Don't ALWAYS judge a book by its cover! (Ever judge a book by it's cover?)

Member Name: crazyminx

Product:	Ever judge a book by it's cover?
Date:	19/10/09 (65 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Covers can help you easily pick out books in the right genre

Disadvantages: Some good books can have awful covers, and vice versa

I was surprised to read a review on this subject recently and find that it was under reviews for 'Books and Magazines' rather than the discussion section in Speaker's Corner. However I do think it's an interesting concept so I thought I would add my two pence!

I have heard the words 'Don't judge a book by its cover' many times throughout my life, but oddly most of the times have not been referring to books. It's a phrase that I more often find myself or other people using when referring to prejudices and stereotypes that people have based on an appearance. And used in that context, the phrase is true - you shouldn't judge people or places based on a quick first impression of their outward appearance. However, when it comes to books, I find that you often actually can judge a book by its cover!

For example, most books' covers now conform to a sort of code. Chick lit covers tend to be in pastel colours, with the title written in a curly font and hand drawn pictures of young women in dresses and high heels, often holding cocktails. As soon as you see this on the front of a book you can quickly judge its genre and you know that it won't hold too many surprises and will give you what you're after - a light, fun, girly reading experience.

In the same way you can tell a crime novel from twenty paces with its large lettering and bulky font for the title and author's name, often taking up most of the front cover and often looking not unlike a newspaper headline. You know when you see that, that you'll be getting a pretty standard detective novel with a few kidnappings or murders.

Sometimes, though, a cover can be misleading. I recently read 'Lottie Biggs is Not Mad' by Hayley Long, which had a bright pink cover covered in doodles and looked for all the world like the sort of pre-teen and teen girls' diary book that are so popular these days. But although it started off like that, halfway through it turned into an exploration of teenage depression, kleptomania and possibly schizophrenia. If someone didn't know anything about this book beforehand then they would be taken off guard, and I thought it should have had a few sentences on the back cover at least, to warn parents of the subject matter.

Also, of course, there are some books which have bad covers but turn out to be very good once you start reading them. 'Snow' by Orhan Pamuk, for example, has a depressing picture of a man lighting a cigarette on the front cover, but inside it is a vibrant book which covers romance, political intrigue, religious differences, and all sorts.

So what is the answer? Well, clearly not every book can be accurately judged by its cover. However covers and the conventions which bind them (pun intended) can be useful to help you quickly pick out books in the genre you are looking for.

Summary: Every book is different!