Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover

But how can you not?

You have to admit, this is an amazing cover:

At first glance, the picture depicts two couples, one on the right and one on the left. After a closer inspection, are those really couples? Maybe the center characters are one couple. See how they are both looking right at you? The other two are turned away as if they want no part of the other two. The entire picture must tell a story, too. The characters seem to be hand drawn, cut, and pasted in front of the sky scape as though they don’t really belong.

And how about this one:

Typically when I see a skull I think horror, however the girl doesn’t appear the least bit frightened. In fact, she looks down right relaxed. And what is the significance of the sailboat when there is no water in sight?

A pet peeve of mine is when publishers re-release a “media tie in edition” of a book. How can you really compare this

with this ?

How about you?

Do you buy books based on what the cover looks like?

What are some of your favorites?

Snow Daze

During the warm summer months I find it easy to picture myself surviving the cold winters comfortably curled on the couch in front of a roaring fire with a cup of tea in one hand and the latest release by a favorite author in the other. Outside my window the wind howls and snow accumulates unbeknown by me.

Last night I tried to envision this inviting picture, but was unable to get past the reality of the situation as I drove home through whiteout conditions. I had every intention of skipping out a little early. After all, there was a blizzard raging and it had been an hour since the last customer walked through the door. What harm could it do to close up a few minutes early on an evening when no one in their right mind would be out and about?

As I flicked off the back lights, the door opened and a family of three came in, brushing off the snow and stomping their boots as they looked around with excitement. Chances of a snow day were looking good and they wanted to be prepared. After much discussion and deliberation, they each chose a couple of novels and were on their way.

As I locked the door, I thought that absolutely nothing would make me go out in that weather. Then I thought about being snowed in for hours or possibly even an entire day without anything to read. I was wrong, that thought would be more terrifying to me than venturing out into the storm.

Luckily, I have an entire stack of books waiting patiently on my nightstand for the day I get snowed in and have time to read them all. Currently I am reading Watch Me by Brenda Novak. This romantic suspense still has me guessing over half way through the book. It is no easy feat to keep this mystery fanatic in suspense. Hopefully I will get my answers before the end of the weekend. I have two more of the same genre waiting for reviews and then the latest by my Goodreads friend Ben Tanzer. I had the pleasure of reading his first, Lucky Man and am looking forward to finding out if Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine is just as edgy. One of my favorite YA authors, Sara Shepard, will be releasing her first adult novel in May and I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced reading copy. My daughter and I are still fighting over who gets to read The Visibles first. I may have to move that one up on my list if I can finish my current read before she finishes hers.

What about you?

What books are waiting for your attention?