Judging Books By Their Covers

Now, I do know that people say that you're not meant to judge a book by it's cover, but I cant help doing it anyway. I know for a fact that there are brilliant books out there with covers that aren't so brilliant, and I know that there are books out there with amazing covers that aren't so... well, amazing. But I am still pulled toward the pretty book sat on the shelf in a bookstore. I'm sure I'm not the only one, so in this post, I am going to talk about whether a book I've judged by it's cover has met my expectations after I've read it.

The Lie Tree by Frances Harding

I brought this book in a second hand book shop on the harbour when I was on holiday visiting family. The minute I saw it on the shelf, I knew that I had to have it. It was just so pretty! I hate to admit that I didn't even read the blurb or check the price before grabbing it off the shelf and going to buy it, luckily for me it was only four pounds. Even the cashier commented on how beautiful it was!

I started reading the book pretty much straight away as I had only brought one other book with me on holiday and had already finished it. I discovered the lovely illustrations drawn by Chris Riddel, which made me love the book even more!

After reading the book, I can confidently say that I did enjoy it, but it wasn't something that I would normally read, and I doubt I'd have picked it up had the cover not been as nice as it was, so unfortunately, it didn't really meet my expectations. It is still a wonderful book, though! Just not my style.

Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (screenplay) by  J.K. Rowling

Okay, so it definitely wasn't just the stunning cover that lead to me ordering this as soon as I saw J.K. Rowling had tweeted about it, the fact that I am a massive Potterhead did encourage me to buy it, too. However, who knows if I would have brought it as quickly as I did if it had a different cover?! (I most definitely would have done, but shhh..) I also loved the film, so perhaps that played a part in my decision.

I do read the occasional script every now and then, but I had never read a screenplay before. If it hadn't been from the Wizarding World and had such a nice cover, I'm very doubtful that I'd have even considered buying it. This one is a bit of a grey area, though, as it wasn't just my judgement of the cover that lead to me ordering it. However, there's no denying that it's truly a beautiful book and I did enjoy it.

She Is Not Invisible by Marcus Sedgwick

I brought She Is Not Invisible from a seller on Depop for only a pound! I went on there to look at clothes, and ended up buying books, which is completely typical of me! Again, it was the cover that appealed to me and made me click on in, along with the intriguing title. After reading the bool, I can confirm that I loved it, and it was definitely my type of book. I won't go into details, because I don't want to spoil it for any potential readers, by I will say that I am 100% glad that I judged a book by it's cover in this case, and it definitely met and exceeded my expectations of it!

Harry Potter and The Philosophers Stone, Illustrated Version by J.K Rowling

This one is similar to Fantastic Beasts, as it wasn't just the beautiful cover that appealed to me, but it was also the author and the franchise. However, I already own a copy of The Philosophers Stone, and have never brought any of the new editions until this one was released, (I also plan on buying the 20th anniversary Slytherin edition sooner or later) so perhaps it was just the cover that I liked.

Even before getting this book, I knew that it was an amazing book, so I guess my judgement of cover doesn't really apply here. I couldn't not feature this one, though, it's so pretty. The picture is from my Bookstagram (www.instagram.com/books.and.belle) which is why I'm holding Hermione's wand as a prop!

Have you ever judged a book by it's cover?

- Books&Belle xx