Sunday, January 6, 2008

Do you judge books by their covers?

That's a good question: Do you judge books by their covers? I do. I think most of us do. Look at these two covers, one from the paperback edition and one from the hardback edition, and decide which cover appeals to you. Do that before reading on.

. . .

Now go read what Stephanie of The Written Word said about these covers in a post she called Don't Judge a Book. And if that was interesting to you, take a look at Rekya's Bookshelf, which is a blog all about book covers.

Now, tell me, what's your opinion of book covers? How much do they affect you and your choice of whether or not to buy a particular book? If I have a choice of covers, I am willing to pay a bit more to get the cover that I prefer. Have you ever done that?
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May 13, 2008 UPDATE: B&N has a video about The Five Rules of Good Book Cover Design.

7 comments:

CJ said...

Can't say I've ever paid more just for a cover I like.

But, the cover for the novel Sinner definitely caught my eye and I bought the book almost solely based on that.

Beyond that, I can't say I've given covers that much thought. I prefer hard cover for my favorite authors and that's how I usually decide about covers.

cjh

Anonymous said...

A book cover is like a face. It makes a first impression. I do like on that will draw me in. My husband always takes the paper cover off hard cover books and it irritates me because I like to look at the pictures and identify instantly which book I am picking up.

Ladytink_534 said...

I have to admit, I'm one of the ones who will judge a book by it's cover but only if I've never heard anything about the book or author. For example, I won a book I had never even heard of called Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami and I'm looking forward to seeing what it's about because of the interesting cover that has lots of different shapes and colors on it. I've also found I like books with a different feel to them too and the ones where the pages aren't all one length.

I won't buy a book I don't know anything about, I'd much rather head over to the library and check it out. I've found that I only buy books by authors I love.

I'm one of the people who like bargains so you won't ever catch me buying a book just for it's cover, especially if I can find it cheaper somewhere else!

(I like the one with the oars best)

Harlot said...

I always judge, judgmental Harlot that i am, heh. I think cover art is one of the most influential aspects of a book. The story might be uber fantastic but what would you think if a cover features a half naked man groping a buxom blonde doll on a legless horse?

My point exactly. ;)

Anonymous said...

I still really like the one with the oars (and as I said in my post, am a total sucker for good book design).
Stephanie
www.thewrittenword.wordpress.com

Kerry said...

I have to admit that he one with the legs caught my eye first, but it didn't keep my attention. The one with the oars did that.

The legs seem to suggest a book without much content that won't hold you, while the other one does exactly the opposite.

(Hope that makes sense.)

Jennifer said...

Chris (my bf) and I talk about it every time we find a book we might want at Costco or even if it's the only cover available on a book at B&N. We both really hate the shiny movie covers they put on paperbacks with the actors and movie scenes on them when a book is made into a movie.