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So here's my question to you...do the covers really make or break a book for you? Will you honestly even pick up a book whose cover you hate, if you had not heard ANYTHING about the book before?
I am a cover whore, I'll admit it, if I don't find the cover at least somewhat attractive, I most of the time will not even pick up the book...now if I have heard about the book somewhere, read a review for it, or seen something about it, I MIGHT...but it's rare.
Just yesterday I was going though box after box of old(er) books we had stored away – books I had as a kid...and EAK I have to say...some of those old covers are just ICKY. Some only had the name of the book on them, others offered a REALLY crazy cartoon almost, drawing on the front, still others offered flowers (though the books, as I remember had nothing to do with flowers). Dream Boy below is not TO bad, but for today's middle schoolers and teens - would this be a book that would make you want to buy it?
I think the publishers (since really the cover is not in the hands of the author's sadly) out there, these days, are getting REALLY smart, they are starting to come out with AMAZING covers...I mean just look at the cover for Hush, Hush and The Pace (yes I am talking A LOT about The Pace, lately can you say LOVE)– can you say WOW. I think they are really starting to realize that a great cover can almost make a book! Often times you hear people say, that a buyer will make up there mind with in the first 10 seconds, of seeing something, weather they want to buy it or not...and for me at least that's so true! I often look at the cover, and know if it's a book I want to read, sometimes I even buy a book with out reading the back, I buy it because I LOVE the cover so much! I have even seen new covers on old favorites like Pride and Prejudice, which I think is awesome!
So, what do you think, can a cover make or break a book?
A cover definitely makes or breaks a book for me. If I hate the cover I will NOT pick up the book. I think this is partly to do with my O.C.Dish behavior when it comes to making my bookshelf look pretty :)
ReplyDeleteSahsa, I HEAR you - so if that's the case do the spines of the book matter?
ReplyDeleteI also judge a book by the cover. I even pre ordered Hush, Hush because of the cover even though I didn't know much about it.
ReplyDeleteI agree. Covers have a lot of influence for me. They can immideatly attract me to the product, however, I do always read the blurb and reviews about the book before I buy it...but if I get it from the library then I'll just check it out on the cover alone.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I hate to say it.. The cover of the book is usually what draws someone to a book in a store, they most likely havnt heard of it.. but if they see a attractive cover.. they are most likely going to pick it up and read what it is about.
ReplyDeleteTodays books are definately trying to make themselves visually appealing such as Hush, Hush and Shiver etc... At the moment though I have to say Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is my favorite cover.. it just says so much.
A cover really xan break a book, especially for me. If I'm in the library I refuse to borrow books with ugly, old-fashioned covers - that just makes the book sound boring to me
ReplyDeleteI definitely buy sometimes because a cover jumps out at me. I had bought a few books just because the cover was so eye-catching and totally wished I hadn't - ie Sea Change.
ReplyDeleteI think covers are really important. I will often buy a book I've never heard of just because I like the cover. I usually read the back first just to be sure but if the cover is really great (like hush, hush) then I'll just buy the book without even checking anything else!
ReplyDeleteI will buy books if I don't like the cover but only because I've read great reviews of it or if it is an author I've read before & enjoyed. When I'm browsing for books I don't even pick up the books if the cover doesn't catch my eye
I agree, if I am browsing and a cover is just ick - or at least I think it is, since we all like different stuff - I dont even pick it up to read the back to SEE if it might be something I might like.
ReplyDeleteBut I also agree with you Sarah, if it's an author I have read and loved then I guess no matter what the cover looks like I would pick it up and at least give it a chance! :)
I'm a cover whore. If the cover isn't attractive to me, I won't look at the book...unless it's an author I know and love and then I figure it's not his/her decision so I pick up the book in spite of it. At the library or the used book store that I haunt, it's the spine that has to make the first impression. If the spine catches my attention then I look at the cover. If I like the cover, I'll read the back and decide whether or not it's something I want to read.
