Everyone likes a good book!

What makes a good book, what influences the public want to buy a book is it the design, the blurb or the sheer impulse buy of the general consumer or customer, that is the theory that I am going to explore.




You may have been told as a child don't judge a book by its cover but when you first look at something isn't that all you have to go on when you first see something appearance and in today's society there is strong evidence to show that we do go on face value we look for inspiration when purchasing something to draw us to it and this relates to when you make your decision on buying a book. Chip Kidd esteemed graphic designer turned novelist has worked on the covers of novels from Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park The Lost world to Augusten Burroughs A Wolf At The Table both best selling authors and although Chip believes he sold most the authors books for them which is only his own cocky opinion he is quoted as saying "I cannot make you buy a book, but I can try to help make you pick it up" which summarises that we do judge a book buy its cover in the first place but then the actual reality is that book has to then confer with the trends and genres we are interested in. So that begs the question do we take things on face value are the way people judge things dependent on what social trends and cultures they follow and what they believe in.

My honest opinion is you have to be drawn to something to want it, its like in relationships for example you see someone who you are physically drawn to that's what makes you interested in them first place, appearance but once move to the next phase to get to know them you might find whats inside the vital selling point, it might not be what your looking for. This relates directly to books and the person who designed the book cover, once again appearance is what draws you to it but after you read the blurb get to understand the book you might find just like relationships this isn't for me. Humans are complex and can be influenced by advertising in this case a book cover and advertising of the book can give it a fighting chance too be heard but for a book to be purchased it must connect with that person in some way which is beyond the advertisers, designers and authors control.

So the conclusion that I have arrived at is we do judge a book by its cover however materialistic that may seem but the main reason we purchase a book is because of they way we think and the interests we have.