Monday, January 31, 2011

Award Shows and Book Covers

Today's Blog Tour Stops:

Today I will over at the lovely Colene Murphy's and Steena Holmes's - tomorrow is the last day of the tour so come on by and leave some comments for more entries in the super huge Grand Prize giveaway!!

For today on my blog...a confession....

I only watch award shows for the clothes.

In fact, I often only watch the PRE-award shows when the stars are arriving. I just want to see the pretty gowns and shiny bling and then I'm good for the night. It makes me feel slightly guilty as I know these nights are the most important nights of the year for the people involved, and really some of the host stuff is pretty funny.

But nope, I just watch for the clothes.

Kind of reminded me about books and their covers. A lot of people (myself included) pick (or don't pick) books by their covers. They don't care much about what is between the covers, how much work has gone into every word on every page, how important those pages are to the person who wrote them....they just care about the pretty shinies on the front cover. (Or the horrible covering on what is really a very talented actress...er, book).

I once refused to read a series that everyone I knew loved because the covers were so ridiculous IMO. I finally broke under peer pressure and grabbed one and it's now one of my favorite series. On the other side of the coin, there is a series I have no interest in reading based on the blurbs, but the covers are so gorgeous it's all I can do not to buy them all just to have them on my selves.

Am I the only one who does this? Who else watches the awards shows just for the clothes? Or buys or refuses to buy a book based on the cover?

12 comments:

Vicki Rocho said...

I don't like to admit it, but covers do play a huge part in luring me in. I rarely open the book to actually read a sample. I read the back of the book and look at the cover. If I open the book, it's to see if they used itty bitty print that will give me a headache. hahaha

Lindsay said...

Okay, I do sometimes watch the awards show for the clothes. I can't help it. lol.

As for book covers sure a pretty one is nice, but I do make my choice on blurbs. Although I did buy the limited edition white twilight covers for the cover beauty. lol.

Will Burke said...

I don't even watch that much of an awards show!
My book budget isn't as fat as I'd like it to be, but when in the bargain section, it's the cover that will determine if I go to pick it up. Something to consider when I'm ready to publish.

Stina said...

I don't watch the award shows, but I love to watch the local entertainment show the next day when they rehash to fashion hits and misses.

Covers draw me in, but they don't determine if I'm going to buy the book. :)

Unknown said...

Although I don't watch many award shows, I get where you're coming from with the cover thing. Sometimes the title and cover are what sells a book IMO. It shouldn't be this way. In fact, you made a good point. Judging the book by its cover causes us to overlook a lot of good fiction.

Stephanie McGee said...

I totally only pay attention to awards shows because of the fashion. I pretty much never have seen the movies or tv shows garnering all awards so the ceremony itself is uninteresting.

Though I did catch Betty White's reaction to her win last night at the SAGs and that was priceless.

As for book covers, I will confess I don't pay much attention to it other than to figure out how it fits in and represents the book. But that's usually after I've read the book. (Except with Harry Potter because then I was analyzing the covers for clues as to the content. Especially with book 7.)

Su said...

I'm not much into clothes, so that side of award shows has never appealed to me (although sometimes during the show I'll wonder, "who told her she'd look good in THAT?). But I do love a good book cover. I have a prof who has a book that just came out & the cover is gorgeous! When I complimented her on it, she said the photo she had wanted for her first book turned out to not be available, so the publisher replaced it with an elf without checking with her! An elf! For a book about rhetoric! So, the prof is much happier with her second book cover. :)

Katrina L. Lantz said...

Hee hee. I like the comparison!

I am a sucker for coverlove. If somebody posts a beautiful cover, I can't help but mark it as to-read on goodreads, put it on my amazon shopping list, and probably blog about how beautiful it is... before I've read the book. I realize this makes me shallow, but in my defense, I do read the books eventually. And hey, buzz has to come from somewhere, so I figure I'm doing a good thing.

I love creative marketing and beautiful covers are part of that. But I have the same reaction to a clever tag line, like the one on Kiersten White's PARANORMALCY: "So much for normal."

Colene Murphy said...

Covers are a big thing. If I don't already know what I want when I look it's the cover that will sell a book I'm unfamiliar with. (and I love looking at the dresses!! I don't care who wins just show me the cloths!)

Hanny said...

All have sinned and judged a book by its cover. But what else can one do? Unless it's a classic, or very well-known you have to look at the cover and become enamored by it.
What does this mean for e-books?

Melissa said...

I love looking at celebrities close!!!

Theresa Milstein said...

Hi. I'm coming over from Vicki Rocho's blog to mention the sins I may or may not have committed at one time or another.

#'s 1 and 6. But not often. I was a good student! Usually.