Judge a Book By It's Cover!

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner)]

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

[Angela]

I am guilty of judging some books by the cover even though I know you should not.

I love the covers of Debbie Macomber's books as they always give you a feeling of a warm place. I also love Thomas Kinkade's book covers because they are his paintings and I love his work.

[AJ]

I often judge the cover before picking it up to read the back and see what the story is about if I'm wandering in a bookstore. Fallen has been the one I keep coming back too, beautiful cover art. [image error]

[Carrie]

I always judge! I almost never read the back. If a book looks good, I buy it.

[Nadia]

I judge a book by its cover. I can't help it! It actually does affect my decision on whether I will buy the book or not.

[Mandy]

It's not that I judge a book by its cover, it's more that certain covers will call me to pick it up and read the back flap. I'm sure I have skipped over many good books because their covers didn't jump out at me.

[Jamie (The Perpetual Page-Turner)]

Mandy Sue, I am exactly the same way as you!

[Karla]

I bought and read Shiver because of the art and the blue ink it was written in. I just wanted it in my library after I saw that.
I really loved the book as well so win for a win there :D

[Jessika]

I'm the same as Mandy Sue...I'm more likely to pick up a book and investigate if the cover catches my eye.

[Renee]

I guess I'm guilty of judging a book by it's cover as well....but, don't you think that is the intent of book cover art? I mean, if we weren't meant to judge the book by it's cover, then they would all be like the books of old, just a name and title on the front. Now, we are drawn in by the covers and expected to judge it on that basis, at least at first. So...the covers I dislike are the over the top romance covers. I mean, I'll read about some bodice-ripping, and enjoy it too, but I don't want a cover with an unrealistic couple almost getting it on and half undressed, on the cover of the book. =)

[Ann]

I must say that 85% of the time I grab the book for it's cover...I may not take it home but I read the preview...if the cover does not stand out I most likely will never take it off the shelf...I thought about this when I chose the cover for 'Where the Sun Sets'...I chose one I felt would grab a readers attention

[Wendy T]

I have to say, most of the books I purchase are from the what the cover looks like. The only books I don't are ones that have been recommended or book club books I need to buy.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

My books now I select from my Goodreads friends reading. I admit, however, that of all the books that run across my computer screen, two things will make me look further: the title and the cover. When I was selecting books by browsing in bookstores, it was usually the cover that would attract my attention, followed by my deciding the title made it worth picking up and inspecting further.

[Cammie]

If the cover is showing I will go by the cover otherwise it would be title or recommendations.

[Emma]

The cover of a book is the first thing that you see so obviously the old adage "dont judge a book by its cover" is rather outdated, gone are the days when all the books didnt really have a nice cover, nowadays the cover is extremely important and can tell you alot about what the story is about.

[Rachelle]

Elizabeth wrote: "My books now I select from my Goodreads friends reading. I admit, however, that of all the books that run across my computer screen, two things will make me look further: the title and the cover. W..."

I am the same way. I have found some incredible books off of my friends list that I wouldn't have picked up under normal day to day browsing through bookstores and libraries.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

I always had a hard time browsing at libraries. One of my all time favorite books is The Read-Aloud Handbook Sixth Edition by Jim Trelease. You young mothers, or mothers to be, would be well-served to pick it up, not because I think you won't read to your child(ren), but because it contains "A Treasury of Read Alouds", which describes books by listening age - and so much more I can barely describe it. Anyway, to the subject here. Mr. Trelease suggests that bookstores are successful because so many books are faced out, so that you can see the cover. Libraries, to conserve space, have books spine out, so that you can only see the title/author.

[Usako]

I admit that I can be lured by a good cover but that isn't the basis of my selections. The vast majority of my TBRs come from recommendations from friends, family and GR.

[SarahSaysRead]

I tend to pick up books that have a pretty or loud cover. When I was working at a bookstore, I kept passing "The Other Boleyn Girl" in the fiction section and kept thinking that the cover was so pretty. Even though I knew nothing about historical fiction, I decided to try it out - and it's now one of my favorite books. Judging by the cover usually works for me!

