Sunday Salon - Judging A Book By Its Cover

Please excuse me for a minute while I step up on my soapbox and begin the lecture. The lesson this week? It's that golden oldie: Don't judge a book by it's cover.

This is my daughter's best friend. To say that some people find her look off-putting would be to put it mildly. In addition to the heavy eyeliner, this friend wears tremendously oversized black clothing, her hair hangs in her face, and she's frequently sporting skulls on her clothing. But this young lady is one of the best friends a teenage girl could possibly have. She's never anything other than polite and is more than willing to talk to my husband and me when she is over. There is never a time when this young lady is not welcome in my home--which is more than I can say for some of the young people my children have befriended.

Recently I came across a blog post that had a picture of some books the blogger had received and all of them had identical grey covers. Nothing on them at all. And I very nearly skimmed right over the post because my brain automatically assumed that dull covers = dull books. Which would logically lead to the assumption that beautiful covers = beautiful books. Likewise, if a book has a dessert or a beach scene on the cover, the assumption is that the book is chick lit and that it's a light read. My copy of "Gilead" by Marilynne Robinson has a very simple, plain cover. And, in some ways, it is a very simple book. But it is not plain; it is a beautifully written book. Without word-of-mouth, I'm not sure I would ever have picked it up. That would have been a real lose. Are there any books you've picked up because of the cover that have disappointed you? Any that were a real surprise?