Don't Judge Me

We've all heard the old adage, Don't judge a book by its cover. I'd love to say I adhere to it one hundred percent. I really, really do.

But I don't.

I want to. I want to say, The cover is not a reflection of the author's work, so I won't even pay attention. 

But I don't.

Because the truth is, a cover has the power to pull me in or push me away. Let's take an example, shall we?

Beautiful, beautiful cover. I came across this while searching for something else on Amazon. I read the description. Meh. I wasn't really interested in fallen angels, but, oh man, the cover had me coming back a few days later. Maybe if I just read the prologue, I'll be into it. *read prologue through Amazon* Meh. I pretty much hate prologues anyway and this one didn't grab me. Again, I let it be. A week later I walked into a bookstore to buy something else. Holy crap this cover is even more beautiful in person! I rushed over to it willing to give it another chance. I read the first few pages of the first chapter. I wasn't hooked, but it was interesting. And I had to own this cover.

So I bought it.

That's right ladies and gentleman, the awesomeness of the cover led me back to the book again and again until I bought it. And you know what? I liked the book. A lot.

But, if it had a crappy cover, would I have given it as many chances? I'd like to say yes, but I'm not really sure.


Let's take another example:

Holy goodness this cover creeps me out. After reading the book, it's completely fitting, but absolutely creepy. I'm not always a fan of creepy.

Anyway, several twitter followers recommended this book to me. Highly recommended. One look at this cover and I thought, Really? You want me to read that? I set it aside in my mind for a few days. Then I looked at the recommendations again. *sigh* I read the description. Interesting. But the cover was still creepy. I put it on my library holds, still not sure if I'd read it. *book arrives* Cover is still. Freaking. Creepy. I put it at the bottom of my library TBR pile, thinking I'd get to it if I got to it.

Finally, finally, I read it. OMG it is amazing! One of the best books I've read. EVER! But, you know what? If I hadn't received so many awesome recommendations about this book, I never would've picked it up off the shelf. And the cover isn't even a bad cover. It's just not my choice.


So, book covers can definitely sway me. They aren't the be-all and end-all, but they carry some weight. And I know I'm not alone in this.

How important are book covers for you? Have you ever picked up a book or boycotted one solely on the cover?