Judging a Book by Its Cover

I'm quite familiar, as is the rest of literate and illiterate humanity with the adage "Don't judge a book by its cover." However, when actually talking about books, this might not be the rule to follow. Think about it: if the typeface is ugly and illegible and the illustration is bad or nonexistent, then most likely, the book won't sell. But if the title is witty and eye-catching, the illustration vibrant, and the overall cover concept innovative, it's going to sell in a fashion similar to hotcakes (apparently they are quite the bestseller).

Personally, I only buy pretty books. When I'm in B&N, I get tired of reading the book summaries on the back covers and the authors' blurbs, so sometimes I find the prettiest book with the coolest or most meaningful title (to me) and I buy it. And most of the time this method proves very effective. I bought my favorite book, The Devil in the Details, this way (cover art here).

So, when I found bookcoverarchive.com I was so overwhelmed, and so was my Amazon shopping cart. This website features some of the most gorgeous and some of the weirdest book covers I've ever seen, but all of them are unique. To save you some time, though you should absolutely check it out for yourself, I've picked a couple of my favorites.

A Really Beautiful Take on a Classic



I'm fascinated; it's a contents page as a cover page. Mind-blowing.



I am so reading this book.



I adore Elie Wiesel and vintage photos so I would totally pick this book up.


There are no words. Well, clearly there are because it's a cover to a book, but you get the point.