Judge a Book By Its Cover..

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner), The Founding Bookworm]

Do you ever judge a book by its cover? What are some of the coolest, weirdest, prettiest, or interesting book covers you have encountered?

[Emily]

I'm definitely more likely to notice a book on a shelf if it has a cool cover or a great title. I'm not going to leave a book that I want to read because the cover sucks, but if I' don't know what I'm looking for and I'm just browsing, a good cover can go a long way towards making me notice it.
Here are some I like.

The Music of Dolphins


Rant


The Sign of the Seahorse


Anamalia


The Children of Hurin


Dinotopia

[Kayla]

I tend to be more drawn to books with good covers. If there are two editions out of the same book, I'll buy the book with the better cover, even if it's more expensive.

Some covers I like are:

Winter's Tale


The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test


Abarat

[Lori]

If I'm just wandering aimlessly through the aisles, I'll notice books with interesting titles and covers. If I'm looking for something specific, I don't let the cover discourage me from buying. But if there are a couple of editions I'll pick the one whose cover I like better.

[Katerina]

Alot of times I have specific books I am buying but occasionally I will pick up a book because it's cover and buy it or borrow it from the library.

Some covers I like:

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner), The Founding Bookworm]

I'm like most of you..I'm usually picking up a specific book up and I'll pick the cover I like best. I remember when I was younger though..I would always be drawn to covers and that is how I would pick them..unless their description on the back sounded horrible.

[Tami]

Don't read the synopsis of the Hunger Games. Just read the book! :)

[Kristen]

I'm naturally drawn to older books, so if it's cloth bound....I'm such a sucker for them.

[Kelly A.]

When I was younger (thirteen or fourteen) and I was picking books out at the library, I would choose them based on how pretty/colorful/creative the spines were. I guess it is ironic today that the majority of my favorite books have ugly spines :)

[Jana at ThatArtsyReaderGirl.com]

I'm a graphic designer, so I judge EVERYTHING that deals with graphics. lol. I do judge books by their covers. I love romance books, but if the cover makes me hide inside myself, I won't even pick it up.

I think the Sookie Sackhouse novels by Charlaine Harris are ugly! Man!

With Every Breath by Lynn Kurland is pretty:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/2...

The Hourglass Door by Lisa Mangum has great typography and I love the image.
http://www.goodreads.com/book/photo/6...

Sailing to Capri by Elizabeth Adler:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/75...

This Ice series by Anne Stuart all have pretty nice covers too.

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner), The Founding Bookworm]

Since the College Students blog just did a Top Ten list of favorite covers, I thought it would be fitting to bring this topic back up. What are some of yours?

www.brokeandbookish.blogspot.com

[Richard]

I must say, I'm definitely guilty of judging a book by it's cover. But I always read some of it to make sure I'm not blindly buying the book....unless it's at the dollar tree, in which case I go nuts...

[M]

Actually it is the title that catches my eye and not the cover. I never intentionally pick a book based on it's cover, since I mainly stick to non-fiction but I do like simple yet attractive covers.

I love witty titles the most, and usually witty titles have nice covers.

[Samantha]

I really like this Fight Club cover. It might not come off online,but I thought the shiny soap bubble effect was really cool.

[Alicia]

I really like the Invisibe Monsters cover with it's play on the pretty famous optical illusion.

[Max]

I love the cover of Invisible Monsters too, Alicia. Chuck Palahniuk's covers are generally pretty interesting/nice in general, but that's probably one of his best.

Also, I'm definitely guilty of judging a book by its cover... which is bad, yes, but I can't help it.

Some of my favorite covers:











In general I'm a fan of simplicity, bright colors, and/or beautiful artsy covers.

[Samantha]

Ooh, I love the Catcher in the Rye cover. I saw a t-shirt with it and really want it, though I'm worried it would just start debates with all the people that hated the book. Here's the site with the shirt and a bunch of other cool book shirts if anyone's curious: http://www.outofprintclothing.com/Sho...

[Irene]

Yes, I do judge a book by it's cover. One of the things I like about browsing a bookstore is the book covers. Since I've switched to mostly ebooks, I miss book covers. But, I like books with a romance side to them and I have recently read a book, I would never have bought in "real" life. The books with the beef cake chest on the cover just shout at me "I'm made for teenage girls" "Grown up women don't read me" What do you want to be seen in the doctor's office reading- something with beef cake chest on the cover or ?

[Max]

I feel like a lot of us miss out on books we'd normally really enjoy because of ugly covers. At least I know I do.

Samantha wrote: "Ooh, I love the Catcher in the Rye cover. I saw a t-shirt with it and really want it, though I'm worried it would just start debates with all the people that hated the book. Here's the site with th..."

I love those t-shirts, all of them! Thanks Samantha. (Part of that thanks is sarcastic, by the way, as in 'Thanks a lot for giving me more book-related things to spend all of my money on.) ;)

[Emily]

Lori wrote: "If I'm looking for something specific, I don't let the cover discourage me from buying. But if there are a couple of editions I'll pick the one whose cover I like better. "

I do that all the time, even if I'm just checking a book out of the library. I always pick the really old awesome looking ones instead of the wimpy new paperbacks.

I also try to avoid covers that might be embarrassing. For example, I read a lot of "literary science fiction," but I hate the really trashy sci-fi that give the genre a bad name. If I can choose between a sophisticated cover and one that looks like your stereotypical trashy sci-fi book, which one am I going to pick?

[Tami]

Wierd off the wall question, but here goes. Does anyone know when they release a book with the movie poster as its cover to coincide with the movie coming out, does the story stay the same as the original release of the book or does it follow the movie?

[Lori]

The story stays the same as the original release instead of following the movie. My best example would be The Notebook.

[Tami]

Thanks, I would think it would, but since movies are so different from the books in a lot of cases, I wouldn't be suprised if people were mad that the book was "wrong". :)

[Lori]

I completely understand. I would be pretty upset if they started changing books to make them like the movies.

[Caleigh Rose]

I usually pick the books that look "earthy" or have bright color, and the title always helps if it's interesting too.