Book Buying Addicts Anonymous discussion

I bought the book "The Dragon and the Unicorn" just because I was in love with the cover art! Has anyone else done this?? Or have you bought one because of the title?

Oh yes - in fact, I thought one book I've done with was the same as you mention, Katherine - - but it was - Unicorn and Dragon. Gorgeous cover by Robert Gould, meh book.

One whole series I did this with was Blood Engines and a few others by T.A. Pratt. I would buy prints of the cover art, but I couldn't get past the first couple of chapters - I hated it deeply. And on Fantasy Afficionados a bunch of us were just agreeing how much we all hated Russell Kirkpatrick's Across the Face of the World, and every one of us said some variation on "But it had such a great cover!"

But usually the covers don't lie!

I also tend to judge a book by its cover

I bought because I am in love with the cover, and it paid off well. I have done the same thing thousands of times, really.

I buy books because of the cover or title all the time. It's not how I pick all all my books but it is one way. Some books I own more then one of simply because I liked more then one of the cover options. And others I haven't even read yet they're just there to look pretty at this point. Lol

Hi. A newbie here. Yes i have been tricked by good covers and found the books not to match my expectations. But that is the first thing I see. So a good cover is worth a lot. I have read great books but only by suggestions that do to the horrid cover I would have not probably picked up on my own.

Can I ask a question to those who read paranormal- are you getting tired of all the dark artwork that once was different but now every shelf is over saturated with black- or is it just me?

Yes...I'm very guilty of picking up boooks just because of the cover..ehehe

Yes, I've done this. I even buy books I already own because a new edition has a beautiful cover. This is why I have a love/hate relationship with Penguin. They keep releasing classics (that I already own) with gorgeous covers, so I want to buy them again. Like the clothbound designs? Good grief- those are so beautiful. And the new "embroidered" ones that are coming out later this year...I love the "Emma" one.

I don't really tend to do this. I always read the description first and if it doesn't interest me I won't buy the book.

Guilty, yes I have done this just liked the cover, but some do pay off and were good stories...

o so many times :D
most turn out the be amazing :D

Bluemoon wrote: "I'm a huge cover judger! You know how they say 'never judge a book by its cover' well sorry to say I always do. So if a cover doesn't attract me I don't usually pick it up. If an ugly covered book ..."

I'm exactly the same way! I always judge books by their covers!

I'm a sucker for books that have cuss-words in the title or sparkles. I love sparklies. For example;

Sparklies: Goddess of the Sea by P.C. Cast (Really good book too!)

Naughty-words: Bitch: In Praise of Difficult Women by Elizabeth Wurtzel (Also a really interesting book and I loved the looks I got while I was reading it in public)

I don't know that I have ever purchased a book specifically for the cover, but I have gone to ridiculous lengths to obtain a copy of a book with a specific cover. For example, I ordered "The Lollipop Shoes" by Joanne Harris from a bookshop in the UK because I preferred the cover art and title of the UK version.

Also, I loathe movie tie-in covers. If the cover that is not a movie tie-in is more expensive, I'll pay the money.

Yes, sometimes the cover will attract me to it.

Yes-but my favorite covers are usually in my least favorite genres, such as fantasy (great covers) so it often does work out. :(

Yes, this was the first book that I bought because of its cover. .

I am a extreme cover judge! If it has an ugly cover, I won't pick it up. I have to like the cover, because that is the first thing I look at, then I read the summary in the back and if I like it I buy it. Besides, covers are like first impressions. That one will help you judge the book (or person)

YES! ALL the time! But usually when I buy a book cause of the cover it's an older book published before 1900.

Jocelin wrote: "Yes, this was the first book that I bought because of its cover. ."

That really is gorgeous. I'd buy that book just to look at the cover.

Jennifer wrote: "Hi. A newbie here. Yes i have been tricked by good covers and found the books not to match my expectations. But that is the first thing I see. So a good cover is worth a lot. I have read great book..."

