Anything Goes discussion

Basically do you judge a book by its cover? or do you look for the content?

I look for content. Except for steampunk. Covers are a big reason why I am drawn to that genre.

Otherwise, I usually rely on recommendation or the fact that I am familiar with and like an author, stuff like that.

But I do enjoy pretty covers!

And Bridgette, I admire the work you're putting in for the group! I hope you enjoy it. I hope you feel appreciated! Thanks!!

You definitely got me interested in posting more here. I hope lots of others join in. :D

I believe cover designers create a look that will appeal to the target audience. There's a certain look for chick lit, pnr, genre fiction, etc. So I do, to some degree, judge a book by it's cover. But I also read a summary of the book to make sure the cover = genre rule applies.

I find it amusing how designers will change covers for books over the years to appeal to readers. For example, a edition of Great Expectations from the 80s looks completely different than an edition from the 2000s. Or how genre looks change over the years. A fantasy book from the 80s has a whole different look than a contemporary one. I think it would make an amusing and insightful study.

Also, I will go to ridiculous lengths to find a particular cover, even if I don't know that the book will become part of my permanent collection. I avoid movie tie-ins like the plague. Hate hate hate. Almost any cover with a person on it bugs me because I find it too influencing. I don't want to see the artist's conception of the character...I want to imagine it myself.

Me too, HRO. Funny, but I just won't by an edition with a movie tie-in cover. I'll buy a battered, beat-up used copy first; the movie one looks so cheesy to me even though I know the text is the same!

In the past I have found that if I am in a restricted zone, say in an Airport topping up my holiday or using up vouchers at specific stores I will get drawn by covers, but I always read the back cover or summary before deciding to go to the tills.

Less of an issue since being on GR as I suspect one of my tbr books will be around on sale.

If I am browsing, an appealing cover or intruiging title will get me to pick the book up. Then I check the synopsis and if that's OK, I'll read a page fairly near the front of the book to see if I like the writing style. If it passes all my checks, I'll buy it.
I'm always careful when I read the page though, because if I mark the book in any way I buy it. I wouldn't want to buy a new book which looked second hand (cracked spine for example), so I don't expect anyone else to, or for the shop to make a loss on the book.

I tend to do exactly what Jackie does but I tend to look at the first para then choose a page at random from the main body of the book. If all seems well I'll buy it, sometimes in spitre of the cover if you know what I mean.

I love to browse in bookstores. I am often drawn to a book by its cover. Also by the title or if it looks like a subject I'm interested in (especially bios) or an author I like.

Then I usually read the blurb. Then, especially if I'm considering buying it, I'll read the first or first few paragraphs.

Have you noticed how when one book becomes a best-seller similar titles appear with similar covers as a kind of homage? Here in the UK the cover-art of books such as Captain Corelli's Mandolin and The Da Vinci Code all spawned derivative art in related genres in the hopes that readers would be drawn to them like moths to a flame; I'm sure that applies everywhere.

I'd always assumed it was "chick-lit" rather than "chic-lit". Chic-lit sounds a lot more upmarket or cool than romances are meant to be, and the comment about "cheap and nasty chic-lit" created some confusion in my head!

I admit, I do both. Sometimes, what draws me to a book, is the cover. LOL But, I mostly check the content and reviews of a book first!

I have judged books by their covers and often regretted it. I can think of one in particular whose cover was one of the more striking I've seen, and the book itself was a total letdown.

I gravitate toward books with really minimalistic cover design. The busier the cover, the more inclined I am to believe that it's trying to distract me from a subpar story.

Mostly no.
I thought of the designs of the current YAs - they are all very beautiful and catch the eye - but aren't always live up to the expectations.
I might just judge the covers when checking our random lists on GR: if a cover doesn't look decent (not graphically designed or anything - just plain and not-fake) - I know it'd be hard to find it on bookstores and libraries, if possible.

A good cover gets me more excited about a book and a bad cover can make me more skeptical. I have still really liked books with bad covers but do good covers catch my eye? Of course :)

I would like to think that I don't judge a book by it's cover, but I guess I do. I find overly girly pictures off-putting, and likewise with really dull covers. It makes me think that if the publisher put in so little effort, the book must also be dull.

