Feminist Reflections is a feature I created to share my personal thoughts and to provoke a discussion.
Are beautiful covers more attractive?
OF COURSE.. but not every beautiful book cover holds your attention. The first thing I always notice is the cover and then the title. That's not really enough to make me read the book though. I need to know the premise/blurb before I purchase and read the book. I also need to know if my blogging buddies I trust have reviewed them or other bloggers I look upto for recommendations. Beautiful covers aren't everything though, sometimes the book cover can be gorgeous but have a crappy story.
Is judging books by cover okay?
YES .. and NO. For the most part it's a yes for me because I don't have the time and patience to go through EVERY SINGLE book at the bookstore and check out the blurb. I pick whatever I'm looking for, or something that catches my eyes. It's not always good to judge by covers though, because some books with bad covers have a beautiful story. If I do pick up a book with a not-so-good cover, I still read the blurb. It's either the title or cover that catches my eyes. I do believe you do need a good cover to attract publicity, if the cover isn't appealing - the book will probably be ignored. It doesn't have to be super fancy or anything like that, I love simplicity as well - something that is unique and looks appealing.
Beautiful book covers but crappy stories.
Books with crappy covers but beautiful stories.
Here are physically beautiful book covers, but they're also beautiful on the inside as well.
Thank you for reading this! Have an amazing month of June - Leave your blog links in the comments & I'll be sure to check them out & drop by :) Stay in tuned pretty creatures..
“Above all, be the heroine of your life, not the victim.” —Nora Ephron
LOL Crappy stories. I actually don't think Fangirl was that bad. I think another one that had a beautiful cover was The Newsoul series by Jodi Meadows but I hated the actual books omg! Love this post!
ReplyDeleteAlex @ The Book's Buzz
Thank you Alex & LOL yes, I hate crappy stories.
DeleteI confess, I'm a cover whore and have been sucked in numerous times by a pretty face and well written blurb only to be burned later on. I do try to read reviews more now but I still get burned every now and then.
ReplyDeleteI agree, some books burn you bad when the cover is gorgeous but the plot itself is not.
DeleteExactly, I've found in most cases, the prettier the cover, the crappier the story, okay, well not crap, just...not for me. I've read a lot that have crappy others that have crappy covers and are so freaking amazing, and I think mostly those are the ones that are underrated.
ReplyDeleteAnd agree with yes and no, on one hand, the covers are important to attract you to it, because it is the first thing you see, but also no because usually they don't even resemble what's in the book in the first place.
I am someone who is a lot of a cover judger - I am terrible at reading the synopsis of a book. I will read a review and get the gist of if characters are well done and the theme, but not so much the plot. But if it has a good review, or I have heard a lot of positive things about it as well as it having a good cover, then it probably ends up on my TBR list. Which might be why it is so huge xD I do read synopses from time to time, though. It's just hard to always remember.
ReplyDeleteOh absolutely. It matters. It's important. But nowadays, I look for simplicity. :)
ReplyDeleteSimplicity is beautiful too ♥
DeleteReally interesting post...thx for sharing!
ReplyDeletebeautiful covers always attract me.. and I hate it whenever I end up not falling in love with the story :( while I love beautiful covers, when I'm so sure that the story won't really appeal to me, I get to stop myself from buying them :)
ReplyDeleteA Wicked Thing is sooooo crappy I can't even think about it. BLEH. Covers are deceiving!! I tend to assume or think one thing and then be totally surprised by the inside. I thought Unearthly would be silly and ridiculous and I ended up loving it. Perfect example: The Selection series. Pretty covers, not very pretty on the inside. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteAs much as I try to *not* judge a book by it's cover, I think we all do. It's a shame though since we end up giving attention to pretty packages who sometimes aren't much on the inside, whereas I'm sure we miss out on tons of really great books because they aren't so pretty on the outside. >.< For me, the worst offenders of pretty covers, not-pretty on the inside are: The Weather Witch, Wicked, Gates of Thread and Stone, Storm Siren, Cruel Beauty, Ink and Masque of the Red Death :( To be honest, I prefer unique covers to outright pretty with the typical pretty girls in pretty dresses, but that's a personal taste thing :) Nice post^^ x
ReplyDeleteI did a post on this a few years ago! It's hard not to judge the book by the cover. The cover is supposed to be marketing the book and if it looks terrible, it's really hard to pique anyone's interest or make them read the blurb. But there are lots of great books with horrible covers, so it's a difficult situation. :P
ReplyDeleteI agree with you Benish! Beautiful book covers are what initially catch my eye, but then I look at the title and synopsis. Some books I love have ugly covers and are underrated. Whereas, some covers I love have just okay stories, or stories I don't care for. I love when a cover and story inside are equally beautiful :)
ReplyDeleteLindy@ A Bookish Escape
Hmm... I didn't like The Glass Arrow at all xd but, yeah, I mean it often happens that beautiful covers disappoint us. Yet, I still seek them!!! It's just so wonderful to have beautiful books on your shelves, you know? But, still, I will NEVER buy a book I didn't enjoy in hardcover only because it has a beautiful cover. HA! I don't know, I think THG has a pretty cool cover. Maybe not ''beautiful'' but it's original, you know? Divergent too. ^^
ReplyDeleteYes yes! Actually this mostly gets me when I end up requesting books online. But I've been doing better with the cover! I always look up whether my bloggy friends have liked or HEARD of the book :)
ReplyDeleteI am such a sucker for a pretty cover! and I admit I have bought books based on the cover alone.
