Does anyone else buy books because of their cover art?

[Ryalt]

So, this has been something I've personally done for as long as I have been reading.

 

I've always heard the metaphorical phrase, "don't judge a book by it's cover" and thought it was rather rubbish, since that's how I pick my books out in the store. I've been told I'm a bit foolish about it, but it's something that has treated me well over the course of my adult life. Ever since I picked up my first Dragonlance book at the used bookstore when I was 13 (I'm 26 now), it's been generally how I choose books when I need a new series to read, and I don't know the first thing about most of them.

 

Lately I've gotten to the point where I've read so many of the popular series, that a lot of things that I am pushed into reading are things I have little prior knowledge of in reviews. So this point sticks even further with me, as that if a book has an interesting cover it will grab my attention, and chances are I'll pick it up. I'm someone who loves going into a bookstore and physically handling and looking at books, and I don't buy my books online. I primarily only read fantasy, though I've come into a few Sci-Fi books because the cover was misleading and I mistook them for fantasy, but I don't mind reading those most of the time either.

 

Now am I alone in doing this? I've not really talked to many other people about it, but figured I'd give it a shot here on this forum. I can honestly say that I first picked up the WoT series for this very reason. It looked like a long series (which I particularly enjoy) and the cover art made me say hey, it looks like a medieval fantasy, exactly what I'm looking for. And man, it delivered.

[Alric]

Nope I haven't yet. But cover art does subconsciously influence how I think about a book. I remember being really happy about seeing the Mistborn paperback covers when they arrived. The WoT cover art does the opposite. Then I saw the ebook covers, and right there I decided that I would buy the whole series again if those are used in the future. Yep, its pretty damn important to me but I try not to choose what to read because of it.

[Rufae]

I do at time. A cover will intrigue me and get me to pick a book up and investigate the cover blurb and crack the pages for a quick glance. So yeah, a good cover will pull me into a book I may not have picked up. Likewise, a bad cover can push me off a book as well.

 

One cover that pulled me in to a purchase...

 

Seeds of Betrayal by David B. Coe

 

[Ryalt]

These are a couple recent additions to my collection that really just caught my eye:

 

(Glen Cook is now one of my favorite author's after reading this series as well, and some of his other works. Totally does his own thing and I love it.)

 

 

 

 

And this is a sci-fi novel/trilogy that at first glance (I was going through quickly at a used book-store) I thought was fantasy until I inspected closer and started reading a bit more:

 

[mikael]

Sure, if the cover says Penguin Classics ;)

 

But seriously, I'm rather put off by covers like those above, even though a few of them were nice.

[Dewairah]

If I see a cover with an interesting artwork on it, it'll make me read the blurb on the back at least.

 

If the blurb on the back doesnt interest me, I wont buy the book.

[Red2111]

when i'm looking at new series (just pickign up books while browsing the book stroe rather than goign off ones that have been recomended to me) it's a combo of the artwork and the title; generally though, i browse by title most often because of how Books are shown at the store. if the title sounds interesting i'll pull the book out, if i like the picture i'll open the cover and read the summary.

 

 

for me, the cover art should be a summary of the story, and the title shoudl give you a good idea on what the books theme is. take the EotW cover, it shows the trio & co on a journey, which is a summary of the story imo. with the title, its the main goal.

 

 

 

 

 

the first 3 covers you posted Rylat look relaly interestings. especially the middle.

 

sam, the cover and title peak my interest, but depending on my mood i might not even read the summary. sounds more like a romance novel imo

 

 

[Rufae]

 

sam, the cover and title peak my interest, but depending on my mood i might not even read the summary. sounds more like a romance novel imo

 

 

 

 

Guess I might be a romantic at heart. I really dug it. The knife, the intensity, the ghostly girl. Good stuff.

[Red2111]

*snuggles Sam* awe theres nothing wrong with being a romantic at heart.

 

i like my guys gruff on the outside, cuddly on the inside. is why i luvs Bubba so much. he's a bulldog on the exterior and cuddly bear on the inside.

 

 

okay enough mushy stuff

[brujah]

I read The Coldfire Trilogy due to the cover art. And it was a great series. Very Dark. Mature.

[Clayden69]

Cool pictures, not for my bookshelf though. Prefer more "plainer" covers. Not completely plain, but a less-in-your face picture, not so bold. The UK paperback WoT covers are cool and stylish and quite plain. The US versions have quite bold colourful pics on them, I think

[randsc]

Do I buy books because of their cover art? No. But I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I occasionally DON'T buy books because of their cover art. I almost didn't pick up tEoTW because of the cover art.

 

There's thousands of books at the bookstore, you know? And I'm not going to pick up every one of them and read the jacket. So the cover art plays into it.

[AWOLfromtheARMY]

I purchased "The great hunt" in a PX in Iraq just because of the cover art. I read rings and enjoyed it and was looking for a book to pass the time. Before long I had someone ship me the eye of the world so I could catch up. The rest is history.

[Quazie89]

I admit, I have probably been guilty of reading or buying a book just because of its cover, but lately I've discovered I've been buying books if I heard a lot of good things about their authors on the Internet.

[Arkadious]

Yes, Covers draw me to the books which if cover is any good ill rea the back and between the two i will buy the book.

 

On a side note i am trying to find some where to buy a picture with all the us cover art in one big picture if any one has seen.

 

 

 

 

 

[Asha'man Handsome]

I get the feeling that good cover art is dying.

 

Look at WoT - they turned into those bland, identical covers. Sure, I guess that's better than a 4 foot tall Loial, but still.

 

I'm currently 130,000 words into something and one of the things I dread is, if I'm ever lucky enough to get published, that it will just be the new, bland, cut and paste, computerised, Photoshop cover art. I want hand drawn art!

 

*****

 

To answer the question, though: Yes, I have. Katherine Kerr and Tad Williams are two authors I bought because of good cover art (and obviously reading the blurbs).

 

Same with heavy metal music - I bought a lot of CDs/tapes/vynil because of cover art but that seems to be dying, too.

 

It's sad.

[Sagen7]

At a Library book sale I bought 7 books in the series "Wheel of Time" because of the covers....