54 Book Covers That Make You Wonder What The Designer Was Thinking

From a numbers point of view, nearly six in ten (57%) Americans have bought or read a book based solely on its cover, one survey of 2,000 adults has revealed.

Surprisingly, a whopping 96 percent of those who did so say the book largely met their expectations.

However, eight in ten (80%) admit to avoiding a book because of its outward appearance. (Perhaps they're also members of ‘Terrible Book Covers?’)

Respondents said the main reasons for this decision were:

1. the cover looked too plain (61%);
2. the cover used a repulsive title font (56%);
3. the cover featured art that didn’t match the genre (52%), and
4. the cover used the movie poster of the book’s film adaptation (49%).

The survey also revealed which elements make the best book covers. People noted that a detailed illustration is important (53%), as is an image of the story’s setting (53%).

Other notable mentions were a compelling color palette (50%) and an image of the protagonist (47%).

Respondents shared what their favorite covers of the books they’ve read were, and the most mentioned were: “Think and Grow Rich” by Napoleon Hill, “Atomic Habits” by James Clear, “Misery” by Stephen King, “Harry Potter” series by J. K. Rowling as well as the “Twilight” series by Stephanie Meyer, and “Fifty Shades of Gray” by E. L. James.

Additionally, the survey revealed the interesting differences between day and night readers.

If you consider yourself an avid reader, you most likely read during the day rather than at night (88% vs. 69%).

Among day readers, nearly two-thirds (65%) attribute their preference to avoiding nightmares based on the material they’re going through, while over half (52%) simply want to escape to another place, specifically during the day.

Day readers are also more likely than night readers to prefer to read surrounded by others (49% vs. 36%).

However, more than half (56%) of those who read at night said it helps them get better shuteye and fall asleep faster (55%).

If the cover isn’t so terrible that they can’t even look at it, of course.

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