Do you judge a book by it's cover?

[Ronyell]

Most of the time, I judge a book by the summary it has on the back rather than the cover, but if the cover looks interesting enough like , then I might be tempted into buying the book because of how beautiful the cover looks.

[Sandra]

I've been buying a lot of pre-order books from Book Depository lately, and I've realised a lot of them don't have covers yet.

Saying that, if I know a book has 2 covers, say US edition and UK edition, and I have a particular favourite, I have been known to wait 6-8 months for the right cover, especially if its a book I really, really want, as I keep my favourite books and re-read them. Wow, what a long sentence, sorry about that.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

lol, that's not a bad sentence Sandra.

The longest sentence I've ever read was in a book called: The Life of Francis Marion, a Partisan General in the Late War (yeah, yeah, horrible title, right? But it did have some of the most georgous wood cuts you've ever seen.) Published in 1818, I think it was. Anyway, in the very early part of the 1800s.

The sentence ran--I kid you not--for EIGHT PAGES--oh, and there was NO punctuation at all. No commas, colons, nothing. I never did finish reading the book. It was a serious struggle to make it that 8 pages. But like I said--it did have beautiful wood cuts in it.

[Sandra]

That's amazing Ann aka Iftcan, things were obviously different in 1818. Couldn't do that these days. LOL.

[Jennifer]

If I do not know the author, I do judge a book by it's cover - I freely admit it. However, just like a good looking guy that catches my interest - I also want to know if he's intelligent, funny, sarcastic ... I need more than just the looks. So I read the synopsis on the back of the book while also reading the first few pages of the book along with a few of the end pages. Then I make my decision.

[Ronyell]

Jennifer wrote: "If I do not know the author, I do judge a book by it's cover - I freely admit it. However, just like a good looking guy that catches my interest - I also want to know if he's intelligent, funny, s..."

Me too!! If the book sounds interesting in the summary at the back, then I might actually read it!

[Ann]

I do, unfortunately! If I am in a book store looking for something, I scan by the covers. If I find something I like, then I have to look on the inside at the words. Some of them are so small, I just don't like them! However, if someone recommends a book and I don't like the cover or the size of the words, I will still read it.

[Resident Optimist]

I do judge a book by it's cover, despite what people say because if the person who illustrated it wasn't even bothered about making it look "Wow" what does that tell us about the book? We can learn alot about the book from it's cover, atleast.. most of the time anyway

[Jim son of Jim (formerly PhotoJim)]

The problem with that Fahmida is that the author rarely has final say in the cover. From what I understand, it is unusual for the author to have any input on the cover.

[Vicki]

I try not to but I do.

I like simple and clean covers, and prefer cover with no people.

Example:

[Angela]

OCCASIONALLY YES.

I rarely enter a bookstore without knowing what I'm going to buy. But if I end up there and have no idea what to read and there's nothing new from my favourite authors or suggested authors, than I browse. I choose a couple eye catching books, read the back and select the best one.

I prefer paperbacks to hardcover. I greatly dislike covers that have embossed titles with a full length picture of a shirtless man with really long hair flowing in the wind.


Cheesy.


Delicious.

[[deleted user]]

Valerie wrote: "Funny you should ask. I was in a used bookstore two days ago and there was a young (12-13) girl looking for a book with some help (I use the term loosely) from her dad. She discarded every book h..."

If I Stay and The Weight of Silence are both amazing.

[[deleted user]]

I judge a book by its cover in that I'll pick up a book to read simply because the cover is beautiful. However, I don't let an unflattering cover deter me from reading a book if the blurb gets me.

[Jane (PS), Moderator]

I'm with Nairabell. If I want a book (after serious research on Goodreads...) I will go to my online book store and I'll buy the version with the less embarrassing cover (where I have the choice). For example, I COULDN'T buy CF's Dark Secret with the US cover . I had to buy (for an extra $4) the UK version .

I really like the UK versions of the Dark series. When I'm feeling extravagent, I'll pay the extra to get the more appealing covers.

I loved Sara's description - comment #12, of Nalini Singh's Slave to Sensation's book cover! It was so spot on!! It looks like it should be on a box of condoms or personal lubricant! LOL.

[Maggie61]

Sadly, yes I often do. Any book with a cottage type setting, beaches or gorgeous scenery will attract me first. Okay, yes and hot guys. I totally omit areas of the shelves of the bookstores where authors primarily have ugly covers. Acception is of course where someone has recommended a book. I know I am definitely missing out sometimes - I have always omitted all of Phillipa Gregory's books cause they were totally unappealing to me, yet the first one I read of hers had me hooked. However, I still follow the same principal of judging books by their covers.