Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme, hosted by Rukky @ Eternity Books & Dani @ Literary Lion, where they discuss certain topics, share their opinions, and spread the love by visiting each others’ posts.
JUNE 25: GOOD COVERS VS. GOOD PLOTS (SUGGESTED BY KRUPALI @ MUSINGS OF SOULS)
Prompts: When you pick books to buy, what is more likely to sway you: a good cover or a good plot? When you choose to unhaul books do you sometimes keep bad books if they’re pretty? 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? Would you rather have a shelf of good stories or beautiful covers?
Welcome to the last week of June LTB everyone! Today’s topic is quite the classic, and I’m glad to be expanding a bit on it. Make sure to follow Krupali who suggested this topic as well (linked above)! Without further ado, let’s go!
When you pick books to buy, what is more likely to sway you: a good cover or a good plot?
I’m gonna have to be honest, when I’m shopping in person, a good cover is (almost) always necessary. My train of thought is: if it’s a bad book, at least it’ll look good on my shelf! That being said, with the rapidly decreasing real estate on my bookshelf, I have been trying my best recently not to buy any books, pretty cover or not. Obviously, if I already know the plot of the books in questions, I would rather buy the book with a good plot that I know I like, rather than just for aesthetic purposes.
When you choose to unhaul books do you sometimes keep bad books if they’re pretty?
Yes, I’m definitely guilty(?) of this. Is this a bad thing? I don’t know, but I figure who has a use for a bad book anyway? Might as well keep it nice looking on my shelf. Unless I’m running out of space, in which case it’s really no loss to anyone.
Do you love a book less if the cover is ugly even if the story is good?
As much as I judge books by their cover (sorry!), I actually don’t care about the cover at all if the story is good. The cover (and a good title) is just a nice tool to bait me into reading a book. After reading a book and deciding it’s good, I have no qualms for whatever the cover/title might be – it’s definitely the inside content that counts for books in the end! It might just be harder to convince others to read it.
Do you like covers less if it turns out the story inside isn’t very interesting?
Actually, yes I think there is something to be said about this. I have definitely been disappointed before, and if the overall book just isn’t very good…then it really is just a waste of a nice cover. It really just becomes quite a disappointment, and may make me feel like it was a waste of time to read it.
Would you rather have a shelf of good stories or beautiful covers?
This is actually such a difficult question to answer. On the one hand, the whole point of having a nice bookshelf displayed is to have beautiful books to catch the eye and act as decoration. On the other hand, what’s the point of anyone looking at it if there’s nothing good (of substance) there? I guess the best way is to have a mix of both – some eye catching titles, and some actually good books to read as well. Of course, the best of both worlds would be the most ideal! It’s definitely just a personal preference though, I wouldn’t fault anyone going either way with their bookshelf. I may just have some qualms if every book on your shelf has a broken spine!
What do you all think? When it comes to books on your shelves is it all a matter of looks or quality? Or perhaps a mix of both?
Down the Rabbit Hole 