books | Cover me!

Cover me!

I'm curious, what's everyone's opinions on book covers?

Would you rather we return to the olden days when a cover consisted of the title and author's name or does the modern idea of pictures appeal to you? Do you base (some of) your book buys on the fact that they have a pretty cover (or, flip side, do you refuse to touch a book because you hate the cover)?

Do you want your series covers to match in style or do you just not care about the covers or way or another?

What about dustjackets? Useful or just a pain?

I'm asking because two of the books I ordered this week didn't have the cover the online stores presented me with. I was... Actually, I'm not sure what I was. Annoyed, I think. I ordered them from those sites precisely because they showed me the cover I was after.

Okay, for full disclosure, I'm talking about the old and reissue covers for Dawn Cook's Truth series. I fell in love with the reissue cover for book 4, and I do aesthetically prefer the new covers over the old ones, even if the old covers do suit the books a lot better.

It got me thinking, again, about my opinion on covers and how they affect my bookish habits.

For series, I definitely like my covers to match if at all possible, but it's more important that the books are all the same size. Matching covers just look neater and tidier on the shelves. (This includes series comprised of stand-alone books like the Penguin Classics.)

For stand-alone books I'm a lot more... open? I don't get swayed to buy or not-buy books based on the cover and it's only in recenter years that I've even begun to really notice covers. A pretty cover does not an interesting book make.

Yet, that said, if I know I'm going to buy a specific book and there are multiple covers available I'm liable to go for the one that I think is prettiest. It depends on whether I think the pretty is worth the price difference.

I can definitely be a cover snob at times, though to date I've only replaced six covers with prettier, Shanra-friendlier ones. (And five of those six books came in the same boxset!) And sometimes I'll (try to) track down specific covers for nostalgia reasons, but this is fairly rare since 'nostalgia' tends to include 'Dutch' for me and I've pretty much stopped reading in my native language.

Some of my books are old enough to have come without dust jackets - or at least old enough to pretend they did - and there is something I find incredibly appealing about them. ^-^ No idea what it is, though. I don't think I'd be happy to see cover images disappear, but I can't say I'd mind terribly either.

And I dislike dust jackets. They keep slipping and sliding around my book. Gah!

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I have bought books based initially on the cover (although I do tend to confirm whether or not to buy by reading the back of the book first), and generally been pleased with the result. I generally only do this when I want to buy something random.

My sets must absolutely match: my other half and I both bought the same series of books but different sets. But I'd been desperate and bought the wrong version of one of the books, so my boyfriend had to buy the one to match my set so that we could swap. I also hate having some hardback and some softback books in the same set, and so have been known to buy hardbacks for series' I'm not too keen on just to match (and have one series unfinished because I can't bear to spend the money on hardbacks as the first book wasn't all that engaging).

I'm not really a cover snob though: if it's a new book and not part of a set I don't really care which cover I get (although if given a choice I will find the prettier cover - and the non-movie-related cover if it's a film of a book. I absolutely hate film of book covers!).

Dust jackets I don't mind. I tend to take them off when reading though, unless it's a book that won't be leaving it's place on my desk. This is particularly a great plan if the book under the dust jacket is plain and I don't want it to be obvious what I'm reading (less of a problem now I don't have regular bus journeys).

Book covers don't really make much difference to me - especially in genres I read they can frequently come off as very generic* - but I do like them to match if they're in a series. I have the entire History of Middle Earth on my shelf and there's one that doesn't match and it drives me crazy sometimes. As I don't read them that often, however, I can't really justify spending money to replace it. >.>

*The one exception to this is Josh Kirby's art on the Discworld books because I adore those covers. I think the minimal black covers that came with the reissuing really don't capture the Discworld at all.

If I know something about the author/book/series, then the cover doesn't influence me in buying the book. However, if I'm just browsing, then I may get a book based on a cover that caught my eye :D

I love dust jackets, but I tend to remove them before reading the book. (I leave them on the shelf, to occupy the empty spot where the book was, so I can put the book back in its former place *g*)

I prefer sets that match if at all possible, but having a trilogy with two books matching and one not bothers me more than a trilogy with all three books non-matching. Matching sizes are more important, though! Just because it's such a pain to try to figure out how to organize a series if the books aren't the same size.

Sometimes, though, I get no choice in the matter (like when I have been looking for the nth book for ages, and then finally find it). Then I go D:, but I still get the book :D

i like cover art, not this trend of putting pictures on the cover. like what's being done with the star trek books. if it's people from any of the series; they're pictures, if it's made-up people; it's art.
the only cover i hated was the hard back of future perfect: how star trek conquered planet earth by jeff greenwald. the one i picked up has a psychedelic, holographic cover that made me cross-eyed & sick to my stomach. so i took it off when i read it, but put it back on for storage.
in general i find dust jackets annoying for the same reason that you do shanra.

That's so great that you have mostly pleasant experiences with judging a book by its cover! ^-^ (But, yes, for me reading the blurb after would also be a must.) Sometimes I decide I want to read an author's work, but have no idea where to start and just pick the book with the most appealing cover. ^-^ That's the closest I've come, though. I tend to turn books straight to the blurb when I take them off the shelf.

Hee! You both preferred different covers of the same series?

Oooooh! I hear you on the film covers! The only one I've ever seen that I've not minded is the cover for Hogfather.

