Thread: Do you judge a book by it's cover?

I know I know your not supposed to, but I do it alot. Looking at an amazing picture on the cover with a catching title lures me in, I just ordered a book called Harmless for that fact. So I'm surprised to find out the plot is actually pretty good from what I could get from amazon.

So have you judged a book by its cover, or didn't, and found out it was amazing, or a bunch of crud? (the title of the book would be good to include too if you can remember)

I do too. I usually have to have my friends recommend books for me, sometimes the cover is usually the type that I'd never look at. >< But at the moment I can't remember any book that I misjudged but loved.

I looked at the cover of black like me by John Griffin and said ew ><. But I read it and it was an amazing book. I judge books by the cover and a catchy title. Like "How to take the ex out of ex-boyfriend" <-- that title sounded interesting and though the reviews were kinda iffy at some points I'm going to give it a try, it sounds funny XD

Yea i do that as well. U can't really help it though. If u or my cousin don't recommend me books i wouldn't read so many books cuz i would never know which one to read. And i would have never bothered to look at Rachel Gibson or Christen Feehan. Wait Feehan maybe cuz her covers are quite appealing (Wild Rain *giggle*) but i would of never knew about Gibson. And Lisa Keplings. I think that's how u spell her name. But if u never gave me her book to read i would have never read it. i remember reading a book called Sweep. It didn't look that interesting but my cousin said it was good so i read it. And it was amazing. the covers aren't that great but the books were. And after i finished the first thing i did was go to Pancake and tell her to read it.

Nope... Never..

Sometimes Covers are prettier than the books.

But, seriously, no..
I don't have the money to buy stuff according to their covers...


For me, buying a book requires extensive forehand research...

Originally Posted by Pepe

Nope... Never..

Sometimes Covers are prettier than the books.

But, seriously, no..
I don't have the money to buy stuff according to their covers...


For me, buying a book requires extensive forehand research...

Yeah, I do that for books I buy, but when I go to the library....it's a whole different story.

I like to look at covers first before getting a book, but it's not the be-all and end-all...

I look at who the author is. If I know 'em, and it's a book I've not got or read in a while I'll nab it.

Genre, style, author and price all come before how pretty the book looks Of course... any book with Kaolla on the cover is an automatic purchase

I'm the same way Rei, at the library I look at the cover and if its unappealing I most likely won't take it with me. But there have been books I've come across that were pretty but was a bunch of mush inside. This romance novel called the pearl or something, i didn't even finish it. It felt like pretty woman just set in victorian england. And the s-e-x right in the beginning was just so blah ><

Ya know pepe there is always your local library =D

Hina: Yeah I mean if the author I know, or the book I've heard is good the cover doesn't matter.

I judge a book by its author's reputation, rather than its cover. If it's an author I know and respect, I'll read it.

Yea that too Eva. I mean if i know the author and i like his/her books then i will of course read more of his/her books.

But at the library..that's is a whole different story.

I judge a book by its cover too. It is an important part of the book too and, in a way, it illustrated the care the author had for it (sometimes).

But not always though.

I select books almost purely on title and genre, if that catches my eye I read the back and if it;s a bit like I expected or a happy suprise I'll go and read it.

hehe I remember how I once selected a book for mr. Anderson I just stood there and he couldn't find a book he liked for his bookreport so I grabbed blind behind me and he found it the only book interesting enough to read lol title was something with Japan...

Well the reputation of the author is sometimes on the cover. There was a book I got the other day by Jane Feather and it was eh summary and eh looking cover but Lisa Kleypas my fav romance author said it was amazing on the cover. So I had to check it out. @__@

Si chao it very much of a cover can reprsent an author. And how much time they took on planning.

lol i like that story mordred

My first impression of a book is always derived from the cover. I do take into account the author and description of the book, but it's the first impressions that often count the most. Basically, I do initially judge a book by it's cover, but even so, I'll always give it the benefit of the doubt until after reading the description.

An attractive cover ALWAYS counts ^_^
but the blurb is best however without a nice book cover i wouldn't notice the book!

Well yes, but at the same time no, I dunno why but what really draws me into a book is the font of the title, you know, if it's cool looking and such. Of course though visual on the cover will help. So ya, I judge books by their covers.

Same with Nana. A good book to me must be good inside. Beauty on the outside is a plus. I got a book, called 'War Crimes' By Lt. Col. Robert Patterson, but the book jacket appealed to my Right/Conservative tastes.

I don't judge the book by it's cover, it just notice it by a cool cover

Although the cover is quite important for me personally, i wouldn't judge a book by it - simply because it may have several covers. I judge it by the content, and usually read a good few chapters of it before i start making any judgments, as some books develop faster than others

Just make the cover pretty and write the book well