How much does cover art influence you?

[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.

[Image: 41XAGC7D4AL.jpg]

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.