We all know the adage “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” yet sometimes it feels hard to tell ourselves that when we hold a book in our hand. My own personal pet peeve is when publishers take a classic novel and use a famous painting for the front cover that bares no relation at all to the contents of the novel. There are those books that undeniably have a budget in mind that have a human or non-human…
…subject simply photographed for the front cover but I still have more respect for these – usually thought is given as to what the front cover shows and gives the viewer an idea as to what the book is about. The random unrelated paintings though? They almost make the book seem like a cash-grab opportunity to profit off a long-dead author.
I’ve seen what appears to be more budget-friendly book covers, usually from slightly more obscure or first time authors, that actually come across as well done. They’re simple, to the point, and are well executed. They cover every genre from horror to crime fiction to sports to comedy. It’s absolutely possible to tell when a little thought has gone into the cover vs when absolutely anything has been slapped on the book. We know we shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover but sometimes it’s hard when it feels like not even a passing thought went into it.
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