There is old adage, "Never judge a book by its cover," but readers most certainly do when it comes to purchasing a book. What a buyer notices first is generally the cover. It's what draws the reader in like a perfectly orchestrated spell. If done properly, the potential buyer will pick up the book, read the back, the inside jacket, and then flip through a few pages and perhaps even read a few. But it is the book cover that has to make the first impression, it is the major ingredient in selling a book. A potential buyer spends 8 seconds looking at the front cover and 15 seconds looking at the back. Those few seconds have to make a major impact.
Elements that tend to draw me in are the type of font used in the title, the size of the font, the quality of the cover art and the colors used in conveying what the book is about. Vibrant colors tend to draw me in as well as dark, moody colors like grey and black. If it's vibrant colors being used; I instantly think happy, fun and excitement. Dark and moody colors conjure up sentiments of struggle, adversity and hardship. The colors used in the design of the book help me to decide if I'm in the mood for that particular theme or subject.
So here are some interesting and eye catching book covers I came across this past week. Tell me what you think about them and let me know about some of the book covers you've seen that stood out or compelled you to pick them up.
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"Shadowfever" by Karen Marie Moning
This book cover is gorgeous up close. The picture does not do it justice. But it is one of my favorites because I picked it up, took the jacket cover off and put it back on, touched it, flipped through the pages and then took a picture of it so I could remember to order it when I got home. The cover has a designed transparent overlay on top of an artful hardcover which makes the cover appear to have 2D like effects. If you look closely, you will see in the middle of the book cover there is a picture of a woman's back, with a tattoo of birds wings on it. It's a play on the eyes, because I hadn't notice it when I first took the book off the shelf. I still don't know what the book is about, but I want it, so I guess the cover is a success.
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"The Green House" by Mario Vargas Llosa
I am very fond of this cover simply because the girl on the cover is beautiful. She is not a glamorous beauty. She is not dripping in jewels, standing in stilettos or posing with eighteen inches of hair down her back. It's a simple, quiet beauty. She also looks troubled, which peaked my interest. So I picked up the book and again I took a picture.
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"I Know Who Holds Tomorrow" by Francis Ray
I am a lover of art, especially paintings. And this cover looks like a painting, as if someone labourously drew this cover with care. It's a piece of art that I would certainly hang on my wall. Also, I could imagine the wind against the woman's back as she stood by the window. It was a hot day when I saw this book, so I immediately thought, "
that must feel good."
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"Fault Lines" by Nancy Huston
Look at this child's face. Her pale eyes give a piercing, haunting stare. I don't know whether to be afraid
of her or afraid
for her. Magical how a photo can do that; make you uncertain. Which I think is a success. It's best to have the reader uncertain as to whether they want to buy the book as oppose to being sure they
don't want it. At first glance, I thought the book was about a ghost. Look at the background. It's dark and moody. Why would a child be out in the dark? Where's her mama? Then looking closer, I thought maybe she's sad, troubled, abused or lost. I still don't know. But I'm sure I'll find my way back to this book to find out.
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"The Weird Sisters" by Eleanor Brown
This book cover is simplistic. The font is what drew me in, along with the white background. I thought the cursive green font and the white background complimented each other. The cover wasn't over-designed or too busy. The title of the book helped, because I have sisters, so I instantly thought,
weird sisters, hmm sounds interesting. I have sisters. I wonder how weird these sisters are? Is it a pair of sisters or three or more? The cover told me nothing else. So it left me intrigued. Now had it shown three sisters standing, doing nothing or perhaps clobbering each other upside the head, I likely would've kept it moving. But that goes to show, sometimes simple is better. Leonardo da Vinci
said it best, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”
