Isn’t that one of the oldest adages? Meaning, of course, don’t make up your mind about something based on what you see on the outside. I wholeheartedly agree with the principal and in most cases, such as with people, I do my best to adhere to it.
But y’all, I totally judge books by their covers. I just can’t help it; I’m drawn in by a pretty design. Although I mostly buy books based on recommendations and reviews, occasionally I find myself wandering Barnes & Noble ready to make a random purchase. Those are the times I am susceptible.
The thing is, I know the cover doesn’t mean anything about the quality of the book. Here are a few of my absolute favorites, for example:
Ender’s Game. Okay, this cover is completely outdated and screams “geek” when in reality, I think it is palatable even for those who aren’t into sci-fi like I am. I’ve had several friends verify that assertion.
A Prayer For Owen Meany. There’s nothing special going on here. In fact, it’s quite boring, and completely opposite of the genius that lies inside.
Rebecca. This looks like a sappy romance novel, something I would normally stay far, far away from.
Do you have any examples of your own? A deceptively bad or good cover, or one that is right on? How do you feel about book covers?
From Scott:
One thing you didn’t mention was how great a good cover can feel. You know the one’s that have a slightly matted texture to them? Those are great.
Also, here’s my favorite awful Ender’s Game cover
From dstagg:
Are you sure that Rebecca book isn’t just a Danielle Steel novel with a pseudonym?
From Krista:
I do the same thing with books! I also judge wine by the label :)
From S.:
Good call on the Owen Meany. I always thought that was a particularly terrible cover.
You should also do a post of great book covers with lackluster insides. I felt this way about The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime.
From Emily Jane:
I think the author has zero say in the cover design of their book, or at least I remember hearing that somewhere. It’d make me so mad if I got published and ended up with a crappy cover!!
From Michele:
Okay, on the flip side I thought that original cover of Everything is Illuminated was clever… and quite funny. Totally with you on the Rebecca cover – one of my all-time favorite books, but HORRID cover. Oh, and Scott’s Ender’s Game cover was FAR worse!!
From Erin:
First off, I LOVE all of those books.
Second…I first read Rebecca as part of a summer reading list in high school. When I bought the book, I remember being confused as to why my all-girls Catholic school was assigning us a trashy romance novel to read!
From mediumcrazy:
Ha, excellent cover picks. Are these old editions?? The Ender’s Game and Rebecca covers seem particularly outdated. The Owen Meany cover always reminded me of a tombstone.
The only time a cover really bothers me is if the book was made into a movie and the cover image is a picture of the actors in the movie version. I won’t buy the version of the book that has images from the movie on the cover. (Book snob thing.)
From kapachino:
I’m the same way with the movie version of books.
I never thought of the Owen Meany cover as looking like a tombstone, but now that you mention it I’m sure that’s what they were going for. It looks like granite and there is a whole theme of death and tombstones in the book. I still think the cover is bad, but I have a new appreciation for it now.