Beowulf Book CoverI usually walk into a bookstore with a shopping list. Titles recommended by friends, books I’ve come across while browsing the net or researching something else. Sometimes they’re easy to find and other times, the shopping is much less successful. But I have a small problem: I can’t seem to walk out of a bookstore empty handed. So when the list is impossible to fill or I simply walk in without one, I resort to stalking between the shelves, looking at book covers and titles. For the most part, it’s the title that gets me (“Salt Fish Girl”, “Rogues’ Wedding”) but sometimes I’m called to something based on the cover design.

For the most part, they tend to be rather dull and uninteresting but once in a while I walk by a book that screams “Pick me up and take me home!” and sometimes, I can’t help myself. It doesn’t happen as often as the odd titles but it does happen (Douglas Cooper’s “Amnesia” is a fine example).

The folks at Abe Books have put together a list that they’ve called “30 Novels Worth Buying for the Cover Alone” and looking at them is like looking at brilliantly designed movie posters. So there is an art to the book cover, if you happen to look for it. My favourite of the bunch is “Beowulf” though I’m also drawn to the cover for “The Chess Machine”. What’s your favourite? Have you ever bought a book because of its cover?

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