Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

Hi, my name is Cat, and I judge books by their covers.

So Shiny

Okay, I don’t judge every book by its cover. But I do have a thing for collecting (hoarding) pretty editions. I mean, nobody really needs five editions of their favorite book, but I’m a big enough sucker that I’ve done exactly that—a few times.

For example, I have a whole shelf dedicated to Jane Austen (mostly Pride and Prejudice, if we’re being honest). I also have several editions of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and The Locked Tomb series. Oops?

The thing is, special editions are so shiny. Not always literally, but for a reader, they might as well have all the shine in the world. Right? Also, when a book has sprayed or stenciled edges, you know I will start drooling (not really; that might hurt the book).

Browsing Shelves

There’s another time I will judge a book by its cover – when I’m looking for something interesting to read. Sometimes, when I’m in a reading funk (or bored), I browse the books available and see what looks appealing.

Is this a foolproof method? Demonstrably not. But the thing is, most readers have probably learned what their favorite genres tend to look like (for example, urban fantasy usually has a tough-looking woman on the cover, almost always looking away from the camera). This gives us an edge when finding the right read by sight alone.

The shelves don’t have to be physical either – an e-book cover can tempt me just as easily as a physical copy. Just look at my digital library, and you’ll lose any doubt on that front. The FOMO is real.

The good news is that I’ve also learned not to rule out a book by its cover. I know many authors have strong opinions about their book covers (mainly that many mainstream authors don’t get much say/choice in them), so it’s important to be mindful of that, too. At least, it’s important to me. The whole “judging a book by its cover” thing really only works to catch my attention; everything else comes down to the description (and, later, reading the actual book).

So tell me, do you judge a book by its cover?

Like what you see? Leave a tip!

Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks | Quirky Cat’s Comics | The Book Review Crew | Monkeys Fighting Robots | Storygraph | Bookhype | Bookstagram | Twitter | Tumblr | Reedsy