Some Thoughts (and a small experiment) on Book Covers

One of the most interesting people I follow on Twitter is YA author Maureen Johnson. She spends a lot of time generating discussion on various aspects of the book industry. Recently, she came up with the idea of #coverflip, in which she encouraged people to imagine what a book cover would look like if the author's gender was flipped. A good summary of the ensuing discussions is on her tumblr, which I recommend reading.

Book covers are very important, they can be essential in a person's decision to read or not read a book. I was inspired by the discussion around the idea of #coverflip to look at my own book buying decisions.

Reasons I buy a book:

• Pre-read: If I really like a book someone lends me, or I borrow from the library, or our family had when I was growing up I will most likely buy it. Depending on the book, I might actively go and look for it, or perhaps just buy it because I've come across it when browsing a store. Often, but not always, I'll actively look in second hand bookstores, but I still often buy new books.
• First Time Read: If I buy a book I haven't read before it is either because: 
• It is by an author I love. I think the primary motivation behind my book purchases is the author.
• It was recommended to a point I got excited about it. Mostly I look for recommended books in the library, but sometimes the library doesn't have the book I want so I buy it.
• I found it on the shelf and circumstances were favourable to an impulse buy (e.g. money in my wallet).

Motivations behind my book choices:

• Recommendation: This is the most common reason I read a book. I have hundreds, if not thousands, of books on my 'To Read' lists based entirely on a recommendation. 
• Personal: Most often a book recommendation comes from my sisters or mother, we all enjoy the same sorts of stories. I also rely on recommendations from friends I know have good taste, and sometimes from teachers.
• From Industry: I often read books recommended by other authors I like. This is particularly easy when following authors on Twitter. I also follow a few literary agents who represent authors I like, and make good recommendations. 
• Familiar Author: If I like an author I will read, and probably buy, all of their books.
• Necessary for Study: Currently the most common reason for buying a book.
• Library: If at the library I will often get out and read books simply because they are in a section I like (e.g. YA), and often if I really like a book from the library I will go and buy it. 

A bit of Content Analysis (my experiment):

Impulse Buys:

I went through my bookcases, and pulled down all the books I bought just because I thought they looked interesting: books and authors I had never heard. The majority of these books (but not all) were bought between the age of 15-17 because that's when I had the most disposable income (I bought a lot of books in this period). Overall, there were 18 books I bought entirely on impulse.
When considering these books in relation to my entire collection of owned books, and the kinds of books I read, I think that my impulse buys are not indicative of my overall taste in reading, but do suggest some interesting things.

Results:

The main things I considered were:

• If I'd borrowed this book from the library would I still have bought it?
• Is the cover misleading?
• Does the cover do a good job of suggesting the kind of book it is?

General Findings:

• All were book new, so clearly I buy familiar books when I go to the second hand bookshop. 
• Only one of them is by a male author, and only two have a male protagonist (Exchange and The Merlin Conspiracy). So clearly, when I impulse buy I'm drawn to female authors/characters.
• All of them are within the very broad category of Young Adult fiction: about a third contemporary, half fantasy (if fantasy includes paranormal) and a few others. 
• At least half these impulse buys resulted in future purchases from that author, and five of my, now, all time favourite authors are on this list.

On Covers:

• Half the covers had people on them. I do not like covers that have people on them
• Most covers seem not to be misleading, but I feel there is a lot of room for improvement.
• Most covers seem pretty generic (boring).
• There are certain covers that absolutely grabbed me, and that I think are beautiful in their own right even unconnected to the book. 
• Every cover that featured a person, that person was a skinny, white girl (this is a really important issue).

Here they are:

Ones with artistic-y covers

Heretic by Sarah Singleton: I probably wouldn't have bought it if I'd borrowed it, but I did enjoy reading it so don't regret buying it. The cover isn't misleading, but is not especially revealing. It looks kind of spooky, so it fits with the gothic aspect of the novel.

Our Little Secret by Allyson Webster: I didn't like this book. Something about it just didn't click, it tried to deal with serious (and important) issues, but I felt like it didn't quite work. I definitely wouldn't have bought it if I'd borrowed it. The cover is fairly generic, but I think the black and white suggests a serious topic. 

Exchange by Paul Magrs: I love this cover more that I loved the book. It is the reason I bought, I just through it looked beautiful. I enjoyed the book, but the ending fell a little flat, and I probably wouldn't have bought it if I'd borrowed it. The cover is quite relevant, the story is all about books, so the letters work quite well.

How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff: I love Meg Rosoff, and am so glad I found this book, I've bought all her subsequent books, bar one I haven't found in a bookstore yet (but read in the library). She is a phenomenal writer, her stories are beautifully crafted, poignant and thought provoking. So much love! The cover is really pretty, probably motivated me to buy the book, it is the sort of cover I'm attracted to. It doesn't really connect strongly to the book, but I think evokes a suggestion of the atmosphere. 

Covers with White Girls

Saving Francesca by Melina Marchetta: I would definitely buy this. When I did buy it, I had actually read Looking for Alibrandi, but didn't realise it was the same author (despite the fact it actually says so on the cover). I love Melina Marchetta's books, having bought nearly all of them. She's a fantastic writer. The cover seems to fit reasonably well, but isn't especially appealing to me. I bought it based of the blurb and the fact it won a Children's Book Council: Book of the Year award. If I remember correctly, the bookstore had a recommendation on it.

