Do you judge a book by it's cover?

I went to Goodwill on Sunday and picked up a LOT of books. I honestly can't say I looked at too many covers. I dropped them off at my client's yesterday and to day she had picked a few out to start with. I could NOT believe the cover of the one she had on top! It had a guy running with a mom and bucket of water on the cover - hysterical looking!

I used to get a lot of my books from the Goodwill, because half the time those books are in excellent condition! I would just grap whatever fell into my hands, because the price was right, and if they didn't interest me I'd just swap them online to get books that I did want. I no longer go to the Goodwill to get books anymore, because one, they restrict the types of books I like now. There were some religious people complaining about the romances, and horror novels, so they had to stop selling them, which I think is rediculous! And two, I have so many books, that I can't go there to get them anymore, because it would be very difficult to store 10 times the amount I get in each week (which is about 10 books a week through the mail).

Yes, I'll agree. The blurb is what makes the sale. Also, if there are quotes on the jacket from authors that I recognize, I will be more interested in reading that book. Thanks for responding!

I used to do that a lot, now sometimes I will just close my eyes and grab the first thing that my hand comes in contact with. I've found some wonderful books this way, and some of them have horrible covers! Maybe you should give it a try one day, you might be pleasantly surprised! Thanks for responding!

Some good books really have bad covers. I suggest you read the title of the book to see if it interests you and also read the synopsis at the back of the book. That would tell you what the book might be all about and would help you decide if you want the book or not. I know that doing all these is time-consuming, but it would be really worth it.

Actually, the title of the book is one of the things that I do take into consideration when I am looking at the cover of the book. As for the idea of closing your eyes and grabbing a book at random, that sounds like a lot of fun. I'm going to have to give that a try next time I go to the book store and see what kind of books I come out with.

I loved working at the bookstore, let's just say my whole paycheck went back into the store lol. How do you get all the advance copies? I would be really interested in that because now I no longer get any unless one of my friends who still works at the store remembers to grab me one.

Oh I would love to work for a book store! I don't know how much work I'd get done from oogling all the books, but I would sure try! Getting advanced copies of books is yet another wonderful perk! I don't think I need anymore of those though, as I get those in my mailbox on a daily basis from reviewing books online. I've got myself quite a reputation with the publishers and a handful of authors that send me their books for review. I find it easier to read an ARC though, because they don't always have the cover of the final book on them, and it's a surprise to find out whats inside. Thanks for responding!

I started my own reviewing blog on Blogger.com. It's very easy, and I've only been doing it since mid June, and I already have over 100 followers. After I created it, I signed up to a site called bookblogs.ning.com, where you can actually get in touch with some publicists from certain publishers and review and do giveaways for books that they want featured. It's actually quite easy, yet time consuming. I have made quite a lot of friends in the blogging and reviewing community. It's also fun to interact with authors and publicists, as I've gotten to do a couple of interviews in the past. You can check out my review blog at Fallingofftheshelf.blogspot.com. If you decide to give it a try, let me know, I'll be sure to follow!

I used to be that way, until I started reviewing books for my own review blog. Now I get requests to read books that I normally wouldn't even bother to look at...but when they send you the book synopsis first, it's easy to become intrigued even before you see the cover. I've been reading a lot of good books before seeing their covers lately, and have been quite pleased. Thanks for responding!

Oh no, it wouldn't be enough in itself to put me off, I'd read the back cover to, but really I'm not into romances, I prefer something a bit heavier. Unfortuantely the quality of reading material depends on what the tourists leave behind, unless I re read my own collection. Sometimes it's not too bad but for one whole summer the only thing there was those chick lit things, and I was so desperate I ended up reading a few.

I love reading Chick Lit! lol. Some of them are quite funny. I like a mixed variety while reading. My favorite genre is paranormal, or urban fantasy. I love anything that has a vampire, or werewolf..or even a witch involved. I also enjoy reading cozy mysteries, chick lit (yeah!), young adult, suspense, and mysteries too. I very rarely pick up a biography or memoir unless it's about the holocaust. Have you ever tried swapping books online at Bookmooch? You can get a lot of books that way, and get rid of those chick lit books that you'd rather not read, lol.

