Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Judging Books by Their Covers

 Confession: Sometimes I pick my books by their covers.

I am attracted to pretty books, and prone to read them before others. Now that doesn't mean that I won't buy an ugly book, because I will. But given a choice between two good books, I will almost always choose the one with the better cover art.

Now, we all know you can't judge a book by it's cover. Do that, and you're bound to miss out on a lot of great books. But let's be honest here...good book or no, you always remember the books with appealing covers.

And so I will begin giving Pretty Books Awards; A way for me to talk about the many beautiful book covers out there! Here's how it works: If I happen across a cover I like, I'll award it. 
 Yes, it's silly but it's fun.


Here are two lovely covers for today's awards:
 
*I have not read either of these books, therefore my opinion is meant only towards the cover art, not the contents of the books.

Do you not find this cover gorgeous?
I've always had a soft spot for Victorian Era fashion and design, especially the era's pictures and historical fic. books. *sigh* this cover screams Victorian Era. I love it!

(I tried and failed to find a bigger picture of this book.) 
I picked this cover because of the picture. I like simple pictures that say a lot (like this), which is my favorite photography style.

3 comments:

  1. I have to confess that I am drawn to good cover art as well. If I am browsing and see a book I have never heard of, I am more likely to pick it up if the cover intrigues me. Like you, it doesn't mean they are the only books I read. But I will say that having something pretty or attention grabbing on the front can not possibly hurt sales.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Very interesting post. I'll admit I usually do go for the good over art. Actually half the time, at least with paper backs the cheaper old ones have the best covers so it's a win win.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I too am drawn to good cover art. That's how I discovered one of my favorite authors, Patricia McKillip. Now I pick up anything that looks like it was done by Kinuko Craft. Her artwork is absolutely beautiful!

    ReplyDelete