Sunday Salon | Never Judge a Book by its Cover

Yesterday I posted a review of Steve N. Lee’s What if…? and Steve was extrememly gracious when I commented that the cover of the book was perhaps the worst I’d ever seen. Potentially a harsh comment you might think but I went on to say that I really enjoyed the book – and I would hate for people to pass it over on the store shelf as it was a great read.

This got me thinking about book covers… I admit that when I’m browsing for books I tend to see what catches my eye on the shelf – and then I read the blurb on the back to see if I think I’d enjoy it. Call me fickle – but that’s what covers are for right? They’re there to advertise the book and make it look attractive to potential readers.

Here’s an example – I first discovered Rowan Coleman thanks to a book magazine I used to receive – the cover of River Deep caught my eye – I really loved the book and ended up buying two more of hers to read. Then last year I saw The Accidental Mother on the shelf at the store – didn’t even notice the author’s name but passed it over as it appeared to me to be cheesy girly chick lit. Then the same thing happened with The Accidental Wife – this time however I thought… Rowan Coleman… hey I know that name – her other books were great! Yet still it stayed on the shelf…

What do you think? I wonder why Coleman went from photography to illustrations – and doesn’t the photography cover really stand out?

Many authors use different covers for US and UK audiences. Take for example Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go. I didn’t judge this book by its cover as it was recommended by a friend but I think I would have avoided the US version (right) completely based on that sinister looking cover!

My final example is Elizabeth Noble’s Things I Want my Daughters to Know. I’ve read some great reviews of this book and have it on my amazon wish list. The US cover (left) that I’ve seen looks like quite a serious novel – yet when I stumbled upon the UK version I very nearly passed it by as cheesy girly chick lit. Not that I have anything against the latter of course – there’s a time and place for cheesy chick lit – it’s just that from what I’ve heard about the book itself the US version is more suitable.

What are your thoughts Saloners? Do you judge a book by its cover? Have you picked up a book with an awful cover and loved it – or a great cover and hated it? Do you have an all time favourite cover you could share? Post your thoughs in the comments below