Do you judge a book by its cover?

Missus Akasha · Apr 1, 2012

True story:

I was hanging out at the mall with my friends and decided to walk over to the bookstore to check out the YA genre section. I'll admit, it had been a few months since I had went to a bookstore, so I wanted to see which new PNR releases to put on my wishlist. The moment I walked over there, I was bombarded with a sea of book covers with pale-skinned girls wearing prom dresses standing around passively in gloomy backgrounds and pale-skinned girls who appeared to be dead.

Even one of my friends, who was looking at the books with me, asked, "Is it prom season or something?"

Nearly all of them looked the same, so I decided to read the summaries of them to understand what the stories was actually about. From what I gather of the summaries, the plots of the stories had nothing to do with the book cover.

Granted, I don't know what's inside of the books that could point to a connection with the book cover. But does this truly appeal to YA readers now? I'll admit the prom dresses are pretty, but that isn't a sale point for me personally (maybe because I never went to prom). The dead-looking girl book covers were kind of interesting to me, but the trend itself kind of scares me (reminds me of YA rape culture).

In the end, neither the book covers or the books' plot appealed me enough to purchase them, but I have to ask, do you judge (even a little) books by their covers?

Sage · Apr 1, 2012

A gorgeous or intriguing cover will make me check out a book I might never have looked at. If it sounds at all interesting, I'll probably get it to have that cover on my shelf.

A horrible cover will probably make me judge a book a little more harshly, but since I listen to audiobooks, get library books, and read things on my Kindle, it's not necessarily a deterrent.

An average cover just makes a book not stand out compared to the others. These prom-dress book publishers probably thought they'd make an impression, but now it's all just the same, right?

And I've seen some blog posts about the white girl in a fancy dress book covers, so you're not alone in noticing them.

Elysium · Apr 1, 2012

I try not to judge a book by the cover because there are a lot of good books out there that don't really have impressive covers. I'm a sucker for pretty covers, so I do have a lot of books we extremely gorgeous covers but the whole 'white girl in pretty dress' theme is getting pretty old. I mean, I like pretty dresses and all but the lack of POCs on book covers is a little disheartening.

(And I've used the word 'cover' a little too much in this post haha)

WackAMole · Apr 1, 2012

I try not to judge by a cover but I have to admit I find myself drawn to a great one.

It kind of unfortunate that some good reads get passed by simply because the cover is 'bleh'. It's equally as unfortunate that there are some really crappy books with fantastic cover art.

totopink · Apr 1, 2012

If a book has a person on the cover, I tend not to pick it up. Most of my book collection the covers will have some kind of symbol on it (think how the Twilight book covers look as an example). I just don't like being told what the character looks like by putting them on the cover.

Unless I've heard good things about it, I will probably just brush past books with real people on the covers. Meh.

Torgo · Apr 1, 2012

Everyone does to some extent; it's unavoidable. Unless you're a mythological beast - the book buyer who reads the back of every single book in the store - your first filter is the visual one that determines which books you pick up.

It's not a lot odder than relying on your second filter, the back cover copy, which also may be formulaic and only tenuously related to the contents.

warofthesparks · Apr 1, 2012

I admit to judging books by the covers. But for some strange reason, it's not the cover only. I also judge by the title. If the title's horrible, I won't even bother picking the book up.

night-flyer · Apr 1, 2012

I don't necessarily judge the book by it's cover, but I may never notice or pick up one that has a plain or crappy cover unless I've already heard of it and know it's a good book.

The cover is what draws the person's attention usually, for me anyway. But I won't buy a book just because it has a great cover, nor will I turn down buying one that has a bad cover. It's the content that matters.

Toothpaste · Apr 1, 2012

It's hard not to, I know I am cover obsessed and love a well designed cover. But I do think as people who have a bit more insight into the publication process than the layman, we do owe it to our fellow writers to attempt to look beyond the cover. It isn't easy, and it goes against instinct sometimes, but knowing how little say an author has over her cover, and knowing people who's book's truly failed to sell due to simply a really terrible cover, I try my hardest to look past them.

