Hey, I Bought It for the Cover is a constant refrain heard among collectors. I’m guilty of buying books (and CDs and DVDs) with no intention of reading them (or listening to them or watching them); I bought them simply because I liked the covers. This came up on two web sites I visit regularly. The first is Paul Bishop’s fine blog. Paul loved the cover on Sacrifice. The second instance was that weird statue with the bat. Bibliophile at Reading in Reykjavík discusses that problematic book cover. My guilty pleasure, The Vampire Diaries, speaks for itself. What books (or CDs or DVDs) have you purchased because you bought it for the cover?
Isn’t that “weird statue” Michelangelo’s David?
I don’t remember Michelangelo’s David sporting an evil bat, Deb.
Good spotting, Deb! It sure looks like a ripoff of the David to me.
I think you and Deb are right, Jeff. Those Art History classes come in handy.
The Andahazi book is a pretty good one. Published in English under the title MERCIFUL WOMEN, it’s about Byron, the Shelleys, and Dr. Polidori in 1816 as they summer at Lake Geneva. Both a fantasy and a book-long dirty joke, male genitalia and vampiric activity figure quite prominently. (Hence the cover.)
George, with your dirty mind, you just might like this one.
I’ll certainly look into it, Drongo. I’m reading Edna O’Brien’s BYRON IN LOVE right now so that book fits in nicely.
I’m just vampired-out. I couldn’t even watch a classic Lugosi film. So not, this isn’t for me.
As for buying for the cover, if there is more than one, I do pick the one I like best, specifically if there is one by McGinnis or McGuire, for instance, as opposed to a photo cover or other not as nice one. But I don’t think I’ve ever bought a book based on the cover if I also didn’t think, after looking at it, that I would like to read it.
When I started collecting paperbacks, Rick, I bought them all with the intention of reading them. But, as my collecting mania grew stronger, I began to buy books (later, CDs and DVDs) with cool cover artwork knowing full well I would never read them (or listen to them or watch them). I’m trying to cut back on that activity…but it’s hard.
That I can understand, though I’ve tried to find books with the artwork in them – such as Art’s McGinnis book – rather than collect the covers. Of course an awful lot of it is not available that way. I guess I’d be tempted to scan them and then trade them for another book, scan that, etc.
Most of my “I Bought It For the Cover” acquisitions are impluse buys, Rick. I’ll see something with a cool cover and just purchase it. It’s a hard habit to break.
George, I’m not surprised Nina Dobrev is on your radar. Bulgaria’s comeliest export.
Nina Dobrev should be on everybody’s radar, Drongo. She’s very talented.
I buy all my books for their covers.
Yes, Bob, but do you buy CDs and DVDs for their covers, too?