Book Covers Can Break Your Heart...on a Musing Monday.

Blog-wise, I seem to be having a problem getting back in the swing after all my summer traveling. I really must get some things written up. I have several unreviewed books, any number of lighthouses to share with you, whether you want me too or not! But I can't seem to just sit down and write it all up yet. However, it was a long day at the salt mine, so you will have to just be happy with a brief bit of musing. Let's see what this week's question is from the always inquisitive Just One More Page ...

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about book covers (again)…

As a follow up to last week’s question, Melody asked about when book covers do not match the story. Do you feel disappointed when the cover’s don’t match the story? Have you ever been completely misled by a book cover?

Oh goody, another chance to judge a book by it's cover! Because, as I think I admitted last week, I am a sucker for a nice cover. I am a visual person, so when I look at a table of books, pleasing colors, a neat and tidy design, not too busy, not too wild, will have me giving the book a second look. Really bad covers will usually have my eyes looking elsewhere. Not fair, but often true.

But quite honestly, covers have not been a deciding factor...on any factor...in most books I have read recently. ARCs come as they come and most books I have purchased have been from the Evil Amazon, based on a fellow blogger's recommendation. Often, I have no idea what the cover will look like until I rip open the brown package, left by the Happy Man In Brown or the Less Happy Postal Worker. OK, then the judging begins!

ARC are a mixed bunch. Often, I think, the covers are not the best and happily, often not the final cover when the book is published. Low Man there is an example. A pretty good book but with a cover that I don't think did it justice. It does disappoint me when the cover does not match the book, especially when the book is good and the cover is not, because I just know that cover is going to hold it back in finding the audience it should have.

But even worse are the self published books. To be kind (Hey, I can be kind) the covers are often quite bad. Cheap looking, amateurish, poor design. Yes, that is me being kind. Because you see, the worse part is, the bad cover often does match the book.
But yes, I have been completely misled by a book cover and it was a self published book. I refer to For The Love of St. Nick there. The cover is very attractive and held out great promise of a cozy, old fashioned Christmas tale. If you read my review, well again to be kind, I found very little to like about this book beyond the cover. I almost wished it had been an ugly cover and had not got my hopes up like that. It's cruel.

Oh, the world of books and their covers is just fraught with both danger and excitement!

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