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Does a Good Book Cover -Make you want to read it?
Book cover buying, or as I call it "oooh, shiny!", has led me to purchase books/series I'd never heard of that I ended up actually enjoying.
The Night Angel trilogy comes to mind. I saw it at the store and just purchased it on impulse because of the cover, and it's not even a great cover all things considered.
The Night Angel trilogy comes to mind. I saw it at the store and just purchased it on impulse because of the cover, and it's not even a great cover all things considered.
Ive done that a lot of times but,I usually just go to my local book cafe and just pick/check out the books with the least interesting cover and try to see if there writing is better then there design cover.Which half of the time , the writing is pretty decent or on a really good day i found a gem,but there other times that everything is hard slam worthy .Then there those covers that have nothing to do with the book itself strangely enough , that's about 20% of the stuff I read so it just becomes novel art:/.
I was just thinking, on the opposite side of the spectrum, when it comes to books I've been looking forward to by Authors I enjoy, I don't even look at or remember the cover art...
Yep that is odd and it could sometimes be a really cool one..But there is one, I remember clearly cover wise is James Axler "Deathlands" covers that stake with me well others just fade away... it's pretty weird
When parsing through a lot of information, anything that makes something stand out helps. So, it's not like I'll buy a book just because of a cover, a good cover may catch my eye and cause me to take a closer look at it. At that point, it's up to a writing sample, blurb, and reviews to convince me to complete the purchase.
But sometimes those very review's lie and or creates hype thats to big for that author,reach brings disappointment to those people that listen to these high reviews on the said book cover.Which to me is convoluted an a effect,but at the same time it's needed to create a fan base and that i understand.
I very rarely browse for books (it's overwhelming!) so a cover isn't likely to sway my opinion. My purchases are generally premeditated, based on recomendations and reviews.The cover may influence the decision to display a book, however.
If I am just blindly browsing (which I, admittedly, rarely do - I research a lot before I make most of my purchases, and even at the store, most of the authors on the shelves are ones I have at least a passing familiarity with), then a good cover is at least more likely to get me to pick it up, although not necessarily buy it. Still, picking it out of hundreds to at least read the back cover of is more than most get, eh?
At first glance, a good-looking cover helps to bring your attention to it. Then you are probably going to find out what the book is about and so on. But a cover that catches your eye is the first step to making the reader interested in it.
Forgot to mention...As an example, I had never given Sookie Stackhouse series a second glance until the books were released with the TV Series cover.
They were horribly unattractive before and even though I love vampire stories, I had a big "to-read" list and Sookie was nowhere near the top priority ones.
I am ashamed to admit it, but yes. A good looking book cover will make me want to buy it... And I have done so in the past.
I've done that before, too. I try to be smarter about it but sometimes I'm like "oooh, shiny!"
I wish the kept the original SoIaF covers (both U.K. and U.S.), those are ten times better than the reprints. Also the same with the U.K. reprints of the Robin Hobb books. The cool covers on those books make me love the book more, feel like I am right within the book.
A nice cover certainly helps to draw my attention, but for the actual purchase I base myself more on the idea/concept/synopsis and stuff I've read about it on various places on the web.I have to admit though that I'm really tempted to buy
even though I'm a bit 'meh' on the concept. That cover is GORGEOUS.
it is pretty sweet.
I'm less inclined to judge whether or not I will read a book based on the cover if it is fantasy or sci-fi. General fiction/literature, however, and frequently non-fiction, I have found original covers a pretty reliable guide, when I have picked up something about which I know nothing.
As a counterexample, I find the cover art for the Wheel of Time series to be pretty crude. I still devoured the contents, though.
I don't really care about the cover art, but that mostly because I order most of my books, or just ramble through bookstores and buy everything I see that I've heard good reviews about.
But there is the problem of buying a crap hidden book when looking only at review's>
I do not judge a book by it's cover and I don't read the reviews in the back since most of them are out of context. But, when I buy a book and there a multiple editions, I'll take the hardcover one with the nicest cover!
I'm a book collector. I'm quite snobbish about purchasing first edition hardcovers but the one variable I'll allow myself is the coverart. If a book is published in multiple countries (generally US vs UK) I'll purchase the book that has the more appealing coverart. I'm a bit of a wannabe artist so I tend to keep up with who is doing the coverarts. I don't "judge a book by it's cover" per se, but I do like a novel to be aesthetically pleasing. It turns my stomach when a good author is subjected to poor artwork. I also feel it a shame when a publisher chooses poor printing material. TOR, my fav publisher, recently started using a very delicate thin make of paper (for example in their new novel The Unremembered which I despise. It's not something that would bother many readers I suppose but when you're hoping to keep a book for 50 years it's a bit annoying :)
The Dread Pirate Grant wrote: "I'm a book collector. I'm quite snobbish about purchasing first edition hardcovers but the one variable I'll allow myself is the coverart. If a book is published in multiple countries (generally US..."If you want to keep your books, don't buy the paperback, they use an acid paper so the pages will turn yellow and start decomposing. I want to collect books too, but the ones I want are too expensive (but I have a few from 19th century and early 20th).
I generally don't purchase paperbacks unless I'm traveling somewhere and need something for a flight. ;) thanks for the heads up tho
So was the book that bad Grant? or was it just not your taste...Because i was looking forward to that book after seeing what it's about and to me the art is pretty well done by if your dislike sometime and have to look at it for years to come it does get a little nerve racking.