Guitar Girl by Sara Manning: I enjoyed reading this and if I'd borrowed it from the library I probably would have bought it at 15, but now maybe not. It's a contemporary YA novel, reasonably well written, but not really notable. It covers some interesting issues. It's a neat enough cover, and does depict a girl with a guitar, which as suggested by the title, is the protagonist of the story. Possibly off putting to certain readership through the 'pink' factor. 

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey: This is quite a funny book, it subtly pokes fun at the paranormal YA romance genre, while still participating actively within its parameters. While the cover is very generic, it kind of suits given the self-aware nature of the book. I'd possibly still buy it if I'd borrowed it. 

Golden by Jennifer Lynn Barnes: I really like Jennifer Lynn Barnes, she's fascinating to follow on twitter, as she is a psychology professor at a US university and studies the psychology of popular culture, particularly about books. Anyway, I've bought a few more of her books, so I'd probably have bought Golden if I'd borrowed it. The cover is a über generic YA cover: the torso shot. BORING. I like the glowy-ness though, it fits pretty well. 

Pretties

Rosemary For Rememberance by Felicity Pulman: I really enjoyed this when I read it, and bought the rest of the series, but got bored with it within the next few books. So given that hindsight, perhaps wouldn't have bought it if I'd borrowed it, but I did really like it the first time around. The cover is quite cool, I like the borders, they fit really well with the period the story is set it (Mediaeval - early-ish after Norman invasion).

Maddigan's Fantasia by Margaret Mahy: Margarent Mahy is a really great author, who has publish in a range of age groups. I'd definitely buy this again, it's really a well crafted, complex fantasy. The cover is reasonably suitable, I like the normalcy of the girl's appearance, but I've seen nicer covers of this book.

Hush by Donna Jo Napoli: I bought this book because it looked intriguing, and despite my dislike of people on book covers, I think this had a lot to do with the cover. It does reflect the feeling of the story, and (maybe a stretch) considering the importance of water and ocean in the story the blue gives that atmosphere. I like Napoli's writing, and possibly would have bought it if I'd borrowed it.

The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson: I LOVE Eva Ibbotson, and The Secret Countess is my favourite of all her books. I am so so glad I picked up this book, and decided to buy it. I like the gold print on the cover, I feel like it kind of reflects the Russian nobility emigre situation, maybe. Subtly. I do like Ibbotson's other covers better, the ones without faces. I definitely would have bought this.

Pink!

The Prophecy of the Gems by Flavia Bujor: I reread this a few times as a teenager. I enjoyed reading it, I chose it because the blurb intrigued me, and I was at an age where I was very into fantasy. I think the cover is fairly reflective of the story, but I feel like the excessive pastels and pink were a bit unnecessary, it would have worked in a bolder colour scheme. I might still buy it, but probably wouldn't have been on the look out for it.

The Girl Who Could Fly by Victoria Forester: This is a really cute book. I enjoyed it a lot. Probably would buy it second hand rather than new though. I like the cover, but what made me pick it up was the title.

The Frog Princess by E.D. Baker: I picked up this book, and the next two in the series (there are seven and I now own all of them) in one go. I love fairy tales, so that was my primary motivation. Out of the whole series this is my lease favourite cover. The whole series is really great, so I'd definitely have bought it if I'd borrowed it.

Mirror, Mirror by Nancy Butcher: Once again, motivation for buying this book was the fact it is a fairy tale adaptation (Snow White). It's a good story, enjoyable, and I'd probably buy it, but not definitely. Given the fact the story challenges the sorts of cultural assumptions that make 'girl books' pink, it seems an inappropriate cover choice, but I think you could argue both for and against this cover.

The first of some favourites

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale: Another fairy tale adaptation. I cannot express how glad I am I picked up this book. The cover is beautiful, the story is beautiful, I love Shannon Hale, and own so many of her fantastic books (one is even part of my thesis). I think this cover really captures the quiet beauty of the book.

The Merlin Conspiracy by Diana Wynne Jones: I really like this cover, the bright colours, and intricate details are very appealing (and reflective of the awesomeness of the books). Diana Wynne Jones is one of my favourite authors, I trawl through bookshops (new and second hand) searching for books of hers I don't yet own. 

Some Concluding Thoughts:

Genre (in all it's inadequacy) seems important to my impulse book purchases. While certain covers are much more appealing, a cover I dislike is not necessarily going to stop me from buying the book. Having people on the cover of a book is not only entirely unnecessary, but is almost as bad as having a movie cover. I seem to avoid pink covers, unless there are other motivating factors. Out of these books, I think my favourite cover is either The Goose Girl or How I Live Now. I'd like to see more covers like these.

Given that I am an absolute bookworm, and consider the purchasing of books to be as important as items such as clothing, perhaps these reflections are not indicative of other book buyers. If covers have some, but not complete, influence over my book choices, perhaps they are more influential to people who might not explore bookstore the way I do.

All in all impulse buys are a very small percentage of my overall book buying.

Perhaps next time I'm in Fullers, I'll have a longer look at sections outside of YA. Perhaps, I'll have a closer look at some of the bright pink covers, or stock standard torso photo covers. After all, despite not being misleading, most covers don't really tell you much at all about the fantastic story that could be waiting inside.