Even though in the end it’s about the story, book covers can play an important role. They say don’t judge a book by its cover, but if you know nothing about a book it can influence you. I have had definite cover buys, haha. So today I wanted to talk a little bit about what I think when there are people on the cover of a book.

A lot of books have people on the cover. I shall give a few examples:

A lot of books do this and in all genres, but if I’m really honest, most times I don’t like people on covers. Sometimes it does fit the book, like I think it does on the cover of The Valiant. After reading this book, I can completely see the main character in that girl. I think that’s the biggest reason I don’t like seeing someone on the cover. While reading a story I like being able to imagine what a character looks like. When that’s done for me, it takes a bit away from the story. That’s also why I always love reading a book before I see a movie. Even though that makes me notice all the details that differ, I like being able to create the world in my own way while reading. That’s why I like when books have the option of choosing covers with or without a person, like The Kingmaker Chronicles. There are two covers:

While the cover shows a very brave and confident woman, everything the main character of this book is, I still chose the cover on the left. I think it’s beautiful and it’s one that would catch my eye before the one on the right. This book was recommended to me, so I would’ve picked it up either way, but if I hadn’t known it was something I would love, I would pick up the cover on the left faster.

Romance books almost always have attractive men and women on the covers, who obviously spend a lot of time at the gym, haha. This can annoy me at times as well, but what I like here is that some books only show part of the body. We don’t see much of their faces, so I can still imagine my own character.

I really wanted to write this just to see what other people think. What people prefer to see on covers they put on their bookshelves. This is in no way saying that my opinion is right, but I’m just curious about what others think. Even if a cover has a person on it, if the description is good, I will definitely still pick it up. Just when it comes to a cover buy, I get a bit picky, haha. Do you like having an example of what a character looks like? Or would you like to think of it yourself? I would love to hear your thoughts on this subject!