How much does the cover of a book draw you? At the small bookstore where I work, we front out books that have interesting (to us) covers. When I’m looking for a book, I know certain covers draw me in while others make me skip right over the book. That’s a shame, I realize, because I may be missing a perfectly good read. However, when I see badly drawn cartoonish covers or ones that were obviously photoshopped with someone of less than adequate ability, I tend to think the book may be of lower quality as well.

And yet, I have read really good books that had horrible covers. I’ve also read horrible books that had really good covers. What should matter is the writing – and it does. Once I’ve picked up that book, I read the blurb, the tag lines, and, maybe a page or two before deciding if I want it, but it is the cover that draws me first.

So what about you? Do you pick up a book based on the cover?