Hey Jennifer! I know exactly what you mean. It seems like some paranormal books have to show off their bleak, tortured sides with splashes of black and other dark colors while some other teen/YA books get the bubblegum treatment - pops of color and girlish fonts.

Katherine wrote: "I bought the book "The Dragon and the Unicorn" just because I was in love with the cover art! Has anyone else done this?? Or have you bought one because of the title?

[bookcover:The Dragon and t..."

@Katherine - That cover is gorgeous! I would've picked it up too! :)

Yes, if I'm not familiar with the book I'm most likly to grab a book because of the cover.

I can't say that I judge a book by its cover or that the art work has influenced any of my purchases. I can, however, say that the size (number of pages) often influences me. Generally my first thoughts are that a work this size must have much of the writers heart in it. When I first saw the Outlander series in the store, the size of the books impressively caught my attention. I seldom read the backs of books in fear of being robbed of the suspense so the series caught me completely (and pleasantly) by surprise. I love epics and size does matter.

Hahah... Definitely. I bought The Alchemyst because I thought it looked pretty. The story turned out great, thankfully... And The Book of Lost Things, I was intrigued...

I have most definately bought books because of their covers and have been sadly disappointed sometimes. For example Russell Kirkpatrick...great covers, story?I've also had a hard time buying books with bad covers. But the back cover copy lured me in(Wheel of Time Series).If anyone is interested in seeing some excellent fantasy art work see http://knightsofthedawnking.com

Several times.. I bought books because they had flowery images.

I love books with cool covers. Recently got because of it (see the cool cover: and it's kind of a semi-grown up picture book anyway so the cover layout really matters!)

Also Gail Carriger's work: I got into her writing because of the cool covers: and

I haven't bought a book for the first time because of its cover, but I do tend to collect used copies of books, often classics like Treasure Island, because of their covers and/or illustrations.

I can truthfully say that I have never bought a book solely based on its cover art. I guess you could say I believe in the old saying not to judge a book by its cover. I have, however, bought several books for its binding (leather) and age (18th century). I have even bought a few books I never will possibly read (the languages are far removed from my repertoire). I have been guilty of buying based on mass (anyone spending that long on writing must certainly be worth reading). This idea has often backfired on me but the few times the book turned out to be a jewel make the occasional disappointment is well worth it.

I was walking through a pharmacy and my eye stopped on . This was a number of years ago and I have now read EVERY SINGLE book by Rick Mofina. He is awesome!

Also, I always buy my chick-lit book based on the titles and the pretty PINK covers!! HAHAHA!

What are chick-lit books?

I pick up countless books just because the cover looks like something I'd enjoy. Alas I have been burned by this practice a few times so even though I still go by cover first I take the time to read the back and see if it's something I'd really enjoy before buying. I've also noticed that I've bought a few books that I first read on ebook/kindle because I like the cover.

I bought The Gargoyle because of the cover - and it turned out to be an excellent book! The Gargoyle

Though I had Mistborn: The Final Empire on my TBR list, I picked up the UK edition while abroad because I thought its cover was fantastic: Now I just have to find a way to get the UK editions of the next books in the trilogy for a decent price... :)

The cover gets me to pick it up, but I've been annoyed by inaccurate covers in the past so I don't go by them.

Want to know what gets me to reject a book faster than anything? The author's photo on the back instead of a blurb and nothing but review quotes inside the cover. Tell me about the story, not what other people think about it. This is a pet peeve of mine. ;)


PS: I'm a new NookColor reader and I love the idea of being able to read a sample of the book before buying. I never really did that before and got some real dogs.

I only remember being consciously influenced by a cover once, and that was The Book Thief - the version with the cartoon death and girl skipping along. It leapt out from a "3 for 2" table of books that all looked the same.

I'm sure that I have been influenced without realising. Covers often put me off books rather than making me buy them - mostly because there are so many that look the same and I assume that the books are just too similar too. A failing on my part perhaps, but this is in genres I rarely read anyway. (Such as crime novels - they all look the same to me!)

