LIVE YOUR VALUES

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Cover Up (BTT)

This week’s question comes from Julie, who asks:

While acknowledging that we can’t judge books by their covers, how much does the design of a book affect your reading enjoyment? Hardcover vs. softcover? Trade paperback vs. mass market paperback? Font? Illustrations? Etc.?
Oops...sometimes I do judge a book by it's cover in wheter or not I'll pick it up to read the back description. Overall aspects that tend to catch my eye and therefor my interest on the cover...
  • I'm looking looking for a pleasing design
  • Interesting titles
  • Pleasing, "non-cheesy" pictures

Now for the book in general. Hardcovers look great on the shelf and you get them faster, but they don't fit nicely into a hand bag and are a little more difficult to curl up with at night. I love the feel of a good trade paper book. I can almost say they are fulfilling to hold. They still look pretty good on the shelf. I'm starting to dislike the ole mass market paperback. Perfectly readable. i just think it looks and feels "cheap." They don't tend to hold up as well.

The font should not be so tiny I feel like I'm reading a college text and not so large I feel like i"m reading a young child's book are a large print/text book. I've cracked open "bigger" books that have been wall to wall tiny text and have sighed with disappointment at the eye strain I know will eventually be coming.

Illustrations? I could take them or leave them. I really think it depends on the story. I know some stories that describe art in them I would have love to have seen the painting or sketches without having to go to Google (for famous ones). If you are going to bother with illustrations they should be in color (unless they were specifically black and white by the artist)


9 comments:

Melody said...

I'm quite particular with the fonts inside the book too... it really takes away my reading pleasure as I don't want to squint my eyes too much!

Happy BTT!

Anonymous said...

I hadn't thought about illustrations. I really don't like them in fiction. I want to be left to create the characters for myself.

Amy said...

Font is a biggie for me. I don't pay much attention to illustrations.

Jeane said...

I especially enjoy reading books that have great cover illustrations, but I won't let a poor or chessy one deter me. However, the better designed ones definitely jump out at me when I browsing shelves.

Jane said...

War and Peace has the tiniest font I had to put the book down. I needed a microscope!

Megan said...

About hardcovers you said "you get them faster"
What in the world do you mean?

I know exactly what you mean about trade paperbacks being "fulfilling."

gautami tripathy said...

I think sometimes we need lenses to read some fonts!

I avoid those!

Booking through cover

Literary Feline said...

You are quite right, and I think most people do judge books by their covers, at least in determining whether to look at the book more closely. The covers certainly do play a part sometimes in whether I pick up a book to read what the book is about. It's the first step in my decision process, although not the final nor the most important.

Juli said...

Megan--I meant that books usually come out first in hardback before paperback so if you really want to read them you have to pay up for a hardback. If you want to save $ you wait for the paperback.

If you go to the library it doesn't matter!

I was just writing in the middle of the night and couldn't sleep. I'm surprised I made any sense at all.

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