Jan 07 2009
Judging a book by its cover
People say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Both metaphorically and literally, this is true. There are plenty of books out there that have less than stellar covers, and yet are glorious in actual substance. There are plenty of books with highly attractive covers that, upon reading, actually suck. However, I think that covers are a very important aspect of selecting a book, assuming you’ve wandered into a bookstore without a specific purchase in mind. Publishers certainly put a lot of thought into them - they don’t just pick a random artist to slap something together. There are documentable [Don’t lie to me, Firefox, “documentable” is totally a word.] trends in book covers of different genres over periods of time. Sarah Rees Brennan, whose debut novel The Demon’s Lexicon comes out in July, recently wrote a great, brief field guide to cover trends in Young Adult literature on her blog . [I’m a huge fan of Sarah’s, and am more excited than I could possibly express about her book! I will be there, breaking down the bookstore’s doors, the day it is released!]
I admit that I am quite influenced by covers. If there’s a book I know I’m interested in that has a terrible cover, I’ll probably still buy it.. But in some cases I have reservations about carrying it around in public. Take Mélusine by Sarah Monette , for example. I’ve heard nothing but good about this book and its author, and the premise interests me. I’ve wanted to read it for a while now. But I’ve hesitated - partly due to having so much else I want to read even more, and partly due to the cover. I recently sucked it up and bought the book, by the way, and it’s sitting by my bedside waiting for me to finish three other books before I finally pick it up. But what about the cover made me hesitate? Well, it features a hot man. Normally not a problem. But this hot man happens to be shirtless and looks like Fabio. In short, it looks like a trashy Romance novel, when in truth it’s Fantasy. I am prejudiced against Romance novels, I will freely admit. When I say a book reads like a Romance novel, it is an insult. Or when I say that they should reshelve the post-Obsidian Butterfly books of Anita Blake into the Romance section, and that I’m insulted to have them invading my beloved Fantasy section, that too is an insult. Now, I’m sure there are a few really epic Romance novels out there. But mostly they are pure gratuitous sex, and of extremely - and I stress the extremely - poor quality writing with no discernible plot whatsoever. I can find the same thing online for free, in a short, don’t-waste-my-time condensed format, in the form of Draco/Harry slash, and better written. It makes me cry inside to hear my friend Miranda describe the Romance novels she’s reading. [It also makes me cry inside even more to hear her describe the new Anita Blake books, and the Merideth Gentry books by the same author which, excuse me fans, seriously need to get the hell out of my Fantasy section.] But this isn’t a rant about Romance novels; I digress.
My point is that I would be embarrassed if someone thought I was reading a Romance novel. Normally I don’t care what the heck people see me reading, and I’ve carried around Anita Blake novels before, which tend to have suggestive covers. But they’re nothing like a Fabio. It’s just toeing the line for me. This one I may stick to reading at home, and have another book in cycle at the same time as my out-and-about book. [I always carry a book. It’s one of the reasons I have a big purse.]
Conversely, some covers really attract me. When the artwork is beautiful and gives me a tantalizing snippet of the story in image format, I will pick it up, read the back blurb, and consider its potential. This is why publishers must really think about their covers, and its appropriateness for the book’s target audience. Sci-Fi fans like to see machines and space-scapes on their covers, one assumes. Fantasy fans will be drawn to a mystical creature or a person with unusual marks, objects, or who is glowing in some way. Etcetera. It’s pretty much a no-brainer. The hard part is picking a cover that will appeal to as broad an audience as possible, while still being interesting and eye-catching.
So, what I want to know is this: How much are you affected by covers? Have you ever swallowed your pride and bought a book with an embarrassing cover? Have you ever been terribly disappointed in a book that had a great cover? Have you ever bought a book just for its cover, hit or miss? What are some of your favorite covers? Tell me!
I completely agree with you about the romance novels. I never pick them up. I usually buy books after they are recommended by any number of book loving friends or I’ve come across something interesting on the internet about a certain book. When I have no titles of interest I go to my favorite section in my store of choice and check out some covers. I usually shy away from some of the more unappealing ones but I always give a look to the description on the back before I completely pass one up. Covers are incredibly important though. I shudder at what some writers were thinking when they chose theirs.
I love your writing style by the way. It’s very interesting. Can’t wait to read more!
Ren:
Thank you, dear! Glad you like BB.
It’s a rare moment when I don’t have a specific book to look for, because I’m always getting great recommendations from my reader friends, but sometimes I do like to simply wander a book store, and pull out a book at random to check out the cover art and back blurb. I’ve found a couple of great gems with this method!
Peggy:
I way to comment on the “Cloud Dancer” blurb on your website.
“Alone and bitter, the beautiful maiden learned the fierce Apache ways of her lost love White Hawk and vowed never to kneel before the enemy again. Spirit Warrior White Hawk was still very much alive. And his heart knew boundless joy when he found Cloud Dancer had not perished in the massacre of her people.”
This is a prime example of the kind of Romance that I mock to no end. I agree that any reading is positive, but there are some books that are simply a waste of time when one could be reading something of actual quality. To me, Romance books are books that lacked enough plot to be shelved in the Fiction section. As I can think of nothing to say that will not simply offend you more, I bid you a good day and thank you for sharing your insights.
My first novel beyond the classic variety was “Guilty Pleasures.” And toting around this very suggestive cover gave me a bit of guilty pleasure in itself!