Judging a Book By Its Cover

Have you ever seen a book where the cover is just so great looking that the cover itself is what makes you want to read the book?  Obviously this happens to me a little less often now that I pick most of my books on the internet as opposed to a bookstore or library.  But it definitely still happens.

For this whole post, I'm not talking about books where I've heard of the author, read a review, or had someone else recommend it to me.  I'm talking about the kind of book where you see the cover without knowing anything about the book, and that is the first thing that makes you want to read the book.

Here are a few on my to read list where the cover was the first thing that drew me in.  I haven't read them yet so I can't tell you whether they're any good, but I love the covers!

 Next Year in Havana by Chanel Cleeton - Seriously, is this the most gorgeous cover or what?  I was browsing Netgalley one day and saw this cover and I was pretty much sold on the spot - and obviously when I read the description and saw that it was in my beloved genre of dual time period historical fiction I was in for sure.  I didn't get approved for a copy by Netgalley, so now I'm on the library waitlist for this one.  But the fact that I saw it before publication proves that it's not the endorsement of Reese's book club that made me want to read this one - though she does tend to pick books I want to read!

The Husband Hour by Jamie Brenner  - I'm on the library waitlist for this one too, though sadly it doesn't look like it's going to come in time for my beach vacation.  Doesn't the cover just scream "summer reading book that you should read on the beach"?  There are lots and lots of books with pictures of the beach on the cover but there's something about this one that I love.  The description sounds up my alley too, sounds like nice solid contemporary women's fiction, with a beach setting of course!

All the Beautiful Girls by Elizabeth J. Church - Historical fiction books do often have the prettiest covers, don't they?  This one I did get from Netgalley though I haven't gotten around to reading it yet even though it came out in March.  I've tried to stop requesting random books from Netgalley because my backlog is so huge, but this cover, even as a thumbnail on the computer, totally drew me in.  Also sounds like interesting historical fiction about Vegas showgirls in the 1960s.





And below are a few books I've read this year where the cover was what drew me to them in the first place.  I'm sure there are other covers from the past that I've loved too, but when you're reading books mostly on a kindle where you're not looking at the cover in the same way that you are when you hold a physical book in your hand, it's sometimes a little hard to remember the covers as time goes by!

The Broken Girls by Simone St. James -  This is such a cool looking cover that nicely captures the gothic atmosphere of the book, which goes back and forth between the 1950s and the present day with compelling stories in both. In the 1950s, we go between the perspective of 4 roommates at a creepy and possible haunted girls' boarding in Vermont called Idlewild. In 2014, the story is told from the perspective of a journalist named Fiona, whose older sister's dead body was found on the by-then abandoned Idlewild grounds many years before. When a new buyer starts construction at Idlewild, Fiona starts investigating both what happened with her sister and what happened back in the 1950s at Idlewild. Great characters and satisfying twists, a real page turner.  This one is definitely a contender for my top 10 list for 2018, so you may be hearing about this book again come January!  It's well worth reading whether it ultimately makes my list or not.

 The Italian Party by Christina Lynch - Another historical fiction novel with a cool cover image, though this one is a nicely atmospheric black and white photo rather than art, one that immediately transports you to Europe.  This was an interesting historical novel set in 1956 Italy, where a young newlywed American couple - each with their own secrets - arrive to live in Siena. Not a setting I have previously read about, but the book really brought it to life.  Enjoyable book, very atmospheric - just like the cover photo!

Tiffany Blues by M.J. Rose - I actually just read this historical novel last week!  Was definitely drawn to this one by the cover, which, appropriately for the book, evokes the image of a Tiffany stained glass window even though it's just an illustration. The book is set in 1924, about a young artist named Jenny with a difficult past, who wins a fellowship to an artist colony on Louis Comfort Tiffany's Long Island estate. I have always loved Tiffany stained glass so I really enjoyed that aspect of the book, and it was an enjoyable and quick read with a little mystery (even if I figured out most of the mysterious elements ahead of the reveals).