by Rebecca Williams

Created on: June 15, 2009   Last Updated: June 16, 2009

There is an old saying that one cannot (or is it should not?) judge a book by its cover. In a metaphorical sense, this is true; people cannot be judged by their appearance. But how true is it in a literal sense? Can one judge books by their covers? If so, how, and how accurately? In the opinion of this writer, one not only can judge books by their covers, but can do so with a great deal of accuracy, if they use such factors as title, author, cover illustration (if any), back cover, and inside front and back covers (if it's hardbound, with a jacket).

Consider the factors of title and author alone. In a bookstore or library, shopping for a book, do we not look for specific titles if we've read a positive review of it? Do we not look for specific authors simply because we've read them before and liked them? In such a case, we decide to check out the book before we look inside, especially in the library, where price is no deterrent. When you see a name of an author you recognize you like, you automatically want to read the book. Similarly, when you see a name of an author you didn't like once, you shun all of their books. If the title is one that does not catch your interest, you pass it quickly by. In my own experience, I have judged books by the title and/or author many, many times. Each time I have tried to read a book with a title that to me seemed dull, I disliked the book; Amy Girl by Bari Wood is one such example. Each time I have read a book based solely on the author's name, I have liked the book; Tolkien's The Silmarillion is just one example.

The back cover is an excellent indication of how good the book might be, provided there are words there. The back cover usually contains either a quote from the book, a summary of the book, quotes from reviews of that book or other books by the same author, a short biography of the author, or some combination thereof. This is designed to spark interest in the reader, of course; but the individual reader can use this information for other purposes. If a reader does not like fantasy, the back cover will often show, if the front does not, that this book is fantasy; the reader can immediately assume they will not like the book, and if they truly do not like fantasy, they will probably be right. On the other hand, if a person is an obsessive reader of everything to do with unicorns, they will probably enjoy a book they chose because a unicorn was mentioned on the back cover. I have not always looked at the back

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