Judge a Book by its Cover!

I’ll admit it. I love a good book cover.  (Don’t we all?)

And while I understand the spirit of the adage “Don’t judge a book by its cover,” I think that boring book covers cause us to pass by what may be wonderful stories.

If a book has an interesting, eye-catching image that pops as compared to the other books sharing shelf space, it is that much more likely someone is going to pick it up and at least read the jacket copy.  Even in the e-book market when you are wading through a number of book summaries, that little thumbnail cover has to be powerful enough to draw the reader away from all of the other choices on the screen.

Right now, I’m lusting over the amazing book cover and really the entire book design of Nora Roberts’ Shadow Spell. (This is the second book in the Cousins O’Dwyer Trilogy.) The cover image is wonderful, the texture feels rich, and the embossed lettering and scrollwork along the edge are like nothing I’ve ever seen on a paperback.  The cover also folds out with a scalloped edge (like a dust jacket on a hardcover) to reveal full color inside cover images, too. The pages are a combination of standard edge and the rough-cut (deckle) edging that makes the book feel rather antique-y.  (Yes, I belong to the nutty book-lover group that notices things like deckle edging on pages.)

Nora Roberts is going to sell her books no matter what. I’m just pleased that her publishers put such an effort into this cover. It’s truly a work of art.

What’s your favorite book cover? Let me know by commenting below.