That being said, here's an interesting blog post from Shelf Talker at Publisher's Weekly about Girls in Gowns fatigue: http://blogs.publishersweekly.com/blogs/shelftalker/?p=6841

And here's a more analytical blog about the trend of having dead like girls on the cover: http://trac-changes.blogspot.ca/2011/10/cover-trends-in-ya-fiction-why.html

missesdash · Apr 1, 2012

Definitely. After that of purse read the back to see what the book is about. And not just cover, but just an attractive book (like Octavian Nothing). If the cover is ugly I don't even pick it up. The thing is that I have a really wide range of interests. So if I didn't weed books out by the cover, I'd end up spending days in the book store as I read the summary of every single book on the shelf.

So I generally go with font, title and cover. I don't mind the pale girl in a dress if it's a pretty cover. I think SHATTER ME is pretty eh, while FURY is gorgeous.

Colossus · Apr 1, 2012

With the sea of vampire novels covering the shelves like kudzu, it's hard to not want to dismiss books based on the "cookie cutter" covers they display.
I have found that just reading the rear cover makes the difference for me. What looks like another "girl meets undead" book may be something completely different. I realize it takes longer, but these publishers wouldn't put the book out if they believed the cover would be lost in a sea of anonymity.

To be honest, this works best for movie jackets. I have learned that if the "warning flag" words of: "heart-warming", "touching", or "powerful" are in the description then it means I had best leave it on the shelf.

auriel · Apr 1, 2012

I'm drawn to good ones, but not repulsed by bad ones. Unless the title or cover is very cheesy and unprofessional, I'll still pick it up to read the synopsis. Since I work in a library and don't need to buy new books (unless I read and love them), I'll take more of a chance on ones without great covers as long as it appears interesting.

More often than not, though, the books with the most beautiful covers - the ones that I'm most excited to read - are disappointing. So I guess I'm now more wary of the ultra-gorgeous covers because they have tended to contain books that aren't as gorgeous.

Polenth · Apr 1, 2012

If I'm browsing in a bookshop for new authors, the cover matters. I'm going to pick a book that stands out. If everyone's pale, dead and in a dress, it won't be those. An average but unique cover stands out more than a pretty but samey cover.

But very few of my books come from the random method. I usually have an idea what sort of books I'm looking for at the moment, so I keep an eye out for people mentioning books that fit and go searching book sites for them. The cover has no relevance at that point.

bethany · Apr 1, 2012

With Barnes and Noble as the only major bookstore, publishers are likely to pander to the buyer there, and you can tell what the buyer likes/is selling by looking at the shelves. My only concern with my cover (which you will see is the first book on the shelf-talker article) was that it might not be attractive to boys, since the book has a strong adventure sub-plot. But, as the cover developed, and since I've seen the final edition, complete with foil lettering and shiny background, I'm certainly not complaining.

Chazemataz · Apr 1, 2012

I usually like books with bold, dark and intriguing covers. However, I stopped picking books by their covers after reading Fallen by Lauren Kate, which was the absolute worst novel I have ever read in my entire life without a close second.

Missus Akasha · Apr 1, 2012

bethany said:
With Barnes and Noble as the only major bookstore, publishers are likely to pander to the buyer there, and you can tell what the buyer likes/is selling by looking at the shelves. My only concern with my cover (which you will see is the first book on the shelf-talker article) was that it might not be attractive to boys, since the book has a strong adventure sub-plot. But, as the cover developed, and since I've seen the final edition, complete with foil lettering and shiny background, I'm certainly not complaining.

I think book cover judging typically occurs when a reader has never read material from that author before. I have read your other novel and loved it. Because I really like your reading, I wouldn't hesitate to purchase your new book. It being inspired by Poe's work is another plus.

But if I hadn't read your previous work at all, I'd have to be honest and most likely say, I'd most likely miss out on your book because it would be lost in a sea of book covers that look awfully similar. I know authors have little to no say in their book covers and I find that to be absolute shame. If I ever were to get published, I wouldn't know what to do with myself if I didn't have a say in my book covers because I am a graphic designer and I've been designing my book covers for the longest time.

Also, thanks Toothpaste for those articles. They were very interesting to read.

All in all, it's not that I don't like book covers with girls in dresses or girls who appear to be dead, it's just that where is the uniqueness of the book cover that makes it stands out? I really like symbolic book covers (think Twilight and Hunger Games) that don't have people on them because it leaves the character's appearance to the reader's imagination.

