I think everyone knows this English idiom. It's a metaphorical phrase which of course means "you shouldn't prejudge the worth or value of something, by its outward appearance alone".Now there is something I have to confess: I'm Renée, and I *do* judge books by it's cover.
It feels good to get that confession of my chest. Yeah, I judge my books by their looks. If a book has an amazing cover, I have to read it! But if everyone is raving about a story, but the cover sucks... It's bye bye book...
But does this mean I'm missing out on some amazing stories with an ugly exterior? Probably...
Do I think I can change? Probably not...
I love pretty covers! A gorgeous cover is for me a reason to buy a book. When I'm in a bookstore I even stroke the pretty covers!
So does this make me a bad person? Or is this screening process working for me?
Let's check some covers of books I've read:
I LOVED this cover. Cool kick-ass chick, smoking red dress, great background, and of course the most amazing weapon ever (I don't know if you know this, but I have a thing for crossbows) the crossbow!
But did this cover mean it was an amazing story? Hell yeah!
One of my favorite books EVER!
So that's 1 for judging books.
As soon as I saw this cover I had to read it. It was cool, interesting, original. I can't really say why, I just needed to know more about it.
The genre was a new genre for me, but I tried it anyways. And I was glad I did. It's now one of my favorite series and Julie is one of my favorite authors and bookish friends.
BUT after a while D&L got another cover, a cover that fitted the rest of the series. And truth be told, I don't know I'd have read this novel only based on it's cover if it had this cover to begin with. (SRY JULIE!)
So I read this novel, because of it's cover, and loved it. So that would make it another point for my screening process. But I wouldn't have read this book based on it's new cover (I guess I would still have read it though, because of my co-blogger Jen's raving reviews), so that means a point against judging books.
That would make the score now: 2 points for screening by looks vs 1 point against.
This book, I wouldn't have read if it wasn't for it's cover.
As soon as I saw this cover I was intrigued. I needed to know more, so I looked it up on Goodreads. But the blurb on there didn't really interest me, so I decided to put the book on my 'might read' shelve and forgot about it. But I kept seeing this cover, and the more I saw it, the more I needed to read it.
And I was so glad I did! I loved it!
So that's one point for screening books AGAIN! That makes 3 vs 1.
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
I HATE the first cover! HATE IT! I think it looks horrible! I read some amazing reviews about this story, but just couldn't put myself to picking up this book. But when they released it in it's new cover I did read it. And I have to say, I'm glad I didn't miss out on this book. It's a great story.
I HATE the first cover! HATE IT! I think it looks horrible! I read some amazing reviews about this story, but just couldn't put myself to picking up this book. But when they released it in it's new cover I did read it. And I have to say, I'm glad I didn't miss out on this book. It's a great story.
Again a point against judging books by it's cover, which makes the final score: 3 vs 2.
The final score isn't really convincing me to stop judging. And to be fair, I never think I will. But I will try to keep an open-mind and read books that other people are raving about, but aren't great lookers.
What about you guys? Are you a judger? And are there any books you've read and loved, but you hated the cover? Or the other way around, great lookers with a bad story?
Happy reading,
Sometimes I do this TOO! I mean, if someone (like you guys) is raving about it and the cover is terrible, then I will read it eventually. But when picking out my next book, I do go for the prettier cover!
ReplyDeleteI still haven't gotten used to people's obsession with covers! I think I spent too long reading traditional fantasy (which, as a rule, has terrible covers), and I learned to ignore the outside of the book. Plus, now I read a lot of books on my Kindle, so the cover doesn't matter at all. Of course, I prefer it when my covers aren't awful, but I think that has little to no impact on my decision to read a book.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that's just for general attractiveness of the cover. Sometimes covers indicate something about the book, and that affects whether or not I will read it. For example, if the cover has two teens almost kissing, I will probably not read that book because I don't really like YA romance. But I don't think that's really what you're talking about ;)
Kate, I think that maybe what turned me off from traditional fantasy at first. Nine times out of ten, thei covers are cheesed.
DeleteI'm somewhere between you and Kate, the cover of a book makes me pick it up to read the blurb. But its the blurb on the back that makes me decide whether or not I want to read it.
ReplyDeleteHmmm, made me think. I guess I judge books more by reviews than covers. It's sort of two different things to me--artist or writer. I've never kept track of my hits and misses. I'm going to have to pay more attention.... Judith
ReplyDeleteI admit, I do love a pretty cover! And yes, sometimes I will buy a book based solely on the cover. But if a book sounds good or has been recommended to me I will get it whether or not it has a good cover. I hate to think what books I would miss out on if a pretty cover was a requirement for purchase!!
ReplyDeleteRen, I like both Darkness & Light covers but I am partial to the new one ;)