"Don't judge a book by its cover."
With respect to people, I support that hoary maxim. But after a lifetime of reading, I cannot support it with respect to books. Paperbacks often give me more reasons to judge a book by its cover, but hard covers - especially as they are marketed nowadays - also give me ample ammunition.
First reliable judging criterion are the breathless and frequently cliched book jacket descriptions. If you doubt me, here's a challenge: Randomly select ten books from the shelf of a library or bookstore. I'd wager no fewer than 20% of those jackets will use the word "unforgettable" describing the contents therein. Go ahead, try this; I'll wait.
OK, if those gushing book jackets don't turn you off as they do me, let's turn to the blurbs. First off, if all the blurbs are written by other authors, i.e. none come from reviews, that's a sign you've got a turkey in your hands. But even if those sly marketers are savvy enough to intersperse reviews with the blurbs - BTW, did you know some authors accept $$$ to blurb for the authors whose book they're promoting? - look carefully at the source of said reviews. If not one review excerpt comes from a publication you've heard of - politics aside - even money the book you're holding can indeed be judged by its cover.
Still not persuaded that the maxim opening this post has little merit with respect to actual books? OK, I've failed in today's mission. Since that means all bets are off, I'll add a few cranky wholly arbitrary other reasons to judge a book by its cover or nearby neighborhood: 1.) If it's a novel, the focus is actual historical event(s), and the title includes the word "wife", beware. In the near future, I suspect the same will apply to the word "husband". 2.) With memoirs, be wary if the author had unfailingly progressive parents. This is not hard to figure out. That sanctimonious though often superfluous fact is frequently mentioned early in a memoir and I've even seen it in a few author bios on covers. Trust me here: If you see a mention like this, you are in for some serious shaming about the tarnished political bona fides of your parents, unless both your folks were conscientious objectors, marched across the Pettus bridge with MLK, and stayed "woke" until their dying days.
Well since I don't read much I'm not much help. But I do get pretty close with people by their cover. Especially one that speaks. lol
ReplyDeleteHey Ed; Thanks for the comment, your reading habits aside. In the near future, if I remember, I'm going to send you an e-mail with links to all the blog posts I've written over the last 10 1/2 years that exclusively feature the Beatles. There will probably be about a dozen but don't worry. Because my posts are all brief you'll be able to finish reading all of them during one trip to the toilet. Such a deal.
DeleteGood morning, Pat. I hope that you and your family had a nice Thanksgiving.
ReplyDeleteNot being the avid reader that you are, although do try to read as often as I can, I feel limited in what I can provide. However, I’ve always found it interesting when an author is described as a ‘Master’. Whether it’s a Master of Intrigue, or a Master of Suspense, or a Master of (insert adjective here). And while some may meet this description, I’m pretty sure that most do not.
Be well. Stay Safe.
(please excuse me if you should happen to receive 2 comments from me on this post. A recurrence of past problems 😂).
RRGRMG; Thanks for your comment which is spot-on. That whole "master of (fill in the blanks)..." nonsense is precisely what I'm referring to when I say "breathless and cliched" book jacket descriptions. As you astutely point out, if so many people are "masters" the word gets cheapened like the similarly over-used "genius". So, I'm guessing you agree (conditionally) that it is indeed OK to judge a BOOK by its cover (NOT people).
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