How much do book covers affect you?

[KCWolf]

As a reader of mostly fantasy and sci-fi, I am initially drawn to a beautiful, artfully done cover. Other times, a book's reputation draws me to it even if the cover is rather bland (for instance, Outlander).

The reverse is also true, If I dislike the cover or think it looks like it was drawn by a 4-year-old, I will be reluctant to check it out.

Also, a picture truly is worth a thousand words. The cover art usually depicts what or whom the story is about. It also should depict what genre it is. So it helps me to decide whether it's a book I'll be interested in, or not.

[dianaterrado]

Very much. It's the first thing that attracts me. After seeing the cover and liking it I'll check out the blurb and if I like the sound of it, I would most definitely read it.

[Alice Thokchom]

The cover doesn't matter much to me. Of course, I love a nice, thematic, relevant cover but, what matters the most is the content and the title of each chapter of the book. Whenever I select a book I would just go through the content and look whether the book has something that strikes me.

[dianaterrado]

For authors of bks I've previously read and loved, the cover doesn't really matter. But for authors I've never heard of, considering the cover is one of the first things I'll see, it actually plays a huge part.

[spencermack]

Don't judge a book by its cover.

HA! Don't we all do this? The book jacket is what catches the readers eye, that's why artists take their time on it or major authors names take up half the cover. To catch the eye.

I always love to have pretty books sitting on my bookshelf. But, if I like the cover and the explanation sounds awful I don't buy it. If it's a beautiful book that sounds okay, I'm more likely to buy it.

[Monet_va]

I love when books have a beautiful cover and he cover definitely influences my choice when buying!

[Jezebelle84]

I actually dislike the phrase "you can't judge a book by it's cover."
When browsing a bookstore, or even an online bookstore, the cover, title and author are the first thing you see. If you're not looking for a specific book, you're looking for something to catch your eye. That is what the cover is there for. People put a great deal of time and effort into creating book covers specifically to catch a person's eye. So, if i see a cover that looks interesting with a title that sounds like something i might like, i'll pick it up off the shelf to give the synopsis a read. If the synopsis doesn't interest me, I won't buy the book. I've never purchased a book based solely on the cover. I need to know what the book is about at least before buying it.

[Corina Elena]

I love special book covers! My bookshelves at home are my own private gallery and I love displaying special editions of the books I love. I am currently repurchasing the Harry Potter books, the illustrated editions with drawings by Jim Kay. Also, when visiting Shakespear and Company in Paris, I also purchased some books I already had, just for the covers and, of course, the stamps.

[bmfought]

I don't look at covers. I just read the back of the book and if it sounds good, I buy it. Even if it were to have a nice cover, some do not peak my interest at all.

[ElizaPeaks]

I'm really big about a book cover looking nice! It won't stop me from reading a book, but if I'm buying one, I want it to look nice or at least match the rest in a series! I've definitely bought older editions of books for my English classes because I didn't like the covers for the newer editions (and so far that hasn't affected me yet, so ha!). There's something special about having a book that's visually appealing!

I will say this, though: if I love a book enough, and if I don't like any of the covers it's ever been sold with, I am willing to go out of my way to make it a new dust jacket that I like. That's probably a little sad, but I like my bookshelf to look nice...

[Inkroverts]

I judge the book with the title first, because the spines are what I can see usually when I'm browsing the library shelves. But the covers do play a part in convincing me to read the books.

[Henrytbab]

Every book has a cover. Even if there's nothing on it.

I remember standing in bookstores, holding books, touching their covers, sometimes because they had a special finish I wanted to feel, or sometimes because they just looked so stunning that I wanted to hold them even if I knew I couldn't buy (all of) them.

Have you ever bought a book just because you fell in love with the cover/the front?
How much of an impact do covers have on you? In hindsight, are there books you regret buying that drew you in with their cover?

I have once bought books based their covers but I don't do that anymore. I don't regret buying the ones I bought though.