Judging Books By Their Covers

There is a phrase that has been used forever that says “you can’t judge a book by its cover.”

But, often there are times where people decide to pick up a book and read it simply because of its cover. Think about it. You’ve just finished a book and now you are in your local branch of the Mercer County Library System. As you look at the titles of the new books on display, what might catch your eye? Most likely, the cover.

On the Behind the Books podcast that my colleague Anna and I put together for MCLS, we often get a chance to talk to authors about books they are about to have published. And one of the big events leading up to publication is the cover reveal. It amazes us that quite often, especially with picture books and children's books, the author has very little input into what the cover will look like.

When a book has an eye-catching cover, it can certainly lead to a reader picking the book up and taking a look. Granted, it doesn’t always mean the person who picks it up is going to read the book. But having an attention-grabbing cover can certainly be a big first step in getting someone to read a book.

Lately, I have been taking time to check out the covers of most of the new books that have been coming into the library. And with that I’ve had a few favorites. These covers are either colorful or catchy. They find a way to get you to take a look inside to see just what the book is about.

Frieda McFadden’s latest book, The Teacher, has a great cover design with an apple on the desk with a knife stuck in the apple.

Another clever cover design comes from Gareth Brown’s The Book of Doors. A path of books leads the way to an open door and whatever mystery might be behind it.

One of the best you’ll ever see is from the book, Starter Villain, by John Scalzi. The cover features a picture of a cat dressed in a suit and tie.

For those who have read or seen the cover of Percival Everett’s latest book, James, it is another interesting design. The title spells out the name "James" with a huge letter J and inside the hook of the J is the character, James. The book was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and maybe the cover design had at least a little bit to do with it.

Before We Say Goodbye, a novel by Toshikazu Kawaguchi, is another that grabs your attention. The colorful cover features a couple of empty chairs and a cat that seems poised to jump onto one of the chairs.

The most recent book that we read for the Sports Book Club at the Hopewell Branch had the perfect cover to go along with the content. The book, Charlie Hustle, a biography of Pete Rose, had a great shot of Pete hustling around the bases while playing for the Cincinnati Reds.

A cozy mystery can always be counted on to also offer a book cover full of animals or country settings. Any of the books in David Rosenfelt’s Andy Carpenter Mystery series will give you a great cover featuring a dog in some sort of entertaining pose.

Children’s books offer us some of the funniest cover designs. Just pick out any book from the Grumpy Monkey series by Suzanne Lang. My personal favorite is Grumpy Monkey Party Time! 

Attack of the Underwear Dragon, which is written by Scott Rothman and illustrated by Pete Oswald, is another cover that makes it impossible for you not to pick up the book and check it out. In fact, that’s probably true of just about any picture book illustrated by Pete Oswald. 

I feel like you could wind up spending hours just browsing through the picture booksection and looking at the covers of books illustrated by the likes of Maddie Frost, Ross McDonald, Renee Kurilla, Ross Burach or Troy Cummings.  On that note, keep an eye out for the upcoming book Bear in a Bathrobe from Maddie Frost. It’s one of the best you’ll see.

On another note, sometimes people pick up a book based solely on its title. One of my co-workers, Frank, recently told me a story about a book he picked up right at the start of the lockdown for the pandemic in 2020. He knew he was going to be spending a lot of time at home and away from work, so he quickly grabbed a copy of How to do Nothing by Jenny Odell.

So, remember the next time you pick up a book to take a quick look inside the jacket and see who designed the cover. That person just might be the reason you find a book you really enjoy reading - in addition to liking the cover design.

Bob N., Hopewell Branch