LadyA · Apr 1, 2012

It's awful, but I totally judge books by their covers. Anything paranormal gets skimmed past (except for maybe ghost books), I rarely pick up anything girly/glittery/with a shoe or handbag on the cover, and dystopian gets skipped past too. I know it's awful, but I'm a really fussy reader and in the 150-or-so YA books in my local WHSmith, I might find two or three I like. So I'm an anomaly. But I have been known to buy a book for its cover, or disregard a book without even glancing at its back, just because the cover is off-putting.
In the UK, there aren't as many older YA books (avg. age protag is about 15, I'd say) so the books are quite often packaged/aimed at a younger audience. What I wouldn't give for one of these fabulous US libraries I hear about on here

BlossomQueen · Apr 1, 2012

I do gravitate towards good-looking covers, but usually I go by title and back-cover (meaning if the title is intriguing enough I may pick it up and give the back/front cover a look-see).

GingerGunlock · Apr 1, 2012

Covers + titles are what make me pick a book up in the first place.

It's my personal rule to not read the synopsis, though, be it on the back of the book or the inside of the jacket; too often, they give away information I would have preferred to learn while reading. I read the first page or so (if I can even stand it).

Mandiloo322 · Apr 1, 2012

warofthesparks said:
I admit to judging books by the covers. But for some strange reason, it's not the cover only. I also judge by the title. If the title's horrible, I won't even bother picking the book up.

This! I will deal with very mediocre prose if the title is good. I am horrible at coming up with titles, and for this reason I feel I owe the author more of my time if they come up with a good one.

auriel said:
I'm drawn to good ones, but not repulsed by bad ones. Unless the title or cover is very cheesy and unprofessional, I'll still pick it up to read the synopsis.
...

More often than not, though, the books with the most beautiful covers - the ones that I'm most excited to read - are disappointing.

This is me as well - I love the covers for the Twilight series (definitely disappointing reads) and for the Hunger Games (which, by the third one, also disappointed me). Sometimes I feel guilty if books are re-released with better covers, such as Sabriel, Chalice, or Memoirs of a Geisha, because I love the story anyway, it shouldn't matter what it looks like, but somehow the prettier one ends up on my bookshelf.

kuwisdelu · Apr 1, 2012

Torgo said:
Everyone does to some extent; it's unavoidable. Unless you're a mythological beast - the book buyer who reads the back of every single book in the store - your first filter is the visual one that determines which books you pick up.

It's not a lot odder than relying on your second filter, the back cover copy, which also may be formulaic and only tenuously related to the contents.

I'm a mythological creature.

It's been years since I've picked up a book by browsing a shelf, and even when I did, what I tended to filter by was title, not by cover. I'm confused when you say the cover is the first filter? Wouldn't it be the title? Most books are not shelved to show the cover unless you're lucky.

Even when I still looked for books via shelves at a bookstore, what I more often ended up doing was picking up one of my favorite books that I'd already read and looked at the author who wrote the foreword, the authors who gave blurbs, or the other authors to whom reviewers compared the author.

Then I'd go and look for those authors. If their style and content seemed intriguing and like what I liked, but didn't quite hook me, I'd do the same thing with the reviews and blurbs at the beginning of their books, and keep going until I found something I liked.

Cover never really made a difference to me.

I still use the same basic technique to find books, but now I can do it via the internet rather than only rely on the blurbs and quotes that made it into the book.

Whenever these discussions come up, I wonder if I really am a mythological beast.

Covers don't really matter to me. If they were more like cover art in the music industry, maybe I'd care a little more. But in fiction, there isn't even any guarantee a future reprint will yield the same cover art anyway, which I've always thought kind of makes it obvious how unimportant it is.

Drachen Jager · Apr 1, 2012

Depends on the cover.

lolchemist · Apr 1, 2012

LOL, you have to be talking about this one, right? The cover is some girl in a poofy dress who seems to be storming fiercely down some runway. The book itself is about some weakling creampuff who spends the entire book whining, crying and blithering over a cute boy.

I LOVE pretty covers, but I hate it when the covers end up being inaccurate.

huu · Apr 1, 2012

If it's an e-book, then I tend not to pay attention to the covers simply because it's easy to just click for a sample.

If I'm in a physical bookstore though, then I tend to "art-gaze" a lot more.

The_Ink_Goddess · Apr 1, 2012

Ish. But more by their title.

Do you judge a book by its cover?

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