“I spent my life folded between the pages of books.In the absence of human relationships I formed bonds with paper characters. I lived love and loss through stories threaded in history; I experienced adolescence by association. My world is one interwoven web of words, stringing limb to limb, bone to sinew, thoughts and images all together. I am a being comprised of letters, a character created by sentences, a figment of imagination formed through fiction.”

― Tahereh Mafi, Shatter Me

Sunday, June 24, 2012

Do I Judge Books By Their Covers?

Do I judge covers?


Well.....the answer is yes. I judge covers.

Does this effect whether or not you will read the book?

Yes.....mostly it does. (but if the blurb is fantastic I will look into the ratings more....but whether or not I will click on/look at it to begin with is hard to say, because if it's not eye catching or if it's really bad why would I bother to read the blurb?)

Like READdicted Reviewers recently posted.....The cover is something I base my decision on...will I read the book or not? While if the cover is suckish, I will read it if it sounds SOO good...but it will kind of put me off a bit.

The GREAT covers are where the saying really plays in....I judge books by their cover because they always (most of the time) tell a story of the book... and a really great cover has a really great story, right? Here are some examples of covers that is easy to tell the story. These covers look great, they are enticing, and they tell a story...that I want to know more about.........

This cover tells a large story (as Rick Riordan's covers ALWAYS do....seriously, you could go through every cover and tell what scene it is) You know from this cover a few things:

1. There is some action
2.There is some magic (doesn't that wispy foggy stuff look creepy to you?)
3. And a question....what are those buildings? Could be a number of things: a battle? A rest stop? The place they have been looking for?

And if you have read the book (and as you are reading it) the cover is a big aspect of understanding it. The cover gives you clues, gives you answers, and excites you. I know that when I am reading a book I always look at the cover, it 9 times out of 10 is something I can go to to see whats going to happen next and make predictions.

Every Other Day showcases a timer....and if you have read the book this is a pretty spot on cover....what's in the timer you ask? Oh that's blood.... Now if I'm a person who is going to pick this up this is what I'm going to think: "Woah! Look at that, this cover looks so cool! What's that timer for? Oh my gosh is that blood? Why is it leaking out??" and I know that all of this will obviously be answered in the book...so I want this book. And as a reader...while I'm reading it I am still asking the same questions...but at the same time, I'm also getting answers...to questions I have about what's going on...and I can always check the cover for information I can use to puzzle together the mystery. Like READdicted  Reviewers said, The cover is both a marketing tool, and a visual, for both of the reason above.

 Now what about this cover? I see a girl/wolf....what do I automatically think? WEREWOLF...now I want to read this book......"She can control her pack, but not her heart."?....OOOH love triangle? Another thing...the little sentences on the covers draw you in, because the blurbs on the back, you see the front first. The cover is  just so simple....what else could it mean, besides just "werewolf" so I'm compelled to reach out and read the back...and (whether or not the blurb is grabbing or not) I'll buy it. Here's how it works: I'll look, I'll want, I'll read, I'll buy.....1,2,3,4..So that is most definitely judging the book by it's cover.
 This one? Well There is a gas mask on the cover....add that to "Ann Burden thought she was the only one left....She was wrong." My first thought is "What happened?" and who is Zachariah.......

This is a good cover.
 What can I can I say about this one..? This girl looks like she's forming out of smoke...She looks dangerous....She looks purposed....not to mention the title...Everneath? What is it...what does it mean?

I would pick this up and read the back.
 My first though, "Why is that girl in a bubble.....? Why does that girl look like she wants to get out? Why is that girl wearing a beautiful evening gown?

The cover is so different....(I haven't really seen something like this before) and the colors are so vibrant I'll see it from across the room....I'll stop because it caught my eye.
With the Heist Society I see a girl, in a pair of sunglasses that reflects what looks like a painting in a museum, reading the back it's something about a thief.....now that could be interesting....and when the second book came out "Now there's a gem in the reflection" This could be really interesting.....especially because the book was so good last time. In a series I like (and tend to snatch it up even faster) if the cover somehow connects to the first book in anyway....





In conclusion I judge books by their cover because the cover is one of the best parts....and who wants to look at an ugly cover? But it doesn't mean I WON'T read a book if the cover isn't as pretty.
Check out READdicted Reviewers opinion on this matter.

Have a great rest of the weekend,



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