Do book covers make a difference?

[glnnjnsn]

Originally Posted by Jessica Lares

I buy books based on the cover too. I absolutely LOATHE movie cover versions, and am thankful that they never did that with the Harry Potter books. They just look tacky, out of place, and they don't age well on a shelf. I do the same thing with music albums to an extent.

Actually, that's why I actually wind up purchasing the movie-inspired versions (of paper books) most of the time. They're much more likely to end up in the clearance bin when the movie bombs and/or is no longer in theaters.

[ForsCream]

The book's cover definitely makes sense for me.
I'd like see nice covers displayed on my ebook shelf.

[rjmac]

Yes they do make a difference - they are designed to catch your eye, and they do look nice on your book shelf, but the old adage is true - never judge a book by its cover.

[shanghaichica]

When I used to buy paperback books it was the cover that would usually draw me to the book. Now with ebooks the cover features less for me, especially since you rarely see the cover on the kindle. One of the few things I liked about the Kobo in the short time that I used it was that the book cover was on the lock screen so you got to see it more. I wonder if the Nook simple touch I ordered has that freature.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by shanghaichica

When I used to buy paperback books it was the cover that would usually draw me to the book. Now with ebooks the cover features less for me, especially since you rarely see the cover on the kindle. One of the few things I liked about the Kobo in the short time that I used it was that the book cover was on the lock screen so you got to see it more. I wonder if the Nook simple touch I ordered has that freature.

Do you mean it serves as the screen saver (Maybe not the right word, but I'm trying to envision the lock mode.)

[JSWolf]

When I see really poor covers, I think self published on Amazon. So I stay away.

[cromag]

I pay attention to "covers" when browsing. A nice cover might prompt me to read the excerpt/reviews, and might be the first step in the buying process. A bad cover (I am STILL amazed at how many authors do their covers in crayon and freehand lettering, and then scan them in) will never get that far.

If a book has been specifically recommended to me, then the cover doesn't matter.

[elemenoP]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

Do you mean it serves as the screen saver (Maybe not the right word, but I'm trying to envision the lock mode.)

Yes, on Kobo readers the book cover can serve as the screen saver. I have software installed on my Sony reader to make it do the same thing, I love it!!

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

Yes, on Kobo readers the book cover can serve as the screen saver. I have software installed on my Sony reader to make it do the same thing, I love it!!

That is pretty cool! I know kindle people asked for that for a long time but with ads, there's no chance of it happening...Glad to see a vendor doing that! I think Kobo is probably going to be my next reader. Then again it will hopefully be a while before I *need* one so who knows what will be out there by then!

[jersysman]

Originally Posted by elemenoP

Yes, on Kobo readers the book cover can serve as the screen saver. I have software installed on my Sony reader to make it do the same thing, I love it!!

That is stock on the T1. The current book you are reading is the screensaver.

[BeccaPrice]

with an instant-on cover, having cover images as a screen saver doesn't really make sense.

[simplyparticular]

Originally Posted by BeccaPrice

with an instant-on cover, having cover images as a screen saver doesn't really make sense.

I disagree. I LOVE that my Sony T1 defaults to the currently reading cover when it's in standby mode. I like the visual reminder of what I'm reading, especially since I"ll have more than one book going, depending on what device I'm reading on (phone, iPad or T1).

I like that feature enough that it's one of the reasons I've avoided buying a Kindle Paperwhite, and I am considering the Kobo Glo/Aura instead (since Sony is apparently loathe to revisit the glowing e-Ink arena).

[shanghaichica]

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

Do you mean it serves as the screen saver (Maybe not the right word, but I'm trying to envision the lock mode.)

Yea sorry I meant it serves as the screen saver.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by simplyparticular

I disagree. I LOVE that my Sony T1 defaults to the currently reading cover when it's in standby mode. I like the visual reminder of what I'm reading, especially since I"ll have more than one book going, depending on what device I'm reading on (phone, iPad or T1).

I like that feature enough that it's one of the reasons I've avoided buying a Kindle Paperwhite, and I am considering the Kobo Glo/Aura instead (since Sony is apparently loathe to revisit the glowing e-Ink arena).

I agree--neat feature. I like artwork and when I'm reviewing a book, I like to be able to see the cover with the full title and the author name. When I review a Kindle book I almost always have to turn the thing on, go back to the book, find the details...and I usually just look it up on Amazon instead of all that. It would be handy for a lot of reasons to be able to see the cover.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by simplyparticular

I disagree. I LOVE that my Sony T1 defaults to the currently reading cover when it's in standby mode. I like the visual reminder of what I'm reading, especially since I"ll have more than one book going, depending on what device I'm reading on (phone, iPad or T1).

Becca said with an instant-on cover. The reason for that qualification is that with such a cover you never see the screen saver. You read. You close the cover, and the device goes to sleep. You open the cover and it wakes up again. So you never get to see the screen saver at all, hence it becomes irrelevant what it shows.