Oh no I was speaking strictly in terms of purchasing/collecting, Savion. I thoroughly enjoyed the actual novel. Mind you, I would never Not buy or read a book based on something as silly as coverart. I definitely recommend The Unremembered
I generally don't buy a book because of its cover, but I have done this. lol. Sometimes the art is just too damn good. Usually what I do is read the back first, see if it's something I'll actually like. But sometimes I'm like, "Damn... that's shinny!"
Kevin wrote: "I wish the kept the original SoIaF covers (both U.K. and U.S.), those are ten times better than the reprints. Also the same with the U.K. reprints of the Robin Hobb books. The cool covers on those ..."I totally agree with you, Kevin! I wish they kept those ASoIaF book covers too. They were awesome!
Jason wrote: "I generally don't buy a book because of its cover, but I have done this. lol. Sometimes the art is just too damn good. Usually what I do is read the back first, see if it's something I'll actually ..."Me, too. Soooo pretty...
Jason wrote: "Kevin wrote: "I wish the kept the original SoIaF covers (both U.K. and U.S.), those are ten times better than the reprints. Also the same with the U.K. reprints of the Robin Hobb books. The cool co..."I especially loved A Feast of Crown's original cover with Jamie that was on the inside cover the first three right before it came out/change all the covers.
Well, the original covers for Harry Dresden done by Lee MacLeod made me enjoy the books a lot more. They were unique to me, and the cover were a little unusual, not like most fantasy in that they did not focus only on characters, especially the main characters, but a settling in the book that Harry visited to solve the mystery.
I think The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox
has the most beautiful cover art I've seen so far. It's super expensive to get ahold of and I still ended up buying it.
I also found the first two covers of Mistborn a little strange. I felt like the artist, Jon Foster did not draw Vin as a girl, especially for the mass paperback version, the same could be said for the Wells of Ascension in hardcover, I think he draws the Vin right on as I imaged her in my head, it helps when I read it, but he did better for the Hero of Ages. I loved Chris McGrath, but the only problem I have with it is that he is credited on the back cover as Christian on the back cover of all three books.
I loathed Mistborn. But paradoxically I also enjoyed it at the same time. The cover art on my edition isn't that great though I've seen the hardcover for Hero of Ages and it looks good.
I want to read a book sometimes just because it has the same cover as another book. I just wonder why publishers think they can get away with that, and why they did that in the first place. Maybe it helps keep me wondering so the book would catch my eyes better so I would read it. There are two examples that I can think of the top of my head, Lifelode by Jon Walton
, which has the same cover as Brandon Sanderson's first novel, Elantris
, but only focusing on the girl? Then the other one is Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Fall of Atlantis where most of mass paperback has the same cover as the Silmarillion by Tolkien.
, and
I liked the hardcover art for Mistborn.
I think I'm a little biased because I wasn't pleased with the characters.
I admit I do judge books by their covers when I'm just browsing. I tend to steer clear of fantasy books with overly pumped men and scantily clad women on the covers because I assume they'll be cheesy. However, if someone I trust gives a recommendation, I'll look past the cover. On the flip side, a beautiful or intriguing cover will make me at least pick up the book and read the back.
Whilst cover art is not the defining factor in choice it does have an effect, when considering books by authors I have not read before more so. If the cover looks interesting I'm more likely to pick it up and read the blurb and a few pages at least. Poorly designed or what appears to be just thoughtless or bad cover art turns me off in a big way, whilst I know the author doesn't have as big of a say as they should alot of the time. Poor cover makes me lower my appreciation for the work. When i have the time to peruse at length it has less effect and I'll still have a proper look despite the bad artwork but when pressed for time... sad to say the prettiest lookers get the most attention.
*awards Jacen a gold star for using whilst in a sentence*
Your right most people don't no that word existent.Whilst the majority never forget words like crap.
I always enjoy seeing a nice turn of phrase. Proper grammar sometimes seems like a forgotten art. I blame texting and Facebook.
Milo wrote: "I think The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox has the most beautiful cover art I've seen so far. It's super expensive to get ..."You're right...that IS expensive!
A nice cover can cause me to pick up a book but I might not read it. More likely in my experience an ugly cover keeps me from reading a good book because I won't pick it up.
Bad covers are more likely to turn me off than good ones are to convince me to buy something.One thing that bugs me are overused cover art trends (for example, those urban fantasy "ass-in-leather-pants" covers). I guess they do it because it hopefully reminds you of other books in the same subgenre that you enjoyed, but it can sometimes have the opposite effect on me when I'm browsing. I think "oh, another one of those" and my eyes just keep wandering.
Or if the first book that I read with a popular cover style turns out to be something I didn't care for, then I catch myself looking right past books with similar art.
I hate it when bad covers happen to good writers.
Fantasy Aficionados
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Iron Kissed (other topics)
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This little thing has puzzled me for while now-but,since this site is pretty active and full of book head's.I deiced that this was the best place, here the general question..So when you go to your local book store or online store provider (Kindle,Nook..etc)
Do you guys look at the cover art,plus the reviews that hype it to be, well awesome and does that make you want that book more or to at least putting it in your "To-Read Shelf"?
Or do you really just care more about whether the writing that lay's inside it is actually and ready don't pay much attention to the hype and said cover art?
Oh can you really judge a book by it's cover?