Judging a cover by its book
That new BBC show on books discussed judging a book by its cover. John Hegley - whose smug doggerel is de rigueur for these type of programmes it seems - said one couldn't judge a book by its cover but it could be used as evidence, which is nicely put. I was fascinated by the design process: editors and graphic designers spoke, publishers and bookshoper owners gave their opinions. Not one author, however, was interviewed.
Sean at LNR looks at the covers to half of the Booker Prize list. It's such a fun thing. And he's spot on in each summary. Can't wait for his view of the other three. But is he spot on because of knowledge of a book gleaned from reviews etc, or because of the cover only?
It's a subject I could happily discuss for ages. And apropos of this, I like the poetry paperbacks Carcanet produce, mainly because they interest me in books I would otherwise ignore.
