I am often a victim of this. Enthralled by the beauty of a book cover, I pick up the book and read the synopsis, then flick through the first few pages, and often end up buying the book because if the cover is this beautiful, then its prose must be too.
There are hit and miss, of course.
I was captivated by the cover of “On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous” (blue cover with orange leaves ), seemed like an interesting story but lost me halfway through.
Yesterday I was visiting my local bookstore, and more of the same happened. I picked up “A woman in the polar night” (deluxe edition, all cream cover with blue details), “A small Island” (red cover with black and white photo on the front) and “I who have never known men” (green woman on the front on dark background) although the last one was already in my to buy list.
{edit : I had added link to the covers but reddit didn’t post this so I’m reposting it without links}
So, what about you?
What cover worked as your Siren song and compelled you to buy a book? Did you like it? Did you hate it? And was there a book you didn’t buy because of the cover but later on realised was actually a good read?
by ellieofus
9 Comments
FairyLoot’s version of Howl’s Moving Castle got me spending WAY too much on 1 book
I don’t generally like when the publishing house changes the book cover, after it’s been adapted to a movie. They use a scene from the movie instead of an original design. I tend to avoid those.
I almost didn’t buy “A Man Called Ove” because of this.
I really want to read Drive Your Plough Over the Bones of the Dead but hate those Fitzcarraldo school text book looking covers so much I haven’t bothered
I recently bought what I thought was a copy of Conversations with Stalin by Milovan Djilas – that’s certainly what it said on the cover. When I opened it later, however, I found that inside was actually The Book of Sand and Shakespeare’s Memory by Jorge Luis Borges. Serves me right for judging a book by its cover.
There’s a reprint of the Fran Lebowitz Reader with a ridiculously femme photo-shopped image of her on the cover with waxed completion and pink lipstick. I don’t think I would have picked it up if I had encountered it in that format, especially not after having watched her interviews during that period of time. Not even a sisterly resemblance.
She said in an interview that they had to photoshop the cigarette out of her hand so it then looked like she was posing in a fifties glamour shot with her hand curled around her cheek.
We don’t all do it.
I love bright colour on my books. The Extinction of Irena Rey (Jennifer Croft) and You Dreamed of Empires (Álvaro Enrique) are gorgeous looking books. I’ve heard good things about White Oleander (Janet Fitch) but the cover is awful. Gives off very distinct 2012 Wattpad vibes. Can’t bring myself to pick it up.
Lightlark
Translation State—Ann Leckie
Honeybees and Distant Thunder—Riku Onda
She Who Drowned the World—Shelley Parker-Chan
I love all three of these books. Saw them in the library and picked them because the covers were interesting. After buying a Paperwhite, I bought them on there too (after reading the library books first). Recently, instead of looking at the synopsis (if there is one instead of all those annoying ass reviews), I just pick up books at the library based on the cover and title. I am an extremely visual/aesthetic person. It has to look right. Is it superficial, yes, but thats just how I am when it comes to books.
So far, I haven’t had any duds.