I long ago realized that I judge books by their covers. This is just something I do, subconsciously. I used to be somewhat contrite that I did this. I would force myself to pick up books with awful covers and read the blurbs, or the first few chapters, but I never bought them. Ever. Okay, maybe I need to qualify this statement. If it's an author that I love, it hardly matters what the cover may look like. I may cringe while buying it, and not look at the cover while reading it, or carrying it, but I'll still buy it. But that is the only time it will happen.
A couple of years ago I stopped being ashamed and just realized this is how I am. I like visually pleasing covers. I don't have a 'type' or a specific standard that I can say what I like, I just know. It either grabs me or it doesn't. I stopped making myself pick up books to check them out despite their cover. Now I just grab what I like to look at, and if I miss out on something because of that, then I guess that's my loss. Usually this works for me. Sometimes it doesn't.
I think for me a big part of it is that if someone puts time and thought into a cover, making it aesthetically satisfying, then I know that they feel the book is worth it, and thus so should I. If a book has a crap cover with fake people, or a cartoon-y feel on an adult book, or something that is just plain 'ole ugly then I assume (yes, I know...one shouldn't assume) that the publisher didn't feel it deserved their very best. And if it doesn't deserve the very best cover, then it doesn't deserve my money either.
As an aside - I used to absolutely hate covers that had people on them. It took me a long time to get over that - probably the reason that I came to romance so late. My problem (still) with people on the cover is that they are never what I picture the character to look like. Obviously as you look below, some of the covers I've picked up because I liked them have people on the covers, so this is no longer a hard and fast rule - though I still do prefer to have it be more vague instead of specific, or to not include the face.
I started thinking about this because I just started reading
Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris, the first book in the Southern Vampire Mysteries series. I always heard people talking about this series, I've watched the last two seasons of True Blood on HBO, and I forced myself to pick up this book numerous times in the bookstore. I just couldn't get past the cartoon vampires on the cover.
I mean, really? This is what you think is going to draw people in? Well, obviously it has because they're wildly popular books so I must be in the minority. Even when they changed the cover after True Blood started I just couldn't make myself start reading it. I have never been able to get the corny covers out of my mind. In fact it's taken months of my best friend telling me to start reading the series for me to even turn to the first page in the first chapter of
Dead Until Dark. It's probably a great book (I'll be sure to say when I'm done), but I've always passed it by for nicer looking books.
There are several instances where this worked particularly well for me. I picked up
Dreams of Stardust by Lynn Kurland because I liked the way the cover looked. The colors were nice, the picturesque setting was nice. I was intrigued by the jewels and wondered what meaning they had to the story. All in all, a good cover. And I love this book. Love the entire series in fact.
Here is the reading order.
The simplicity of the the cover for
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon caught my eye and I was incredibly glad I read it. It’s still a favorite – even if I haven’t stayed caught up on the series.
Otherland by Tad Williams featured a golden city on the cover. Someplace fantastical and beautiful. I wanted to learn more about that place. This was a book I picked up not knowing it was part one of a four part series…
This cover led me to one of my all-time favorite authors,
Nalini Singh. I think her Guild Hunter novels have some of my favorite covers.
More books I picked up solely because of the cover and really enjoyed:
Moon Called by
Patricia Briggs
Almost a total exception to my person/face rule...
Touch the Dark by Karen Chance
The Smoke Thief by Shana Abe
Welcome to Tempation by Jennifer Crusie
Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer
A Kingdom of Dreams by Judith McNaught
Books I’ve picked up strictly based on the cover, but haven’t had the chance to read yet.
Sebastian by
Anne Bishop
Steamed by Katie MacAlister
Greywalker by Kat Richardson
Graceling by Kristin Cashore
Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder
Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr
Nightlife by Rob Thurman
Lord of the Fading Lands by CL Wilson
Of course this isn’t always fool-proof. I can’t think of many examples of books where I loved the cover, but didn’t like the book (though I know there have been some). But I do have a very good example of a cover I hated, and a book I enjoyed. In fact, the author of this book became one of my very favorites.
On the left is the original cover for
Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning. On the right, the more recent version. I strongly dislike the original version of the cover. I can’t even remember what prompted me to pick it up, but I like the newer version much better.
So I try to remember this when I see a cover I can’t stand, or don’t like…but I still find myself picking up more books based on the cover.
Anyone else do this? What are some of your favorite covers? Are there books you love, but covers that just don’t do them justice?
