the synopsis or idea of a story I don't care what it looks like on the outside. I buy many of my books second hand, which means many of them look pretty bad, but I still buy them....
My rules: No foil. No cut outs. No books where the author's name is larger than the title (I make an exception for Tom Wolfe only.)
I have always enjoyed the occasional 19th century book with plate illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. I have always wanted to read current novels that do the same. I am mentioning this to extend the discussion somewhat. I have recently read two books that did this somewhat and was disappointed in both cases. The first was a Judy Picault book, the 10th Circle or some such title, the second the latest Carolyn Chute novel about right wing rednecks in Maine. Both caught my eye because the satisfied my visual criteria, but failed "literally".
I'm also a fan of "artist's books" wherein the craft of the binding of the book itself, is brought out into the story. Phenomenal stuff. An example would be, 'Flight Into Egypt'. God only knows how he made that thing; and God Bless whatever company found a way to publish it. Magical.No, I don't mean just those origami book pieces which someone keeps mysteriously secreting in that library in Edinburgh or somewhere. That's more ornamental, done after-the-fact, by a stranger. Not by the author.
But yeah there's occasionally been an awesome, mass-market print books too, which possesses incredible 'tricks and surprises' in the cover n stuff. Like, T.E.D. Klein's 'The Ceremonies' (double cover flip) and --one of my most prized possessions--"This SuitCase is Going to Explode" which has a holographic cover!!
p.s. kudos to someone in this thread who sent me a very nice message about the thoughts I expressed here. Good on ye!
p.p.s. I recommended a book to a co-worker today..one I had just finished. Excitedly, I held it out to him, for him to accept. I really want him to read it and let me know what he thinks. He takes it in his hands briefly. Looks over the cover and reads the synopsis on the back. He nods his head.
"Okay! Yeah this looks pretty good! Thanks!" and he hands the book back to me.
Try to picture the expression of bewilderment on my face. He says he is going to read it; but gives it back to me.
Instead, he makes a little digital note for himself on his phone, saving the book title in a memo (probably keeps a 'books to read' list stored there for himself in an old txt message). It took me a few minutes to digest..but from all this I deduced he is going to download a digital version of the book from Amazon, to his Nook reader in a few weeks. And he'll read it (using his device) on the train. Maybe a few months from now, he'll get around to reading it. I don't know. I won't ever know about it when that happens.
Godamn you crummy Amazon.
Hawk! Ptooey!
Shamefully, yes, I tend to be painfully aware of the cover. However, this only really occurs when there are several editions of the same book on the shelf in front of me, and I can only choose one to take home.
Personally, when finding a book, the cover isn't important. It's the words inside that matter. If I hear good reviews about a book, the cover won't stop me from reading it. Although, after having read the book, I begin to judge the cover based on the story. At times I find that the cover has nothing particular to do with the book and is just pointless. Other times the cover can be very metaphorical and deep, bringing out a whole new emotion to the novel. The cover for The Great Gatsby isn't really the eye catcher, although the story within it is brilliant! At the end of the day it really doesn't matter what the cover of the book was, as long as you had a good book to read.
FeliksMy supposition is by accepting the book from you, it would have obligated him to read it immediately to return it to you asap. At least that is why, in similar situations, I have also refused to borrow a book strongly recommended. He probably will get around to reading your book, but likely not for some time- he simply has others on the front burner.
If I were you, I would wait a few months and then nonchalantly ask him if he ever got around to reading the book. In that way you will able to satisfy your curiousity as to whether he respected your suggestion. I would not necessarily assume he will order from Amazon to Kindle the novel.
"How important are covers to your decision to read a book?"UNimportant.
David wrote: "...If I hear good reviews about a book, the cover won't stop me from reading it. Although, after having read the book, I begin to judge the cover based on the story. At times I find that the cover has nothing particular to do with the book and is just pointless. Other times the cover can be very metaphorical and deep, bringing out a whole new emotion to the novel..."So you're basically saying that the cover can strike you in one way at first; but then it can impress you in a whole other way too; and that is not excluding a completely separate 'third' possible way; of course its possible too, that even after all that, there might yet be a further, 'fourth' way in which you might appreciate a random book cover. However, that's still not all, there could hypothetically even be yet more instances beyond this, in which the whole matter transpires in some entirely other manner, as far as you're concerned. Its completely up in the air. Nothing is set in stone. You're not quite sure.
Sheeeesh, good answer there, pal. :D
Does this kind of fluctuating, unpredictable variability confront you in more aspects of your existence? My goodness. Maybe you and Dan oughta hang out.
Covers may make me pick up a book, but unless the synopsis is something I am interested in, it has nothing to do with my purchase. I look more at the author, topic and genre then the aesthetics of the cover.
More than the cover, it's the title of a book that's very important to me. An interesting title can always attract you towards the book.
To me? Not very, I suppose. I tend to read a book, and then decide whether I like it or not. The cover and blurb mean nothing; I read the first paragraph, and if I dislike it, then I won't read it.
However, there are certain covers that I like. For example, I am a huge Stephen King fan, and I am working on collecting all of his novels. At the moment a lot of my covers are mismatched, but there is one design/style (by keenan) that I love, so I'm aiming to get all of the books (or at least, all that I can) with that style of cover.
(The same thing goes for the Bret Easton Ellis books, all of which are lined up on my shelf with the same cover design.)
If I read a book and like it, I tend to search out the nicest cover. However, mostly this doesn't matter to me.
However, there are certain covers that I like. For example, I am a huge Stephen King fan, and I am working on collecting all of his novels. At the moment a lot of my covers are mismatched, but there is one design/style (by keenan) that I love, so I'm aiming to get all of the books (or at least, all that I can) with that style of cover.
(The same thing goes for the Bret Easton Ellis books, all of which are lined up on my shelf with the same cover design.)
If I read a book and like it, I tend to search out the nicest cover. However, mostly this doesn't matter to me.
I don't judge a book by it's cover more like I judge a book by it's title. Awesome appealing title = Me reading it.
Strange, absurd, unheard-of, cryptic, inscrutable-- preposterous, ludicrous, beyond the pale, uncommon, really the dizzy limit!
I like book covers but that never plays a big role in choosing the right book. I honestly spend hours deciding which book to read best. I was staring at a bookshelf for 2 hours and pretty much went trough all of the books until I found the right one. (store personnel had already started to glare at me lol)For me, although having creative and beautiful covers is awesome,I never judge a book by its cover, the story is what I am interested in, so just in case I like to go through all of them, but that's just me
This is an interesting thread to me since I am in process of choosing the cover art for my book. I agree the cover art can catch the eye but for me, the title is more important. If it's got a beautiful cover but named something like "Land's Lost Lust" (don't know if that's actually a book, just came off the top of my head. My apologies if it really is), I'd don't think I'd give it a second look. The Great Gatsby's cover is definitely odd but the title would have made me pick up to at least see what it is.
Not much. The decider for me is if I have read the author before and liked him, and of course the story outline. I am glad I joined this forum too because I get a lot of great suggestions I don't think I would have discovered or pursued on my own.
Depending on the book and it's reviews and if a friend recomended it to me,then yes the cover has to catch my attention. Like Cate said,i read the synopsis on the back but for me only if the front cover attracted my attention. Sometimes it's true the front cover can give you a hint or show a little about what is inside the book. Sometimes a covers creativity can give you an idea if the book will be good or boring.
It's funny how sometimes (especially when I view the cover a book on this site) I want to read a book because I think the cover of it makes it look exciting! I don't always think the book cover is particularly important though... it is a great draw I admit.
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