I unashamedly judge books by their covers. There, I said it. This obviously doesn’t mean that I will read a book purely for its cover, nor would I dismiss a book simply due to a bad cover, but there’s no denying that one of the first things to grab my attention is beautifully designed artwork, so much so that I’ve often been known to pay more to get different editions shipped internationally because I much preferred the covers.
With all that said, there are many stunning covers on my shelves (and many more I would like to add to them in the future) and when thinking recently about what my tastes seem to be, I noticed two main trends amongst many of my favourite covers. Firstly, I seem to prefer artistic rather than photographic covers, and secondly, I evidently love animal motifs. I thought it was interesting that without even realising it, I had a ‘type’ as it were when it comes to what hooks me in. Here are some examples, some of which I already own; others I hope to get my hands on one day; all of which I love:
The Gracekeepers, Vixen and The Raven King.
The Tusk That Did the Damage, The Collector, The Maker of Swans and The Crane Wife.
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Have you noticed any trends in what attracts you to a book cover?
Callum McLaughlin 
I’m more drawn to the artistic as well. Covers are important. I almost missed a great book because the cover was cheesy. I did tell the author the cover did not at all reflect what was inside. She changed the cover and sold a lot more books.
What a great story! That must have been quite satisfying for both you and the author. It’s certainly very true that a lot of wonderful books will go unnoticed due to covers that do them no justice.
Lovely covers. Callum, and though I would buy any book written by Maggie Stiefvater, even if it were wrapped in brown paper, I especially love The Raven King cover. So beautiful! As for my own tastes, I’m open to a lot of things, but I’m more fond of particular artists, I think, than motifs. I’m immediately drawn to any Chris McGrath cover, for one. And I’m just as immediately turned off by covers with headless men, sporting plastic looking, Ninja turtle abs, airbrushed to a fare-thee-well. I know those apparently sell well, but I have to force myself to read the blurbs, to see if what’s inside might make it worth letting it have shelf space in my library. (Kindle helps in that regard. At least I don’t have to look at those.)
All in all, I agree with you that I do judge books by their covers. I’m disproportionately disappointed when a stunning cover doesn’t enclose an equally stunning story, but I dance with happy feet when a less than stellar cover surprises me with a great tale hidden inside.
I very much agree with that last sentiment, Marcia. It’s endlessly disappointing when a glorious cover masks a less than average story, and if only every great tale had a beautiful cover to invite us all in 🙂
Great selection.
The Raven King and the Vixen are particularly striking.
Glad you liked them too 🙂
I opened up my Goodreads to look up The Raven King based on the art. I already have the first book in the series on my list to read though hehe. I love cover art as well. I read Mark Helprin’s Winter’s Tale based on the artwork. I’m very much drawn to a particular aesthetic. Title is a big thing for me, as well. Obviously, I must also find something intriguing in the words, but this is exactly why marketing is important.
I’m in the same situation. I fell in love with the cover for The Raven King but I have to catch up with the rest of the series first 😛
I’m trying to juggle reading four books with finishing my latest story. Tis a difficult time right now 🙂
Best of luck 🙂
Thanks!
I’m definitely drawn to artistic covers as well. I love things that are whimsical and vibrant, like Kinuko Y. Craft’s work. I also love old-school art like the original Shannara, Elric, and Pern covers. Of newer books, I’d say that the Elemental Masters books are almost perfectly my type. I never feel drawn to the odd photo/realistic types of covers that seem so popular lately.
Thank you for liking “Everlasting.” I like illustrated book covers more than photographic ones. I tend to be drawn to colorful covers more than black-and-white ones, but a well-drawn black-and-white illustration on the front cover would capture my attention too. What I also think is important for a book cover is that it gives the potential reader insight into what the story is about.
I developed a new appreciation for attractive book covers after I studied graphic design. My final project for my first Photoshop class was to redesign a book cover. I ended up redesigning the cover of an Edgar Allan Poe anthology that my brother gave to me as a Christmas present. The publishers simply slapped on a painted portrait of Poe on the front cover and made the lettering of the title and the author extra large to fill up space. If I did not know anything about Poe’s work, that cover would probably not inspire me to buy the book.
I can imagine that studying graphic design would allow you to analyse covers on a whole other level of depth 🙂
Yes, it has. I now also notice other “smaller” aspects of a book cover design such as typography and alignment. For example, typography can draw more attention to the main visual image on the cover or distract people’s attention away from it depending on the size and choice of font. In some cases, the typography can also effectively function as the artwork for a book cover. 😀
There’s definitely a lot of hard work that goes into making a good cover 🙂
I agree. 🙂