The Importance of Book Covers

When we talk about books we normally center in the information or story we can extract from it, and although it is the most important part of a book, it is not the only one. Think about what you look at when you decide on buying a book. The first thing that will definitely attract your attention would be the cover. Is it appealing, does it show the story, is it the colors that you like, is it different? All of this questions might be some of the things you are looking for and that you most likely don't even acknowledge.

Book covers are a very important part of the process to get a book. A good book cover will show you the relationship with the story. Without telling you what the story is, just hinting. Another important characteristic of a good cover is that it will not show you an image and then beneath it state its name (apple picture and the word apple beneath). Readers are not dumb, they want to connect with the book, but not as obvious as that.

Fig. 1

A good example is the book "The Science of the Bottom Line"(see Fig 1.)  you see a brain divided in parts, which most likely you will connect to psychology or how a human thinks. There is also a half dollar sign showing that somehow money is connected. The title makes us think of bottom, therefore somehow it is the science of money? Once it grabbed your attention you can read it says: a behavioral economist reveals what you don't know about making money. Therefore, it was pretty close to what the book was about.

Another book cover that I consider to be good is the one of the book "Wide Awake"(see Fig.2). The cover shows a yellow clock which by the color already makes you stress a little and the time marked is 3:00, most likely a.m. and that definitely relates to being wide awake. That could relate to being an insomniac or being aware of what is going around you. If you take the book you can read it says a memoir of insomnia. 

Fig. 2

Last, but not least, is the book cover for "The Great Brain Suck"(see Fig. 3) which displays a swirl that gives the impression of being sucked, so let's say you are reading this, then of course you will experience that brain suck. The book describes a country whose citizens are losing their autonomy to a growing reliance on automation, and finds a solution to this modern materialism, hence the brain sucking. 

Fig. 3

*****For image references click on the figure caption.