Judging a book... by its cover

I came across this article on the Huffington Post and it cracked me up. It also really made me think. I mean, how often have we heard the saying "never judge a book by its cover"? But let's face it, we have entered an era when the things that matter are the ones that comes in a pretty package. How often have we raved about the packaging before we even acknowledged the product? I, for one, admit that book covers do indeed affect my purchasing decisions. But it is of course not the only reason (I do read the synopsis, reviews and couple of pages first!).

And even if you don't believe that book covers should ever dictate your book buying decisions, you have to admit that the new Harry Potter book covers are pretty spiffy. A lot cooler than the old ones.

(Left: New cover designed by Kaku Kibuishi; Right: Old cover whose importance is irrelevant)

That being said, here are a few of my favourite book covers. Good design should always be appreciated, no?

The Virgin Suicides by Jeffrey Eugenides

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

The Great Perhaps by Joe Meno

After Dark by Haruki Murakami 

(I did not like the book though; One of the only Murakamis that I didn't appreciate)

A Million Little Pieces by James Frey

When God was a Rabbit by Sarah Winman

Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood

(possibly the most deceptive cover ever; this book is not about cute little pigs)

Dreams in a Time of War by Ngugi Wa Thiong'O

Last but not the least (mostly to make a point),

You've got to give the book cover designers come credit right?

Oh and, what's your take on gender-neutral books? Author Maureen Johnson came up with a little challenge she called Coverflip. She noted that the simple fact of the matter is that female authors tend to get discriminated to be "lousier writers". She said that a man and a woman can write books about the same subject matter and at the same level of quality but the female author tend to get their covers in a more "soft-sell and glowy"design as compared to the books written by the males (reckon that's the reason why many female authors go by initials/ pseudonyms. let's take J.K. Rowling as an example).

Hence, here's the result of her little experiment. Do take a look! Some of them are pretty good, considering that they were done pretty much within 24 hours.