I DO Judge A Book By Its Cover.

I've got all sorts of things to blog about, but since I'm about to get on a plane and my eyeballs are burning, I'm going to go with this: book covers. I've got a thing about them. And by 'thing' read 'obsession and highly particular views'. A book's cover is what often makes or breaks whether or not I pick it up and buy it. I know that's a little silly--like voting for a politician because I'm partial to their ties--but I'm not going to lie. I do judge a book by its cover.

There are a lot of YA covers, I've noticed, that make me want to cringe. And as someone who would like to be published in this genre someday, this concerns me a little. I don't want a cover that looks like it was inspired by an article from Teen Beat. Like this one:

I mean... really? First off, this guy looks nothing like the book's main character. Why is it that book designers want to put pouting boys on YA covers? What is his face trying to tell us here--that he's high on prescription drugs? Because this here cover just looks silly. (The book, however, is quite nice.)

When I do find a cover I truly love, it's difficult for me not to take it home with me. Which is one of the reasons I just spent money I don't have on this:

This cover is a piece of art all by itself; that's what a good book cover should be. Just saying.