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Judge a book by its cover


Michelle

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I generally not judge a book by it's nice cover, as I've found that, even though the nice covers gets you to pick up a book and flick through it, often they have very little to do with the book. I have many books that I still don't know why on earth they have that particular cover. :D

I am attracted to book titles however.. a gripping title gets me looking at the book sooner.. but I judge my book by the back print mostly, if I already have my eyes on that particular book.

What I do a lot, is read reviews. On the site of my online shop, on this forum now, on other book sites. I don't go for the opinion, I want to know the why, so I can tell if I'll like it. I stick to just a few genres mostly too. Authors I know, well some always get the benefit of the doubt. Laurell Hamilton (even though her books often are so not well-written), Anne Rice up till the Christian stuff. But even my favourite authors have books I don't care about, so I don't automatically buy it.

 

Though honestly, if I had a bigger budget to buy books, I would definitely be less picky. :D

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For me, it varies. I've heard a lot of well-known titles and famous authors and if that's the case, I'm willing to try the book no matter what the cover looks like and it doesn't matter whether the book has a synopsis on the back or not.

 

I do judge a book by it's author if I've read anything by the person before - of course - but if the author is completely new to me, I judge by the story line or recommendations. If it's something I see on a shelf and I have never heard of, I must admit - the cover attracts me. :)

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For me, a book needs an interesting cover, or, to at least reflect a little in it's clothing, what it offers inside. Dull covers do not please me, especially if there is a wonderful tale wanting to make contact with a passing reader. It is unfair.

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I once bought a book in the airport that I saw in the "Recommended Reads" section of WH Smith. It was called Tourism and it had a very revealing picture of a lady's chest in an almost-transparent top. It wasn't necessarily the picture that attracted me to the book (I'm a girl, fyi) but the sort of quiet thrill of buying a book with clearly visible boobies on the front! Haha, I am an idiot.

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It's totally irrational, but I do love a nice cover. It will draw me to a book or repel me.

 

I hate the movie/TV tie-in covers, though I probably would buy the Colin Firth wet shirt cover for P&P .. if it existed.

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The covers on paperbacks don't bother me too much one way or another (although it irritates me when publishers keep changing the design of covers throughout a series as it spoils the way they look on my shelf!). But if I am having trouble choosing between two Folio Society books, I sometimes make my final decision on how good the spine looks.

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What I hate about covers, to the point where I'll go buy another version for the next book in a series, is if the cover art has NOTHING to do with the contents. Like, having a character that doesn't resemble the descriptions in the book or something, so that clearly the artist hasn't read the book. :D

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I hate to say it but most times I judge a book by its cover first and then if I cannot even get through the description on the back or inside cover, I put it down. Usually the description tells me yes or no, because by the first few sentences I'll either have zoned out or be really interested. If I am really interested, Ill start to read the first few pages.. and then If I want to continue reading, I'll buy it.

 

I have a rule for my self now though, I must finish one book before buying another. I cannot always guarantee my self that I will want to be reading the same type of book after I'm finished, or same author even. So I allow my self to look, read a few pages, and still wait. This way I don't spend a ton of money on a book, I end up not even wanting to read, even though I was really into it not even a week ago.

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I have a rule for my self now though, I must finish one book before buying another. So I allow my self to look, read a few pages, and still wait.

My goodness, you do have discipline! :D I am a willy-nilly book buyer, and it just means I end up with a huge pile of books to be read, and a few duds that caught my eye in the moment but when I get to read them I wonder why.

 

Welcome to the forum MountainGirl! :irked:

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:D I am a willy-nilly book buyer, and it just means I end up with a huge pile of books to be read, and a few duds that caught my eye in the moment but when I get to read them I wonder why.

 

Me too! Or I think I might have heard of it so I buy it and find it was the wrong book!

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  • 1 year later...

Although this is traditionally the opposite of what you're supposed to do, I can't help being attracted to unusual covers when I'm looking for a book. Or even buying a particular edition of a book with no other difference than one has a nicer cover. I think the great thing about it is, once I've finished reading the book, it will look pretty on my bookcase until I decide to pick it up again :)

 

Does the cover of a book matter to you?

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I want to say no, but that's rubbish! There are many factors that attract me to a book.

 

If I am on a book shopping spree, I will seek out authors I know, authors that have been recommended (mainly on here), and books that have a visual appeal that is backed up by interesting blurb. Some days the visual part of my brain is more sensitive than others, so this also comes into play when book choosing.

 

One of my favourite books (Flight Of The Stone Angel by Carol O'Connell), I picked up in a charity shop and was drawn to it initially because of it's atmospheric cover photograph, in sepia tones showing a beautiful stone angel in a graveyard. Wonderful, compelling and it matched the exquisite text.

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