Special Topics Summary: Judging a Book by its Cover

Here's the first bit of my Special Topics assignment, to give everyone an idea of what I'm working on.

Almost everyone has heard the age-old idiom, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Yet publishers continue to work with artists and designers to craft and create covers to market their books, so this idea comes under scrutiny—especially by those choosing to purchase a title by the cover alone. According to Elizabeth Story, Lead Designer at Tachyon Publications, “For a print book, you want nice covers, because books aren’t just for reading, they are for display. It’s a larger canvas, with room for detail. An e-book cover doesn’t get the same visibility after the purchase, but you still need something eye-catching to get to that purchase” (Obeso, 2013, p. 41). Marketers and publishers, in this case, are relying on a consumer to judge a book by its cover to purchase a title. Librarians, however, are often trying to lead their patrons past the covers and into the text of a work—especially in a readers’ advisory setting. The details of readers’ advisory regard the inside of the book: the plot, the pacing, the characters, etc. Yet, when libraries are promoting books via a readers’ advisory driven display, “We include primarily hardcover books with book jackets because they are the most attractive and eye-catching. We choose mass-market paperbacks less frequently, as we find that the smaller size does not display well. Larger, trade paperbacks work better and are often included” (Saricks, 2005, p. 140). This shows that these particular books are not being judged by their content, but rather they are chosen based on their outward appearance. Saricks states that the books are chosen based upon their quality, but one must wonder what the display-maker is to do when they have a quality book in mind, only to discover it has a shabby, mass-market cover unfit for display. This book may still be suggested in a readers’ advisory interview, but it would need to be passed over for the display. Cover judgment is used in readers’ advisory and display building, but it is nothing deserving of a shameful finger-wagging and tossing about of old idioms. Book covers can allow those conducting the readers’ advisory interview the ability to find a genre on a glance and further explore unknown, overlooked, and perhaps underrated titles with their patrons.

What designers must ultimately contend with, then, is the question of what draws a reader to a book? During a study on this idea, researchers Andrius Šuminas and Arūnas Gudinavičius tested subjects in Lithuanian bookstores and libraries to try to determine what book cover color people preferred, dependent upon their age, gender, and their reading habits (2018, p. 434). The study also looked at how long each group took to select a book, and with further surveying, found the motivations for the book selection.  The top reason for book selection was “attractive title,” with the second most important factor being “nice cover,” no matter the respondent’s age, gender, or reading habits (Gudinavičius & Šuminas, 2018, p. 442). In choosing those “nice covers,” though, the researchers were able to see that “[b]oth women and men expressed a strong orange color preference and both genders disliked yellow, green, black, and white color book covers” (p. 444). Furthermore, the researchers also found that men preferred blue and red covers, and the women of the group chose multicolor and violet more frequently (p. 444). Ultimately, Šuminas and Gudinavičius found that while these correlations were happening, they believe that more testing ultimately needs to be done to verify these findings. These preliminary findings can be useful for readers’ advisory, however, as it can give an idea into what a person may prefer based on their age, gender, and reading habits. Not everyone will fit into the same results that Šuminas and Gudinavičius found, but it at least can provide a starting point for the readers’ advisory discussion based off cover color judgment.
Beyond color, there is much more to consider regarding book cover design. While the front and back French flaps of a dust jacket give information like a summary or author statement, the outward front cover and back cover are areas to explore for details regarding what one might find within its pages. Of course, the cover must feature the author and title, and often for higher-profile titles the back cover is reserved for blurbs, but there are more design elements at play than just these blocks of text. In his article “What Makes a Good Book Cover?”, author Thom Barthelmess discusses cover elements for many example texts and how they reflect the content of the book. Barthelmess’s examples display the book covers’ three different responsibilities: to the book itself, to the publisher, and to the reader (2014, pp. 74,76,78). In his section on the covers’ responsibilities to the books themselves, Barthelmess shows how the font of a title can convey the tone of the book. He states, in regards to Laura Amy Schlitz’s Splendors & Glooms, “The decorative title font, ornate backdrop, and formal proscenium curtain promise just the sort of florid language and elaborate plotting that the book delivers” (p. 75). Further, he discusses how a skewed title can reveal a “refusal to conform,” as with Jan Greenberg and Sandra Jordan’s The Mad Potter (p. 76). Beyond the title’s font, the depiction of characters can also give away some plot and character information, as Barthelmess discusses of Splendors & Glooms cover featuring multiple book characters and their appearance showing a tie to “nineteenth-century squalor” (p. 75). As for the covers’ responsibilities to the publisher, this is where the readers’ advisory should pay attention. When discussing books of a similar nature or genre, cover themes emerge. Barthelmess states that due to one book’s popularity in a genre, many others of that genre may follow suit on cover design. Therefore, if one is looking for a title to stand-out, the idea of “iconic simplicity” may be the designer’s and publisher’s best choice (pp. 76-77). This idea can be useful for the readers’ advisor, as one may be able to discern a title’s genre based on its cover’s similarity to other popular books of that genre. 

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Barthelmess, T. (2014, March/April. What Makes a Good Book Cover? The Horn Book Magazine, 74-78.

Gudinavičius, A., & Šuminas, A. (2018). Choosing a book by its cover: analysis of a reader's choice. Journal of Documentation, 74(2), 430-446.

Obeso, D. (2013, September 23). The Art of the Future. Publishers Weekly, pp. 40-44.

Saricks, J. (2005). Promoting and marketing readers' advisory collections and services. In J. Saricks, Readers' Advisory Service in the Public Library (pp. 136-160). Chicago: ALA.