Hmmm...this is a good topic...I would have to say there are some covers that (for me) would have turned me off, such as the Stieg Larsson books, if I hadn't heard such good things about them, I would have been turned off by their covers...probably the same with the newer cover for the Justin Cronin The Passage. Their new cover is a hot orange type thing that I would have been repelled by, but the blue trees at dusk was intriguing to me, so I looked and bought...same with the Stieg Larsson books, for some reason neon yellows and oranges turn me off.

However, I look at a particular genre (and I tend to like fantasy and YA books), and if a cover entices me, I look more and see if it is a story I will like...some times yes, sometimes no...but the cover art DOES attract me first...

Deb wrote: "The cover gets me to pick it up, but I've been annoyed by inaccurate covers in the past so I don't go by them.

Want to know what gets me to reject a book faster than anything? The author's photo..."

I absolutely agree that a just reviews and/or author picture/bio is a turnoff. I lkie a synopsis of the story to help me decide if this a purchase I want to make

I have only done that one time and it was the book, and the book was great.

Have you ever bought a book because of the cover - would you like to hear from an author on that subject? Well you're going to anyway....so here goes.
If you are not familiar with the author - you will only pick up the book if you like (or intrigued by) the title - because the spine is all you see on the shelf. If you like the front cover you will turn it over to read the back. If you like what is said on the back you will (probably) buy the book. THAT ENTIRE PROCESS IS 7 SECONDS. That's how long a new author gets for you to purchase. From the author's standpoint - SUCKS. If you have already enjoyed a book or two by the same author - another ballgame.
My best selling book: Everyone's Dream Everyone's NIghtmare (my first)
My best selling mini read: How I Lost 3 Pounds in 30 Years of Dieting Without Going Hungry. (Everyone laughs at the title and it sells heaps.)
Check them out: www.joeicarlton.com Joei

one edition of it with a child drawing of a clown, then my pup chewed the cover off.

Joseph wrote: "I haven't bought a book for the first time because of its cover, but I do tend to collect used copies of books, often classics like Treasure Island, because of their covers and/or illust..."

My words have come back to haunt me, today I actually did buy a book because of its cover. It was a nice bonus that it was autographed too, but it was the artwork that caught my eye:

I usually pick my books by their cover if I'm just shopping around. The cover draws me in and then I check the subject matter and if it sounds ok, then I go for it. I wish my system was more complex. :)

Yes, occasionally. The two most recent books that I added to by library that the cover alone would have sold me were



and



There are several books I own that have great covers, artwork, dust jackets, etc. that grabbed my attention too. Few though on their own were enough for me to make the final choice.

I even mentioned in my review of Writers: Photographs that the cover image alone was enough that I had to have the book.

Ah I just commented here but it said there was a problem posting my comment, so sorry if there's any double posting!

In short, I do pick up books when generally browsing for new books, but if I read the back and it doesn't interest me, then I won't buy it purely because of the cover. Other times when there is a specific book i'm looking for and I don't like the cover (boring or movie editions) then I will try and find a different version of it.

I get so annoyed by review quotes - they're usually about a different book by the author and taken out of context. If there's not a description of the story, I won't buy a book by an unknown author.

I'll gladly pay more for an edition with a nice cover - but I'll never buy a book if the story itself doesn't appeal to me.

Absolutely. If the cover doesn't intrigue me, I won't buy the book. That's why I'm glad the cover on my new book, "Sunny Days, Moonlit Nights" is so beautiful. Designed by Elaina Lee, a very talented book cover lady.

I've bought a couple of books because of the covers. Recently , which was nowhere near as good as the cover art, heh. I usually give away books I didn't enjoy reading, but I'm thinking of hanging onto this one just for the cover.
Another time caught my eye and that turned out to be a good one, so it works both ways.
I'd never buy a book specifically for the cover though and I don't mind if I don't like the cover, as long as the story inside is good. Although I'd probably be put off by owning something excessively glittery and frilly and girly.
And why don't people like movie tie-in covers? =s I quite like them,

A good cover will get me to read the blurb. If the blurb is good, a sale is made.