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buying books
Jul. 10th, 2006 10:50 pmA friend wrote (in a locked entry, so I won't further identify) about judging books by their covers. (I'm talking about literal books here; this is not metaphor.) I described how I do the initial evaluation of books in bookstores, and thought I'd share my reply here.
There are two orientations for a book in a bookstore: cover facing out, and spine facing out.
When covers are facing out I definitely judge books by them. I can't articulate the parameters, but certain styles and contents send strong "not interesting" vibes (certain styles of fantasy and anything that looks romancy, among others).
If the spine is facing out (which is true for most books), then the font -- size and clarity -- is the first thing that matters. With my vision, perusing a shelf of paperbacks is kind of slow and tedious, so unless I know I'm in a subsection that I really want to investigate, I sample. I don't read every title; I don't have time or patience. If it's small or ornate or poor-contrast colors, I skip right on by. If I read a title and it (and/or the author) grab me as potentially interesting I pull the book out and look at the cover, but I'm a little less dismissive than for the facing-out covers. I've already gone to the trouble to pick up the book; I'll usually look at the blurb. (And from there, perhaps a sampling of the contents.)
So the "display" books (covers facing out) have more opportunities both to quickly grab me and to quickly turn me off. I'm more likely to miss a good book in conventional orientation, but I'm also a little less likely to dismiss it just based on a stupid cover.
There are two orientations for a book in a bookstore: cover facing out, and spine facing out.
When covers are facing out I definitely judge books by them. I can't articulate the parameters, but certain styles and contents send strong "not interesting" vibes (certain styles of fantasy and anything that looks romancy, among others).
If the spine is facing out (which is true for most books), then the font -- size and clarity -- is the first thing that matters. With my vision, perusing a shelf of paperbacks is kind of slow and tedious, so unless I know I'm in a subsection that I really want to investigate, I sample. I don't read every title; I don't have time or patience. If it's small or ornate or poor-contrast colors, I skip right on by. If I read a title and it (and/or the author) grab me as potentially interesting I pull the book out and look at the cover, but I'm a little less dismissive than for the facing-out covers. I've already gone to the trouble to pick up the book; I'll usually look at the blurb. (And from there, perhaps a sampling of the contents.)
So the "display" books (covers facing out) have more opportunities both to quickly grab me and to quickly turn me off. I'm more likely to miss a good book in conventional orientation, but I'm also a little less likely to dismiss it just based on a stupid cover.