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Can you judge a book by its cover? Should you? One of my earliest experiences in a bookstore was dealing with a woman who wanted to return a book. But this particular book had a cream color cover with a very distinct dark brown stain. It looked like coffee, could have been Coke, but either way it didn't look like anything I should be taking back. I did my job and dutifully informed her that store policy indicated that items that were not in saleable condition could not be returned. That wasn't going to fly with her though, so I paged the manager on duty. Vicki approached the customer and listened to her sad tale of woe, then she picked up the sorry looking book, turned it round, turned it over, then looked the customer in the eye and delivered the clincher: "Sometimes," she said, "you can judge a book by its cover." That simple remark saved the situation, and probably a customer. The woman realized that she wasn't going to win this round, but didn't feel too badly about it. She would undoubtedly be back to buy more, and would undoubtedly try to return other inappropriate items, and maybe even get away with it the next time. I recently heard about an author (who shall remain nameless) who is also a book reviewer. Apparently her shtick is that when she does a book signing, instead of talking about her book or herself, she does a demonstration of how she chooses the books she reviews. Covers are apparently are crucial; if they don't pass muster, the book is set aside. If the cover is okay, then she reads the back, and the inside flap, then the first few pages, and so on, and if a book manages to survive all that scrutiny, then it gets read, although there is still no guarantee of a review. I am often asked how I decide what books to review, but covers don't play much into it. I often read books in galley form that don't have anything on the cover other than the title, author, publisher, etc. so obviously that's not a factor for me. So just how important are book covers? When I'm shopping for a book, or even just browsing in the bookstore, which I do regularly, covers are definitely a factor. A cover will call to me, make me curious, or turn me off. The most creative cover, no, wait - the most creatively produced adult fiction book that I've ever seen is The Cheese Monkeys by Chip Kidd. Chip is a book jacket designer by trade; a few of his more well known covers include Jurassic Park, The Secret History and Love in the Time of Cholera. So when he wrote his first novel, he turned his creative genius loose on the physical aspects of the book itself. It must be seen and explored in hardcover (!) to be truly appreciated. And this really is a case of being able to judge a book by its cover - it's as original and creative on the inside as it is on the outside. The picture on the left is the dust jacket of the hardcover; on the right is the paperback, which is actually quite similar to the design of the book cover itself beneath the jacket on the hardcover.
I've also noticed that there are trends in covers just like there are trends in publishing and trends in fashion. Let's take a look at some of the more recent cover trends that I've noticed. The past several months I've seen a lot of books with legs on the covers: Good in Bed, Jemima J, Chained, Courting Trouble and Neurotica to name a handful. Or just shoes, or boots - In Her Shoes, Honeymoon, Her, and Hot Ice spring to mind. A lot of those are chick lit, and perhaps that's significant, but there are certainly a healthy smattering from other genres as well.
A couple of years ago I couldn't help but notice lips on the covers of many books. Big lips. Nothing but lips, like American Rhapsody and Lip Service. The lip trend is still going; witness The Bachelor and The Bitch in the House.
Thrillers in thrilling colors are yet another trend. Long Lost will never get lost on the shelves, nor will Sick Puppy, Criminal Intent, or Gone for Good.
Same with these red hot books - literally - About the Author, Writ of Execution, December 6, and The Vanished Man. Their glowing covers call out, begging to be touched, begging to be bought.
Dark books are sexy. Black. Black and red. Black and gray. Black and gold. They send out the subtle sell of noir - Soul Circus, The Devil's Redhead, The Confessor, Reversible Errors and the upcoming No Second Chance.
But what's the latest trend? It's really hard to tell until the front table of the bookstore screams it out. My prediction? Fish. Fish hooks. Fish tails for fish tales. Just a few books so far that I've noticed - The Trouble with Catherine, Fishbowl and the recently released The Man I Should Have Married.
Think about it. The "Talking Fish that Stunned New York" was a bizarre fish story that hit the news several weeks ago, about a carp that predicted the end of the world in a fish market in NY. And who could forget Tony Soprano's talking fish? Fish are a definite trend. I see it coming. You heard it here first, and that's no fish story. |
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