Why I judge a book by its cover

I judge books by their covers. This is not a metaphor. I really judge books by their covers.

I have been known to buy costlier editions of a book if the cheaper one didn't suit my visual tastes. I know what you will say. Anybody would say the same thing. So I won't say it.

Reading a book is an experience. A learning experience, an aesthetic experience, and a whole lot of other experiences that defy blogging. Being the detail-oriented (some have called me fussy) patron of reading that I am, I see my books as much more than what they can teach me.

The colours of the book's cover, the feel of the paper, the typeface on the cover AND the pages, have as much of a say in my decision about buying a book as the book's content, author and style.

I have a weakness for hardbound books. And for serif fonts. I am also highly biased in favour of light/bright covers. Dark colours on a book's cover turn me off (unless the book is hardbound of course).

I love a well-written blurb. It saves me a lot of trouble. I believe the blurb does 90 percent of the bookselling. This is why I hate it when they stick annoying little price labels right in the middle of a snappy blurb. I really care about the back cover people!

I like the Landmark/Crossword variety of music playing in the background when I am browsing for books to buy. It makes me feel special. It whets my appetite. Do I hear an "Oh please!" from you? There is little I can do about it. I am a product of the times.

A book didn't have to compete with video games, DVDs, VCDs, and websites in the days that quaint little bookshops did good business. Today, everything that comes out of a press goes up against an army of easy-to-use / easy-to-setup / easy-to-understand information products that have grown out of the general consumerist stupor of this age.

The book won't die. It might have to pick up arms though.