ReplyDeleteIf I haven't heard ANYTHING about a book and the cover and title suck, I'm not going to pick it up.
ReplyDeleteThe cover is there to market the book, and if it doesn't do its job properly, my interest won't be piqued. I suppose I am a cover whore, but I'm not guilty about it. The cover should make me want to pick it up. If it doesn't, too bad.
The cover plays an important role for me. I picked up Kissed by an Angel by Elizabeth Chandler (with the black background and flower) and noticed that it was published a while ago with a completely different cover which I wouldn't have picked up at all :S If the publisher didn't rerelease it with a different cover, I probably wouldn't missed a great read!
ReplyDeleteI think coveres are really inportant for a book. Everything about reading indicates visual-ness, so it just seems to me that it would be important to have a visually appealing cover that would intrigue customers. I will admit that I have purchased a book just because of a cover and I also know what "type" of books to look for while scanning the shevles when I am at a book store or the library just based on the books that I like.
ReplyDeleteI think that having a cover that appeals to people can also be a great marketing technique for publishers to draw in different target markets. Or even to snag an unsuspecting customer like me, that finds the cover to be cool or intriguing. It's very smart on their part.
I think it is funny that all those old books we read years ago seem so out of date now based on their covers. It just goes to show that even book covers seem to follow trends, but it also goes to show how much more advanced technically the world has come too. It'll be fun to see where book covers go in the future.
Personally (I know I shouldn't) I kind of do judge the book by its cover. If I'm just randomly walking through a bookstore or searching Goodreads, if I don't like the cover I won't even read what it's about. I know I shouldn't, but I can't help it!
ReplyDeleteI gave you an award:
http://qtbookworm.blogspot.com/2010/01/one-lovely-blog-award.html
I love covers too, the better the cover, the more I'm drawn to it and more likely to purchase!
ReplyDeleteI look back on my Sweet Valley series [the books I collected when I was younger and most of them are okay covers, though not sure if they'll sell nowadays] -- loved the Adventures of TinTin covers too. Now those are eye catching!
Covers are hugely important. I designed the cover of Rising Shadow myself with some help from a graphic artist friend who created the Soterians logo (which I love!) and the torn paper effect on the back, but even though I'm pretty happy with Rising Shadow's cover, I've hired a book-cover pro to do the cover for the second book in the series, Merger. I can't WAIT to see how it comes out! I recently read an article saying that publishers regularly re-release books with new covers to fit the current trends. So even though we love covers like Hush Hush now, in 10 years it'll look silly and outdated, and YA books will have a whole new look.
ReplyDeleteWell, the cover will definitely draw me to a book, but then I check out a middle page, beginning pages, page 69 for some reason, and try to find dialogue in the book. If the dialogue is lame, chances are I won't finish the book. But the cover really do get my attention. On the other hand, there are a few blah covers of books that I own that are great novels. But I'm likely to miss them.
ReplyDeleteI hate to admit it but the cover definitely has an influence on whether or not I will pick up a book. I won't *not* read a book just because it has a horrible cover but I will pick up a beautiful cover and try to convince myself that I want that book, even if the blurb isn't interesting to me. Do you know how hard it is to put a book down, a book with a gorgeous cover, because I have no interest in it?!!
ReplyDeleteBook covers have come a long way. Book covers from 15-20 years ago are not as good as they are today. That's for sure.
Yes, the cover is the draw to the reader to buy. The first thing I check out is the cover, then read back cover and maybe 1st chapter. By then I know if I want the book. But if I don't care for the cover or feel drawn to it I usually don't read any further.
ReplyDeleteI love your blog.
A great cover can definitely lead me to purchase a book! If I've read glowing reviews or previously enjoyed books by a particular author, I will pick up and glance through a book with an uninteresting cover. But particularly for a debut author, I imagine that an amazing cover can truly make or break their early sales. I definitely agree with everyone who has mentioned how much book covers have improved over the past fifteen years. As Kindles & other eReaders gain popularity, I wonder how cover art will evolve over the next fifteen years.
ReplyDelete