Bitten by Books
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It’s kind of a combo of the ones I picked. Sure, I look at the covers, but I know it comes down to what is inside. If it is a super cover, it does get me interested in what it is about, but I’m fairly confident that I never bought a book purely on the cover alone.
Since the majority of my books are ebooks now days I don’t pay as much attention to the cover as I used to. Do get put off by a bad one though when browsing for new books to purchase.
My response is almost exactly like EmmaD’s. As an almost exclusively e-book reader, the front cover is not as important as it used to be when I bought print books. However, the back cover/blurb is extremely important - which is the same as when I bought print books. Because I am reading so many new authors, I find that blurb on the websites where I purchase my e-books to be essential. The only time I will buy without a blurb is when I am looking for the newest title by an author whose series I have been following. Then I will buy the book even if the blurb sounds like it might not be to my taste because I “need” to keep the continuity going. BTW, an eye-catching front cover on the website WILL cause me to take an initial look at an author I have not read before, then I read the blurb and decide if it is something I want to read. Unlike many (at least if you listen to the ’50 shades’ media stuff), I am not a bdsm fan, so when I see a cover with ropes, leather, submission, etc. I am truly turned off and won’t even read the blurb to see if the title might have a storyline that I might like. I have read some bdsm titles by my newly discovered favorite authors, however, I tend to skip over as much of the d/s stuff as I can. I understand the concept of submission being freedom to feel, but it is just not what turns me on. And hitting of any kind (even spanking) is just not in my wheelhouse. I’m more of a “you’re so hot I can’t help myself as to kissing, touching, licking and so on kind-of-gal”.
Also as an e-book reader, it seems like there are more series published these days, so covers are not as important if I am buying the next title in a series. It could be just that I have expanded my horizons and my newer favorite authors write series titles rather than stand-alones - it feels like I am forever picking up the ‘next’ title. Of course, where I used to have 5-8 favorite authors, I now have 10-20, so guess it comes with the expansion…
When picking up a book by a new author, the cover is the first call to your eyes, unless it is one of my must buy authors then it is just get to the description on the back cover. I still look thru books by new authors to get a feel for story before buying.
Initially, the cover draws me in. But even if the cover is bad, I will still buy the book if it sounds good. If the book is by one of my favorite authors, I buy it no matter what.
Covers are a consideration but primarily, if it’s an author I read, I’ll be getting the book. Secondarily, if the cover is incredibly bad, I’ll look just to see what’s within, and remember, one cannot judge a book buy it’s cover!
Some of my favorite books had terrible covers (at least for the first edition-the original Amber Allure printing of DIVERSION by Eden Winters springs to mind), so it’s not necessarily a deal-breaker. If I know the author’s work, the cover won’t matter. I do get put off by headless torsos, and the same (lamely) Photoshopped images juxtaposed awkwardly or used over and over…
yes, with ebooks, it’s less so, but the cover is STILL what catches my eye. Years ago I’d quit reading romance. I read mostly science fiction by that time. Plus thrillers, etc. One day I was in the Sci Fi row and turned, and a cover caught my eye. See, I’m a magpie. Anything that glitters or is pretty I will go look even if I don’t want to. I can’t help myself. The cover was so pretty and sparkly, but it was a romance. Hmm. I flipped it over and read the back, and it didn’t sound like any romance I’d ever read before, so thought I’d try it.
Before I knew it I was hooked. I was now reading paranormal romance, and I felt like I’d “come home”. On top of that, my mind started racing. “People want to read about vampires and werewolves??? cool! I can write that”. I had always wanted to write books, but couldn’t seem to find the “plot” I needed. I can live in the paranormal worlds! Any time, any place. And all that was started by a book cover.
Even though the ebook covers aren’t as important, I still look and if the cover is cheap or ugly, I still pass it by. So much in our world is visual. And that’s where I am. I remember, a few years back, a friend who wrote an awesome book, and the epub gave her a horrid cover. Now they weren’t known for bad covers - don’t get me wrong. And she had other books with that publisher. All of her other books were big hits. The one with the bad cover barely sold 10 copies. Makes you wanna go Hmmm.
I chose other. I am a sucker for great covers, and they will attract me to books, just as an off-putting cover will make me pass it over. However, if the book I picked up with the great cover turns out to not actually sound great when I read the back, I won’t buy it just because I liked the cover. Also, if I hear lots of good things about a book that turns out to have a cover I don’t like, I would buy it anyway. The cover thing for me really just comes down to what I gravitate towards or away from if browsing a book store, but it would never affect my final decision in deciding what to read.
I really did not know how to answer this one. Yeah, covers can catch my eyes to look at the book but that doesn’t mean I’ll actually BUY the book. There have been some gorgeous covers for authors I don’t read (and never plan to)…
Covers do not have any real influence on what I buy. I do look at the blurbs on them, however. And as others have said, with e-books the importance of covers has diminished.
A really good cover can get my attention for a book I otherwise might not have looked at…but my purchase decision is generally based on the back blurb. A bad caver can push me away though. If it is a fav author- the cover does not matter at all.
The cover attracts my attention to new authors and also helps me to decide if I might be interested in the book, also you can usually find out the book’s genre just by looking at its cover, so it also makes it quicker for me to decide if I might be interested or not, because there are some genres that I don’t usually read. Of course, if it’s a book by an author I’ve read and liked before, or from a series I follow, then it doesn’t really matter much, although I sometimes choose books with prettier cover from between US and UK editions of the same book.
An attractive cover will grab my attention, but it’s all about the content. A good blurb is more important in my purchasing decision. If the book is written by a favorite author, I will buy the book even with a bad cover.
I do like covers and it does often help me to get the book. I do not like weird cartoony ones
It’s always nice to see a great cover but it only encourages me to pick it up not buy
I do tend to favor books with a good cover, but at the same time, if it’s from one of my favorite authors and yet has a bad cover, I will still buy it.
I feel shallow saying this, but the cover art can sell me the book. I always read the blurb too, but the cover has to catch my eye.
I have an inner Cover HO named LOLA & she does her embarrassing HAPPY DANCE for WORTHY COVERS. I shop with me eyes, so a COVER must BEOTCH SLAP my eyes before I will read the synopsis.
I pick
1. if it my favorite Author and the cover is bad I will still buy it.
2.I don’t care about the cover
3. if a cover is really good I will buy the book
My favorite authors would definitely slide on the bad cover issue. I am more about the blurbs and reviews than the cover. That said if I am just skimming a good and/or great book cover will catch my attention so that I will stop to investigate further.
I love a good cover, it’s what makes me pick up a book.