love reading Chick Lit! lol. Some of them are quite funny. I like a mixed variety while reading. My favorite genre is paranormal, or urban fantasy. I love anything that has a vampire, or werewolf..or even a witch involved. I also enjoy reading cozy mysteries, chick lit (yeah!), young adult, suspense, and mysteries too. I very rarely pick up a biography or memoir unless it's about the holocaust. Have you ever tried swapping books online at Bookmooch? You can get a lot of books that way, and get rid of those chick lit books that you'd rather not read, lol. You'll have to fill me in on Bookmooch Jenni, I've never heard of them but expect that they won't deliver to Greece, hardly anyone does. I was reading your list of what you like to read and thinking we really don't have the same tastes but then I saw the holocaust. I've probably collected more books about that than anything else, memoirs, historical books about the era, any of it, it's a fascinating era of history. I actually put a disc up the other day about my all time hero Simon Wiesenthal but it bombed, as I more or less expected. Some of his writings though, just fascinating, and the total dedication. I also like a good murder, or memoirs set in modern times from countries previously closed to publishing in the west, plus anything really except ski fi or romance. Nice to find an interest in common.

You may be a good candidate for my spin and grab game! Just close your eyes next time your in your local bookstore...or library, and grab a book. Don't bother with the cover just yet, just read the back and see if it's interesting! You may be pleasantly surprised to find something you'll remember for ages. Thanks for responding!

What a unique and interesting idea! I just may try that.

Yes, it should, but this is not always the case. The authors do of the books have no say in what their cover will look like. The publisher makes that choice, and sometimes, the cover may be misleading. There was a controversy over a book called Liar a short time ago, where the book was about a black girl, and they had a white girl on the front cover because the publisher was certain that they would get more sales that way. Readers were outraged, and they had to change the cover. I personally don't care about the color of a persons skin on a cover, and in fact, I think that the new cover they created was far more catching than the original! Thanks for responding!

Yes, I do the same thing! Although, sometimes I just like to go into the bookstore to browse, because I do most of my book shopping online, as well as swapping my current books for new ones online as well. I'm always inclined to buy the book that has the prettier cover, but if it's just ugly...I'll deal with it, lol. Thanks for responding!

I'm glad to hear that you don't rely soley on the cover to catch your attention! I have a friend that will just buy books because they look beautiful. More often than not he gives me those books, because he doesn't like them. Although, he has found some that he loved as well, it's all just random when picking up a book..you never know how you'll feel about it until you actually read it. Thanks for responding!

Oh I've never gone about buying books that way before. I think I'd be there all day if I did! I love to read, and it's always so hard for me to just make a few selections when shopping for books. I usually do my research before I go to the bookstore. You can read some chapters of upcoming books on Amazon. I do this on occasion and have found some great books to read!

Yes, I always buy books by authors I like, even if covers of their books have me second guessing the book. You have to keep in mind that book covers are not chosen by the author, but the publisher instead. An author may not be happy with the outcome of the cover, but they can't do anything about it. Thanks for responding!

Yes, I have a bad habit of looking at all the pretty covers, but you can't just hope that what your getting into will be an amazing experience. I too will check blurbs, and synopsis of books, in hopes that I'm going to be intrigued. I usually am when the covers are beautiful, but I've also been surprised to find that some books with ugly covers have the most wonderful treasures waiting on the inside. It's sort of a goal of mine to find great books with horrible covers. Thanks for responding!

Very true! I have on many occasions read a book that had a beautiful cover and I just couldn't get into the book. I wouldn't say it was a horrible piece of crap, but hey, that is your opinion. I personally don't think anything is considered as such, because I may not like it...but someone down the road may think it was the best book they ever read. Thank you for responding!

Well, not all covers have to do with what the book is about. For starters, Twilight, there is a flower on the cover of that book...what does that have to do with vampires and glittering in the sun? Absolutly nothing! Authors have no say over what the cover of their book will be, or the title for that matter. As soon as it gets into the publishers hands, that is decided, and I've met a couple of authors that were not happy with the final product, but couldn't do anything about it. Don't always depend on a cover to give you an insight on the book, you may be misguided. Thank you for responding!

Yes, I agree, the outer beauty of things does help a lot. But have you ever read a book that would not appeal to you by the cover, and loved it? I've recently read quite a few books (books sent to me by publishers and authors), that the covers were something that would steer me away from the reading, but in fact, the books were amazing!

I can fully relate to the Twilight Series! I kept putting them aside, although I have the entire series sitting here from swapping on Paperbackswap. I went to see the movie first, and was completely turned off, but everyone said the book was soooo much better, so I picked up the first in the series. It was great! I fell in love with it, and read the entire thing in one sitting. I still have yet to pick up the second in the series, New Moon, not because I don't want to read it...but because of all these review books piled up next to me. I can't wait to see the second movie, in hopes that it will be much better than the first, and I really can't wait to read the book. Thanks for responding!