Of course, now I'm more likely to want to read a specific book because I hear about it on GR or through friends...

[Cindy]

I am the same way Sarah!

[Kathryn]

I cannot help but be drawn to books with appealing covers, but now that I am a goodreads member, I go on what others are recommending and many of them have wonderful covers. I do have a problem if the title has a negative conotation. I will almost always pass those by unless recommended. I work in a quilt store where it is all about what draws your eye, so I'm that way with everything which is why I love this time of year - so much to see!

[Marsha]

I am guilty of judging a book by the size of the font and the layout. If it's got a big font with lots of space between the lines, I usually turn up my nose at it and put it back down.

[Wendy T]

Marsha, I find I'm starting that with especially with the font size and the size of the book. I think it's called age! LOL

[Brittany]

Off the top of my head...

My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult- Only picked up because of the cover and title. First JP read and favorite so far. Got me hooked on the author.

Prep by Curtis Sittenfeld- Picked up just because the belt on the cover was cute. Hated the book, but years later picked up American Wife by CS based on cover (!) and really liked it.

[AngieA]

I pick up books in a book store because of the Title if I don't recognize the author. Then I read the jacket flap or back cover to get an idea about what's inside. If it doesn't hook me, I put it down. I will buy a book recommended by a friend no matter what the cover looks like. Case in point; I would not have read The Kite Runner if it had not been recommended by someone I trusted and I liked it very much.

[Rebecca]

No, I judge by the back of the book description usually. Some of the prettiest one are for Kristin Hannah's books.

[Emily]

I have a lot of trouble picking up books that have photos (not paintings or drawings) of sexy women on the cover, because I assume the book will be a bit trashy. Or anything that has a glossy, over exposed photo, really. I'm trying to think of a counter-example, but I'm having a hard time at the moment.

[Vicki]

I think this has shifted for me. I had a few gift certificates and as I was wandering through the book store,it was definitely the covers that drew me to the books. But since I have been a part of goodreads, I think the covers are secondary to title and recommendations, because that is what I see first now. Plus I do a lot more online shopping and I find I am scrolling for the descriptions. I miss wandering book stores though.

[[deleted user]]

I love covers and often pick up or click on covers that catch my eye. Then I read a couple of pages or the sample of an ebook, and decide from there.

Here's an early example of the trend to use photos of real people leaving faces out. I really liked it - and the book too!

[Valerie]

I'm very much a visual person so I totally admit to judging a book by it's cover- especially when I only have a limited time to browse my bookstore. If the cover catches my eye, I'll stop to check it out. If not, I just keep moving on.

The worst for me, though, is seeing some of my favorite books have a horrible cover. It just kills me when the cover doesn't do the book justice!

[Lois]

What a great topic!

When I'm just browsing in a bookstore, I'm attracted by a combination of the cover and the title, but I think primarily the title has to catch my imagination.

I love it when I have a specific book in mind and it just serendipitously has a great cover.

One of my favorites is the cover on The Red Tent. The whole body language of the woman on the cover so reflected Dinah's life. This is one of the few where I checked the back of the book to find out who did the cover art (it was painted by Honi Werner, who has painted covers for a number of other books as well).

Another favorite is the cover of Dancing in the Streets A History of Collective Joy. This one turns out to be from a 16th Century painting by Brueghel the Elder.

But there are so many wonderful covers that I could go on and on...

[Christy]

Like so many others have mentioned, when I am browsing in a bookstore I tend to read descriptions on books who's covers catch my eye.

I also agree that I hate it when a good book has a terrible cover. I can think of one book with a truly awful cover that I never would have picked up at a bookstore, but read on the recommendation of a friend. It's now one of my favorite books.



Quite an eyesore if you ask me!

[Sheila , Supporting Chick]

Wow Christy, not only does that book have a horrible cover, it has a horrible title too! That is one I never would have even picked up at a bookstore! Amazing that it has sold at all. :o)

[Marsha]

I'd forgotten that I read that book, but I really liked it too. I have no idea why I picked it up -- probably read a good review. The title really does sound like a textbook.