Judging a book by its cover

I've just been having a think about how much I love reading and how much it's a big part of my life. I wish I could put my reading to more use or share my thoughts with others.

I was thinking what attracts me to a book. Sometimes its reviews that I read in magazines but more often than not it is the cover. They say you should never judge a book by its cover but rightly or wrongly this is often how I discover new authors. I love book shops and could spend hours in them. To me they feel like art galleries, with each book displaying its own work of art which will appeal to individual artistic tastes and then draw you in. Even seeing two books which are exactly the same, I will always choose the cover which is most attractive to me.

Here are some of my favourite book covers:

Mister Pip is a brilliant and upsetting book. I really enjoyed it although found parts quite distressing. I was originally attracted by the cover.

I also love this cover and it introduced me to one of my favourite authors;

I have been hoodwinked by my method of choosing books in the past. Once by this book:

I found it had no real substance and not much of a storyline. It was a bit fluffy. I was expecting a robust story about the land of my fathers but was brutally disappointed. It ended up in a charity bag. Another book that failed my book choice method was The Suspicions of Mr Whicher.

This book has recently been made into an ITV drama. I have to be honest and say that I did not enjoy either. I found both very slow to start and couldn't really get into the story. I understand that it is a real story but did not find it as exciting as the murder mysteries I am accustomed to. Maybe this comes from being a Midsomer Murders addict but it didn't thrill me.