Weekly Poll 11/18/09: What Attracts Us to Books

Which part of the cover attracts you most to a new book?


1.  The blurb on the back cover.
2.  The picture/design on the front cover.
3.  The font used on the cover.



After a slight decrease in votes (eek!), the results show that 25% of voters are most attracted by the blurb on the back cover while the remaining 75% are most attracted by the picture/design on the front cover.

Part of my motivation for asking this question is that I wanted to make sure I wasn't alone in defying the whole "don't judge a book by its cover" warning.  First impressions are huge for me, though, which is something I think authors need to be hyper-aware of when it comes to choosing designs for their book covers.  I am, in fact, not alone because other readers are also attracted (or repelled) by the book cover (*sigh of relief*).  The blurb on the back does help, but it is typically the cover that initially draws me in.

The first time I saw the cover of The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman, I wanted to buy it.  In fact, I loved the design of the cover so much (and the title helped, too, since I am infatuated by dead languages) that I bought the other book the store had on its shelves of Carol Goodman's: The Seduction of Water.  After I bought the books, they sat on my shelves at home for nearly a year before I read them, but when I did, I was delighted to find that the stories held between both books' covers outshined the covers themselves.

You may not be able to tell from the picture above, but the water on the cover creates a shiny surface.  Between the dark color scheme and the shiny surface, I wanted to buy the book if for no other reason to decorate my shelves.

Another cover that attracted me to the book is the cover of Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.  Again, once I got the book, it sat on my shelf for a while before I picked it up to read (a sad side-effect of having too many books, I suppose); however, when I did read it, I fell in love.

The girl hugging her knees in the middle of a fantastical garden is what grabbed my eye on this cover.  She looked so lonely, yet I wanted to be her.

Throughout my postings, you may have noticed that I tend to gravitate toward certain authors; I know I do, but I am not ashamed of my bias.  As a reader who only has so much free time to devote to reading new books, I am grateful to my list of favorite authors, who I can count on to produce books worth the time it takes to read them.  Because of that, I shamelessly plug for them every chance I get.

What books' covers have attracted you the most?


As a side note, the new poll question is in the left-hand sidebar and will be there until next Wednesday at noon.  In preparing for doing my first ever blog giveaway, I want your feedback on what type of prize you would most like to win on a blog giveaway.  This could affect you if you are the winner, so please make sure you vote!