Afternoon, friends! Welcome back. I hope you’re all doing well. Today, I’m catching up with yesterday’s LTB post that I missed. As always, Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme hosted by me and Dani @ Literary Lion, where we discuss certain topics, share our opinions, and spread the love by visiting each other’s posts.
This week’s topic was: good covers vs good plots (suggested by Krupali @ Musings of Souls)
Without further ado, let’s get started!
A lot of you already know that I don’t buy books. I’m a diligent user of my e-library, and I’m thankful that I even have the option of reading from my library since some other people don’t.
Because I use my online library, I don’t just depend on my liking of the cover to read a book. It definitely helps me decide which book to look into further, but I don’t borrow a book solely because the cover is pretty. The synopsis has to be interesting enough as well.
This does mean that if I think a cover is ugly or it just doesn’t grab my attention, I won’t pick it up and I could be missing out on a superb book. Case in point, I have yet to read Fonda Lee’s Jady City despite it’s many many many raving reviews because I frankly think the cover is just Nope. So I hadn’t bothered to look into it further to know what it’s really about.
However, a friend who loved it has insisted I read it despite the cover, and the synopsis actually sounds interesting now that I’ve been compelled to read it. So, I’m reversing my stance on that.
I know for a fact that I’m missing out on a lot of other awesome books because of this, but there’s only so much time in the world, and it’s a lot easier to spend more time looking into a book if the cover gives me the feeling that it has potential. It’s not a perfect way of choosing books, but unless someone vouches/recommends the book, I’ll probably just continue looking for new books this way.
Do you love a book less if the cover is ugly even if the story is good? Do you like covers less if it turns out the story inside isn’t very interesting?
I’d like to think that an ugly cover doesn’t make me love a book less. I don’t usually think about the cover once I start reading, so I don’t think it would affect my opinion in the end. Maybe it makes me biased when I start the book, but I still try to judge it based on the story itself at the end of the day. I have ended up disliking and even hating books with gorgeous covers, so yeah, ultimately, the story is what matters.
And that also ties in with the second question: I still think the covers are gorgeous even if the story was awful. It’s really hard to like a cover less just because of the story. Sure, I’ll be disappointed that it didn’t live up to my expectations, but the poor cover had nothing to do with it, so it doesn’t make me dislike them.
Would you rather have a shelf of good stories or beautiful covers?
Beautiful covers are so much more aesthetically pleasing and aesthetics matter to me (sorry, I can’t help my vanity) so if I did hypothetically have a shelf of books, it probably would have a lot of pretty covers. But I think I’d only keep the books I liked or loved because I don’t really care to have to be looking at books I hated even if their covers are gorgeous. So, it would be more like beautiful covers that contain good stories.
…I just realized that this is a “would you rather” question, so I can’t really have both. I guess I’d go with beautiful covers, since I don’t re-read much, so even if I have a shelf of good stories, they wouldn’t really serve a purpose. Never mind that pretty covers aren’t going to do anything for me either.
That’s all for today! I feel like I need to talk a lot more since this post is remarkably short and still under a thousand words. I don’t think I’ve written a post that’s under a thousand words in a long time…
Be sure to visit Dani’s post to join the linkup!
Some questions for you:
- What matters more when you’re picking up a book: a pretty cover or an interesting plot?
- Do you love a book less if it has an ugly cover/love a cover less if the plot is terrible?
- Would you rather have an ✨ a e s t h e t i c ✨ shelf or one with all your favorite good books?
- Do you think my posts are usually wayyy too long?
Share your thoughts in the comments below!
Eternity Books 
I’m an e-reader too, so a cover might catch my eye and I’ll investigate further but first and foremost I’m looking for certain authors and particular genres. Once I’m reading I don’t even think about the cover. However I have to disagree and say a shelf full of good books 😊
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There’s really no right or wrong answer; both kinds of shelves would be awesome!
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I don’t think that a cover – no matter how ugly or beautiful it is – can actually influence my enjoyment of the book. As you mentioned, when you open the book and start concentrating on the story the cover is just no longer something I pay attention to. I’ll definitely admit that I’ve bought certain books for their covers, but I’ve stopped doing that because of all the disappointments.
That said, I still think I’m influenced by covers to an extent – for example, when I see bloggers’ reviews in my feedly feed, I am more likely to click on reviews of books that have beautiful books. Similarly, when I’m browsing on the internet, even on bookshops, it’s the cover I see first. If the cover is terrible I’m likely not going to click on the book and learn more about it. Great discussion!
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Yeah, by the time you’re engrossed in the story, you probably don’t even remember the cover. And that’s a great point, I also tend to read reviews if I see a pretty cover because I’m curious to know more about it. Thank you so much for reading, Vera ✨
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Your posts are never too long! I think they’re just the right length.
Honestly, I would prefer a shelf with my favourite books. I don’t see the point of buying books just because they’re pretty – consumerism is one of the most harmful phenomenas of our time. I really think that while both a plot and a cover may increase my liklihood of picking up a book, so many factors may come to play, and in the end, I typically go with my gut feeling.
I think, in regard to the if the story or cover being ruined by the other – I can no longer look at Spin the Dawn, which I used to think had a wonderous cover, but since reading it, I only feel repulsed at its sight. I don’t think they usually affect each other unless the cover/story are EXTREMELY dreadful.
Most humans are visual beings, so I guess it’s only natural we have such a focus on how a book appears. A good or bad really can change the way we see the rest of the story – atmoshpere/aesthetic/etc. I don’t think it is a bad thing to pick up a book based on the cover – and I have some bad experiences with people judging what I read because of an embarrasing title/cover, so avoiding such covers is a bit of a priority.
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Thank you so much, Ele!
I wouldn’t buy the books, but if I could magically have it, then yeah, I really would not mind an aesthetically pleasing shelf. I’m too vain sometimes lol
Yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever had such a case, and it’s a shame StD’s cover was ruined so much for you. Hopefully, it doesn’t happen again in the future!!
A cover does not make a book and a book does not make a cover, so I wish people wouldn’t judge others for what it appears like. I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with that ❤
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Oh, a short post is still okay!
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I would definitely agree and say the plot is way more important. Although ideally, the bookshelf would be beautifully aesthetic and full of great plots! Your usual posts aren’t too long by the way, Rukky. So don’t stress about it, you do you and express yourself however you want!
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Ideally yes it would. Thank you so much for the feedback Fives, I really appreciate you ✨
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