Unless it's an author you already know I don't think you can help judging a book by it's cover. After all without any prior knowledge it's either the cover or the title that leads you to pick it up. That's not to say you'll actually purchase/borrow or read it of course. There have been a few occasions when I have selected a book purely based on the cover and one was a very recent purchase; "Orkney" by Amy Sackville. The jacket of this relatively recently published novel is just too beautiful to resist.
On another note the publishing world has adopted a practice recently which I find intensely irritating. Obviously based on the premise that the cover of a book does prompt potential customers to pick it up, they have started rejacketing books with covers of an identical theme/style to existing bestsellers (even if there's only a tenuous similarity between the genre, writing style or subject matter). So, for example, when Jodi Picoult was enjoying a spell of huge popularity in the UK dozens of books appeared with photographs of a child's bare feet in lush green grass. I love John Irving's novels and always thought the covers of his books successfully conveyed the quirky nature of his writing and characters. Then a couple of years ago the new editions started appearing with what I can only describe as "misery memoir" covers, totally misrepresents his writing as far as I'm concerned.
Anyway, rant over, glad I got that off my chest:)

Jacqui wrote: "Unless it's an author you already know I don't think you can help judging a book by it's cover. After all without any prior knowledge it's either the cover or the title that leads you to pick it up..."

I sure agree with you. Covers have a giant influence on me unless I have read some reviews. I have purchased so many books due to their very appealing covers and there are a few books I won't read as they have ugly covers!
I was very glad to read your rant as you expressed it very well. As an artist I am so sensitive to the book cover its pitiful.

~☆ Alice☆~ wrote: "Jacqui wrote: "Unless it's an author you already know I don't think you can help judging a book by it's cover. After all without any prior knowledge it's either the cover or the title that leads yo..."

Thanks Alice. I work in a book shop so I'm very aware of publishing trends and just feel the need to vent sometimes:)

A cover and or title may catch my attention but I have to read what it is about before I buy. Unless I am looking for a specific author or book.

Heather wrote: "The cover is usually what makes me look to see what a book is about at least 80% of the time."

Our brains are hard-wired to detect patterns, notice differences and spot similarities as in evolutionary terms it's important for survival. That's why, for example, we may judge somebody by how they look, all within a few seconds, based on only a few clues (and whether or not our first impressions are justified on so casual an acquaintance).

The same applies to books. As we scan the shelves of libraries or bookshops, we are looking not just for a familiar author's name but also for the patterns that seasoned publishers have worked out will attract us: typeface, colours, images, dimensions. We will then be predisposed to pick up or pass over that title based on these discriminatory habits or instincts, even if we justify our choices with apparent rational arguments.

For me personally, covers of books should ideally have an aesthetic quality if there is a choice (an adult edition of a Harry Potter book for preference, say, instead of the children's version). If there is no choice, then it's how much I want to read the book, regardless of the packaging, as Tammy says.

Bridgette wrote: "Basically do you judge a book by its cover? or do you look for the content?"

Mostly no, usually it's the storyline that's most likely to attract me than the cover. Sometimes(though hardly) I like the cover and try to determine if the the story is as interesting as the cover but I always read summary or an excerpt before buying the book.

I do to a certain extent. I also judge books by their titles. If the cover art is not all that interesting or cheesy, I still read the title. If the title sounds interesting I read the summary. If the cover alone draws me in, I will still read the cover to make sure. Sometimes the cover is more interesting than the summary. It also depends on what I'm in the mood to read as to what I may or may not be drawn towards more.

Both:

I will pick a book up because the cover looks interesting but if I read the summary and it interests me then I will purchase it.

Partly. I look at the title and font used on the spine first, then I look at the cover. Following that I read the synopsis, then the first few lines.

A catchy cover can capture my attention, but I read the synopsis and skim the first page to see the font used and print size (gotten too old to try to make out 6 Point Font for long).