How much does cover art influence you?

[Albertosaurus Rex]

I am currently reading the novel Dead Witch Walking. It has this cover:

[Image: 51GNDY0HN8L.jpg]

For the most part, I'm indifferent to this cover, although the design is interesting, what with the bold colors and all. But here is the US cover:

[Image: n146369.jpg]

I doubt I would ever have picked up this edition. The others US covers takes it even further, even featuring a quote on one of the covers saying "great sex and an even better plot." Now admittedly, I'm only halfway through the first book, but so far I can say: yes, there is an element of sexuality, but it's not dominating the entire book, which is so far an entertaining story filled with magical battles and infiltrations.

I mean, do you want to be spotted with this?

[Image: n146368.jpg]

[Nuytsia]

Hah no way do I want to be spotted with that!
While not a particular fan of the first cover, I can see what you mean about the US covers!
And yet didn't you say you didn't mind those romance novel style covers for the US spoken word versions of Farseer trilogy (I think it was? Err I can't even remember what thread I mentioned it in!)

Yep covers do influence me when I have nothing else to go on...... but it wouldn't stop me buying it if I have some other good reason to think it's a great book!

['thul]

well-made cover art may get 'thul to look at a book, but 'thul rarely judge a book by its cover... A books name is more important to 'thul...

[Albertosaurus Rex]

And yet didn't you say you didn't mind those romance novel style covers for the US spoken word versions of Farseer trilogy (I think it was? Err I can't even remember what thread I mentioned it in!)

Ah, but there's an important thing to note: they're audibooks, and you're unlikely to be holding an audiobook on the train. Besides, I never listen to audiobooks anyway. (I'm not particularly fond of the audiobook covers, though...)

If I hear good things about a book, I would certainly look beyond the cover art, because after all, it's the words that count. But I wouldn't want to be spotted with them. I don't mind being seen with a fantasy or SF book (As I've said before, I think they're perfectly valid as "literature", whatever that means), but something that sexualized?

I should note that the US cover of Dead Witch Walking is actually fairly accurate... to the opening scene of the novel, in which our heroine is undercover attempting to arrest someone and is actually mistaken for a hooker. And the cuffs "are for work, thank you very much, and not the kind you're thinking of".

And here's another one of those glorious US covers! (Yeah, most of the books are titled with horrible puns on westerns. But I am enjoying my read of Dead Witch Walking, believe me!)

[Image: n146367.jpg]

[Nuytsia]

Hehehe nice...
Do these covers say something about US audiences?

[Albertosaurus Rex]

I believe US covers are usually regarded as not as good as their UK counterparts. Take any book in the English language and compare the two covers, chances are the UK version looks better.

[joost]

I don't really care what books look like, although I tend to choose British covers (I find the US covers almost always very ugly).

About reading odd things in public: I once made the mistake of bringing 'Lost girls' (Alan Moore) with me to read in the train. For those who don't know what this is about: it's a graphic novel about the sexual escapades of Wendy (Peter Pan), Dorothy (Wizard of Oz) and Alice (in Wonderland). It's VERY graphical in its depiction of sexual acts, so I was feeling a bit uncomfortable.... Grant Morrison's 'The filth' also has several nude-scenes, and the fellow travellers gave me some odd looks when they saw what I was reading .

My sister's BF once read '120 days of Sodom' (Marquis de Sade) during lunch breaks at work. He admitted it wasn't the best book to read while eating.

[Albertosaurus Rex]

Yeah, I've heard about Lost Girls. Must take some guts to read that on the train. I myself felt slughtly uneasy at reading books like The Atheist Manifesto and The God Delusion on the train, especially the last one which has a very recognizable cover. A friend of mine mentioned getting some funny looks when reading the Qur'an on the train. (She's not a muslim - she had to read it for a course on sacred books we both took. Islam is a BIG issue in the Netherlands.)

Honestly, I wouldn't refrain from buying a book with an ugly cover if I thought it was a good book, but if multiple versions exist, I usually track down the one with the best cover. And of course, since cover art is the first thing you see, some books initially got my attention that way.

Once again, I just might refrain from taking some books with me on the train.

My sister's BF once read '120 days of Sodom' (Marquis de Sade) during lunch breaks at work. He admitted it wasn't the best book to read while eating.

Is that because of funny looks by collaeges or because of the content? (I only know it by reputation, but I can't imagine it helping my appetite.)

Now, amidst all this negativety, let's showcase some covers we actually like.

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The Great Divorce is a novella about Heaven and Hell, both of which are depicted very atypically. I really like the minimalist approach of this cover to the subject matter.

[joost]

My sister's BF once read '120 days of Sodom' (Marquis de Sade) during lunch breaks at work. He admitted it wasn't the best book to read while eating.

Is that because of funny looks by collaeges or because of the content? (I only know it by reputation, but I can't imagine it helping my appetite.)

The content. He said he somehow lost his appetite during the coprophagia-scenes. I can't understand why

[Liquid Ice]

I always pic a book by it's cover to be honest.
And the back blurb of course.

And no I would not want to be spotted with a cover like those! Though the first one was alright.