When Judging A Book By Its Cover

Growing up in a multi-cultural background (Filipino, American, Irish, Italian), one of the first things I learned was to be open-minded and learn to accept people by who they are and their appearance. Part of my childhood was in the American South, and I've learned very quickly that it's easy to be judged by how I look since I have light brown skin.

I admit that sometimes I do judge people by their appearance, even though I try not to. When it comes to books, I am very guilty of such. Yesterday, I went to the bookstore and found a copy of After Dark by Haruki Murakami. I was very intrigued by the cover where there was a picture of an attractive Japanese girl. The colors of her make-up and her flawless face blended well against the dark background.

After Dark was one of the books listed in the Japanese Literature Challenge. I wasn't going to buy this book since I had already chosen (and bought!) First Snow in Fuji by Yasunari Kawabata. Since I liked the story synopsis and heard good reviews about After Dark, I bought it. I was thinking about adding another book to read for the challenge, so why not After Dark? However, I do think that the cover had a lot to do with my decision. I don't think I would have picked it up if I didn't think if it was so pretty.

This isn't the first time I picked up a book based on its beautiful cover. Check out the cover of April and Oliver by Tess Callahan. I love how those different shades of blue and gray blended together.

So how about you? Do you sometimes buy a book because of its cover?