ReplyDeleteI have only read The Hunger Games & Pivot Point from the books you have listed and enjoyed them both and I agree with you about their covers.
A great post! Sharon – Obsession with Books
OF COURSE I judge by covers. Like you say, there's not enough time in the world to read each and every blurb. Fangirl.. ugh so many conflicting feelings. Definitely not my favorite Rainbow Rowell book.
ReplyDeleteThe Starbound series by Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner though... breathtaking covers=beautiful story! <3
Wonderful post :)
I think that especially now you really DO need a decent cover to attract buyers. Even 20 years ago or so, there just weren't as many books out there, so it wasn't as big of a deal, but now? You need to do something to gain attention. But of course, what is in the inside is the MOST important! Fun post, even though I did like A Wicked Thing ;)
ReplyDeleteShannon @ It Starts At Midnight
Aw I didn't think Fangirl was bad but a lot of YA dystopians have MAGNIFIQUE ART for covers but are just a rehash of the usual dystopian formula :/
ReplyDeleteYes, I despise Fangirl beyond words. It just wasn't for me.
DeleteI definitely judge books by their covers, but it's more about catching my attention. If the title or cover catches my interest, I'll look up the blurb. If it doesn't catch my interest and I haven't heard of it before, there's not a high chance of my checking it out. Most of the books I've thought had a great cover had great insides as well, so it's been working out for me haha. Great post - it's always fun hearing people's thoughts on judging books by their cover :)
ReplyDeleteMagonia is one that I absolutely loved and the cover was just as breathtaking as well. The Dangerous Girls cover is horrid. It's really 'indie author who doesn't care' looking isn't it. The Aussie cover is much better. The new Hunger Games editions with the steel look or foil covers are gorgeous! I'm such a cover tart. But sometimes you need that pretty or eye catching cover to drawn you in when a synopsis isn't enough. Great post Benish <3 really enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteAaah, I was who didn't like Magonia. I loved Dangerous Girls, but the cover was just so crappy - & I agree, The Hunger Games new editions look beautiful though. Thank you Kelly ♥
DeleteI am so sucked into a books by covers. I agree with Diva Booknerd, I want the new Huger Games editions just because the covers are so pretty.... Loved Fangirl but didn't really care for the cover. Great discussion!
ReplyDeleteJo @ http://www.feministreflections.com/
wow, I'm tried. lol I'm Jo @ http://adreamfrommyheart.blogspot.com/ lol
DeleteLoool aww I was wondering why did my own URL showed up though, the new Hunger Games editions are gorgeous though.
DeleteThanks.
ReplyDeleteNice post! I agree that this issue, which seems simple, is actually a bit complicated. Of course a reader can't say that a book is great just because it has a beautiful cover. However, as you have pointed out, there ARE books with gorgeous covers that contain an equally gorgeous story inside. It's such a WONDERFUL experience to read such books! Ah, bliss!
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I LOVE beautiful covers, and post about them on my blog every week. In fact, I even prefer paying a little more for an edition with a beautiful cover, if I really like the story inside. That's because I'm not only a bookworm, but a bibliophile, as well! Lol.
Then there's the famous saying: "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." There are covers that some people love, but other people don't. For instance, the cover of "Fangirl" is just not to my taste. And, in spite of the fact that I dislike tattoos, I do like the cover of "Deep". However, I also think that covers depicting shirtless guys, with or without tattoos, are by now a cliche, since they've been so overdone.
I do agree with your judgment of all the other covers you have presented in your excellent post!
This is an issue that can lead to interesting discussions, too, because some people don't think readers should take the cover into consideration when judging a book, while others do. However, we humans are visual creatures (I am a VERY visual one!), so I think it's inevitable that we WILL take covers into consideration -- but, only when buying a book, and not when judging the CONTENT of that book.
Thanks for the thought-provoking post, Benish!! <3 : )
I admit it, I'm a cover judger! Which it why I hate it when the stories inside do not match. Just because someone (or their publisher) had more money to spend or found a better artist, doesn't make the story inside any better or worse. Sometimes I have to remind myself to judge whether I want to read a book based up it's blurb.
ReplyDeleteDreams @ Once Upon A Dream Books