Don't Judge a Book by its Cover

    "Don't judge a book by its cover."

   Ever heard that one? I have. And I have mixed feelings about it.

   The point it's trying to get across is great! Don't judge something by its appearance. It's what's inside that counts. Beauty is only skin-deep. And that's true.

But . . .

   When it comes to taking the saying literally, not symbolically, that's where I don't just disagree, but it's kind of obvious that view is flawed . . . severely!

   So, question: if a book has a gorgeous cover and it catches your eye, are you going to be willing to spare a fragment of your precious time to peek at the synopsis of that lovely item which has so piqued your curiosity?

   My answer: yes!

   In contrast, if the cover is so boring that it has no depth, no unique title, and no features that pop whatsoever, would you seriously be willing to sacrifice the picking up of the book to view the synopsis?

   My answer: uhhh, yeah, I probably still would. 

But simply because I'd be curious of what kind of book would have such a dull cover.

   In other words, which one of these two catches your attention in a positive way that encourages you to give it a second glance?

                                               

   

Or . . . this?

   And no offense intended to anyone who has a name similar in any way to this fake author name I literally just came up with off the top of my head. But, seriously. The text is a boring sans serif (sorry, sans serif! You're great, but you've got no place on this already-dull phony book cover) and it clashes with the rocks in the background. It's kind of hard to even read the fake author name at the bottom. Besides, the picture gives about as much context to the story as the title does. (Again, no offense to anyone who might have a book titled anything similar to this one.) Would you want to read this one? I probably wouldn't . . . unless it had a really intriguing synopsis. 

   Contrast that with the amazing cover above it. Now that's a cover that draws my attention! The colors, the picture itself, the delicate accents on the sides, the title, and even the font of the words. Beautiful!

   Okay, so I am not insulting whoever first said "don't judge a book by its cover." Don't get me wrong; there's a good deal of wisdom in it symbolically. But in a literal sense?

   I am a very amateur graphic designer, but even before I got into it, I loved a good book cover. And I did -and still do- judge books by their covers. Moreover, I have a genuine, heartfelt question to go with that confession:

 honestly, who doesn't judge a book by its cover-- even in the slightest way??

   A cover can be simple . . . in fact, it should be pretty simple. But it should not be boring. That dries up any interest a viewer might have initially had . . . at least for most people. 

   I'm going to use this post as an excuse to display some fantastic book covers I've seen. And now, in no particular order, here they are (I have not read any of these . . . I'm just basing these opinions purely off the cover design):

  Side note: I love Golden Retrievers, so . . .

   *Ahem* Well, when I started this post, I wasn't sure what the point of it was except to post some covers I think are amazing, so . . . thank you, dear readers, for bearing with me as I rambled about a random topic that has no conclusive ending.