The only time I ever got a comment on my reading in the train was when I was so engaged I could not keep quiet. Most of the books I see tend to be mainstream with a dash of English classic, though. Presumably the English-reading people are students of English, which makes me squee since I'm one. ^-^

Urg... Mismatching series... And the History of Middle Earth books are fairly pricey, aren't they? *sad noise* Maybe one day you'll find a really cheap copy in the edition you want and you can justify replacing it! *hopes so*

I so hear you on the Discworld covers! I have far too much loathing for my Thud! cover, poor thing that it is. It hasn't done anything to deserve it. It just... Couldn't they at least have stuck with something colourful? (I mean, I like some of the black covers I've seen aesthetically, but not for the Discworld books. It's just... wrong. I know black is supposed to be universally flattering and all, but on those books it does not work for me.)

My dustjackets would hate me if I left them on the shelves right now. I'd probably just forget there's no book in it and get it squashed, trying to fit others in... It's an awesome idea, though, and one day when I have enough shelf space fo everything, I may have to steal it from you! ^-~

And size matters so, so much. One day, I will replace my DWJ mass markets with trade paperbacks so my sizes match. I tend to keep horizontal stacks on my vertical ones (see aforementioned lack of space) and it is so frustrating trying to figure out the very best way to balance them!

I hate having no choice in the matter. T-T The worst, very worst, cases there are are the ones where you have no choice because there is no matching version available rather than because it's the first edition you've run into. (And I do the same thing. I made sad faces and get the book anyway.)

So... you don't like the trend of putting photographed models on the cover? (I'm sorry. It's past 1 am and I'm a little dense even when entirely awake. >> I just want to be sure I'm understanding correctly. ^-^)

That would be a really good reason to hate a book cover. *nods* I admire your willingness to put it back. I'd not've had the willpower, I think. Covers should not make a person feel sick. *sad noise*

I like the idea of dust jackets and the little extra space for information they provide, but I don't think they're particularly practical.

I pick up books based on covers unless I know the author, or the book was recommended to me. If I like the cover I'll read the back of the book to see what it's about. I like book covers if they're the plastic clear kind like libraries have on their books, the ones that are taped on. I don't like the paper covers because they slip off too much, or they get ripped when I try to fit books into a shelf that's already a tight fit because of all the books I try to cram together.

Sometimes book covers are the reason I pick up some books, but for the most part they don't matter too much to me. I love dust jackets though, I like being able to remove the dust jacket and just have the book there. :)

*blinks* I did not get this notification. Weird. :( But yeah, the HoME are fairly pricey. I occasionally keep an eye out when I'm by a book stall at a local market but so far no dice.

*nods* I always think the black/dark covers don't really do Discworld justice at all. I always associate the books with bright colours because it just seems to fit better.

Echoing what others have said about preferring sets to have matching covers. But sometimes that's impossible, my older Charlaine Harris novels had the cartoon style covers by Lisa Desimini, but since the True Blood TV show launched the new novels have a very different cover.

The only time i got really obsessed by a particular cover, was an old seventies set of Agatha Christie's which had stark white covers, with the author's name at the top, book title at the bottom, and a picture of the murder weapon from the novel in the centre. It took the best part of five years trawling charity shops and jumble sales, but i eventually put a complete set together.

I'm not really influenced by the cover while choosing a book, unless the cover is particularly ghastly. *g* Sometimes I wish, though, that I could afford all the different editions of the books I love. The English Patient, f'rinstance, has at least three different covers that I've seen, and every time I come across one that I don't have, I have to struggle not to buy it! (I usually end up buying such books, and gifting them away. *g*)

I think I was posting around the downtime issue. DW wasn't behaving itself when I was posting anyhow, so I'm guessing that's why no notifications got sent out.

That's a pity. :(

They really, really don't. (That said, I like the tie-in cover for Hogfather, but that's about it for the non-bright covers I like.) Bright colours and caricature style just suit the mood and feel of (what I can feel of) the books so much better.

Those library covers look pretty nice. ^-^ We don't have those in my library - well, not like the ones I've received/bought as former library books from the US anyhow - but they seem like really useful solutions to the problem.

Have you ever tried taping your dust covers on in imitation of the library covers to reduce the chance of them getting damaged when you put them on your shelf? *curious*

Plain hardcover underneath the dust jacket or decorated?

I think there's so much appeal to just plain covers, but I wish publishers would also put the title and author on the front instead of solely on the side.

Wow! That's dedication for you. ^-^ I'm glad you've been able to complete the Christie set! (Even if it did take you a long time to do so. ^-^)

Does 'all different editions' also include foreign language editions?

I get itchy when I see a cover I like more of a book I already have, but I've only got a few replacement. (And I also gifted the old ones away. ^-^ Spread the book-reading love. ^-^)

Ah, that might be why, then, yes. ^.^

Heh, I'll get it eventually. >.> Just might take a while.

*nods* The cover with the cast on it? Because yeah, that one fits pretty well. *sighs* I miss Josh Kirby's art. :(

it's photographs of either actors from the movie or tv show it's biased on or some models they haired for it that i don't like

I really like plain. I don't really know the appeal for me, I never really thought about it. I just always preferred hardcover to softcover and didn't really mind the plain book underneat the jackets.

Yes actually, but then I got sticky tape residue all over the insides of the book. Dust covers only cover around the side of the book, not the top or bottom. I used to have plastic covering like the library uses, but I used it all for school books.

I hate dust jackets, too. They always get crinkled and slip off. Although on the plus side, when I do read books with them on I can use a flap as a handy bookmark.

Covers are usually what gets me pick up a book and read the blurb on the back to see if I'd be interested in reading it. I judge books by their cover (and then feel a bit shallow about it) when I'm browsing in stores or libraries, but when I'm looking online covers don't matter as much to me. There are a lot of book recs around the internet and the summaries are more important to me then.

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