Do you ever judge books by their cover?

[sushy00]

Yes I judge a book by its cover! In the end the content matters the most, but a nice cover makes sure I check it in the first place.

[Lensing]

Bad cover art can do a lot of damage and it´s a shame that people put a lot of time, money, effort into a project
and then rush with the cover. I did that mistake with music album cover art in the past and I regret it a lot

[Bearkorps]

Assuming cover art was done by/approved by the author, naturally it will betray how the author and by extension, how the author hopes the audience views the work. I won't judge your cover, but like a cat sitting high on a cupboard about to knock over a priceless heirloom, rest assured, I am judging you.

[WoollyPAR]

Yeah! I've tried looking at the books when I go to Costco, but it's either really young kids' stuff or it's books that have those really boring photo covers you mentioned (the selection is probably cuz most of their customers are older parents with children or grandparents with grandchildren, but that's another topic entirely). The kids' books at least have some nice art on the cover, but all those adult books feel the same. It's like a photo of a person that doesn't show the face and it has the title on it in a very boring font. Sometimes they don't even go that far and it's just words. Idk what the point of it is, but it feels like it's meant to seem more "mature" like art is only for kids or something and adults only get boring photos and lots of words to read. I've never understood why so much adult entertainment has to be so boring to apeal to adults. An adult would NEVER pick up a book with cool art on the cover

[DasIstWunderblyat]

Kind of, but for assessing something like theme and genre.
Sometimes it can indicate quality and/or investment in the project, but on the other hand it most indicate who has more money or who can hire better designer, thus I tend to judge book more by its cover for professional works, not something Tapas people do for hobby.

[Swamp]

The main thing I'm judging, especially for a novel where art quality doesn't matter to enjoying the story, is what the cover is trying to communicate.
A good cover doesn't make everyone want to read, it makes the people who love that genre want to read. A good horror cover won't, and shouldn't, make my mom pick the book up.
The conventions of every genre are different, and webnovels tend to have slightly different genre conventions than store novels.
Watchman would be a bad cover in a webnovel enviroment because that cover is very 'graphic design'. That itself communicates a good deal. The high contrast blood splatter over a section of a yellow smile implies that the book is gory, off-kilter, and 'literary'. But that cover sold a collected omnibus of a series that had enough clout to sell on reputation. It got picked off shelves on these covers https://www.coverbrowser.com/covers/watchmen
Even that was possible because of Alan Moore's clout.
A cover's main job is not to be a beautiful work of art, it is a pitch that tells the reader what to expect inside. For a comic, that does often involve showing off your art skills.
Once your personal brand has a following, you get a lot more freedom. The classics can do simple or abstract covers because almost nobody is going to read Moby Dick without knowing what kind of book they're picking up. You don't need an introduction if they already know your name.

[BoomerZ]

My biggest judge on the cover is does it match the interior. I fantastic cover, then you open the book to art that is no where like it always disappoints. Even worst on that note is a guest cover artist. The cover should advertise what you get inside the book. Having J. Scott Campbell draw your cover tells me he drew the comic. Most of the time he didn't.

[EverydayWonderlander]

Not for novels, or at least I try not to. I'll be honest and admit that having real people on the cover of a book makes my interest plummet, especially if it's one of those cash-grab editions of a comic. I depend more on titles and synopses.

For comics, it's kind of 50/50 ? I read mostly manga and webcomics, and still depend on titles.
If the title is a sentence (eg, "Is it wrong to pick up girls in a dungeon," or "so i'm a spider - so what?!") I know what group of genres to expect and usually steer clear. The Dead Dead Demon's Dededede Destruction caught my eye, even though the art style isn't exactly to my taste.

I find I'm way more forgiving of aesthetic than I am of storyline, lol.

[fleurravenbooks]

While i want to say i don't....i actually do.
I won't ignore book that sounds good because i don't like cover, BUT i'm more likely to grab/click on cover that i like

[powerplantanimations]

I have this rule that if there aren't any pictures in your book then create a cover that's so appealing that it catches my eye. I be a simple minded man. Also something that's fun to collect. Something that'll look cool on my shelf.

As for comics well... yeah I do judge based on the cover because covers are supposed to tell you everything. That's your first impression. I've watched videos that talk about how much work goes into simple logos and character designs that I'm like "wow, I guess a lot of effort is put into this".

[authorvicomara]

I don't care for the cover for novels/self-help books, etc. at all. I care only whether the story and the writing style suit my tastes.

For the comics - I care about the cover just as much as I care about the drawings inside and whether they match in quality, and my tastes. It's disappointing when the comic cover is polished (and overdramatized/overstuffed with details) to the moon and back, whereas the drawings inside look ... much simpler (or even 'unfinished', when compared to the cover). My eyes want consistency, not another clickbait. If the comic cover matches the quality and style inside, then it's perfect.

[Ordinaryaverageguy]

If I like a cover, I'll read the blurb/synopsis & make a decision about whether I'd want to read it.

[Lady_T_Musings]

Oh, I totally do, BUT I try to be more open-minded about whether or not I pass by it or pick it up. Audiobooks have helped me with not being so closed-minded in this regard too.

Like I will always pick up a book that has stylized art/characters on it over a book with actual people on it. Also if it looks like it was photo edited and collaged in MS Paint (not drawn in ms paint, I've been surprised there) I'll pass over it too.

BUT I can totally overlook any side-eyed cover judgments if they hit the hidden criteria that will always make me pick up a book and turn it around no matter what I say about the cover content. What is the hidden criteria? Plus-size/fat characters as leads and bonus if they are BIPOC or a muscular, or really tall lady. What can I say, I'm thirsty for my fix so I will give any book a shot daring enough to feature my niche on the cover.

[sams_cartoon_shack]

While I won't exclusively judge a book by its cover, I am much more likely to pick up a book and read the blurb if the cover is appealing from an aesthetic point, especially if it's a comic/graphic novel.

[MeltingCORE]

I try not to judge a book by it's cover but I always do subconsciously anyways lol. It's how I find new things to read and what's the first thing we always see? The cover, of course. I'm more inclined to lean towards covers with bright colors and/or detailed art. Manga and old school sci-fi covers are always my favorite.

[Fafnir]

If the creator didn't put in the effort to make a good cover, knowing it's the first thing people will see. Then yes, I 100% judge it, and won't read it.
Same goes for your blurb, fix those spelling and grammar mistakes everyone. Or else get someone smart to do it for you (like i did X)

[xkdeSskf]

Surprisingly, I do actually find myself looking at the cover more and judging it before even taking it off the shelf and reading part of it and throwing it back to the shelf or just take it with me. I prefer books with just the words and a simple background with no drawings or pictures.I guess I kinda feel a little insecure when I read the book in public and people look at it and go like that's childish.

[sams_cartoon_shack]

Since most of my reading diet nowadays is made up of graphic novels, I don't care about any possible embarrassment from reading a book in public with a colorful cover. Besides, I would not likely see those judging strangers again, and even if I did, what's the worst they can do to me?

[WoollyPAR]

I think you misunderstood the question, it's about whether or not you specifically would judge a book by its cover, not about whether or not you where scared of other people judging you by the covers of the books you read...

That's good tho, don't give a shit about what anyone thinks. You keep liking what you like :3

[system]

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