I have just started to read a new book I purchased – it seemed interesting from the cover and I have also read a couple of other books by the same author.
Now two things struck me – one is the fact the cover was the thing that caught my attention, encourage me to pick it up, have look through, and then buy.
As I am in the process of bringing another one of my own books to market it made me realize that I should not play cheaply. It is better to leave the design of the cover to people who know what catches attention better than I do. Also, with the demise of bookshops and the move to purchase books online for delivery – if we wish for a paper version, or to buy an e-book, where we will never even ‘feel’ a physical copy – immediate impact is crucial. So the impact the cover makes can mean that a potential buyer will look and may buy, else skip past with no interest – even if the content is world class. Or the converse, an attractive cover could mean that a book is bought yet the content is not what had been anticipated.
So the saying “don’t judge a book by its’ cover” may be true but is also ignored.
The other thing that struck we was that within the book I have just started to read, there is just one image – in this case it is a dull black and white picture of a painting. Not very clear and also not very interesting either. No other images of any kind are to be found within the covers. Unless I read the context of why this single image has been chosen, it seems to be merely a page filler and a token to make the book seem more complex. I did wonder why it is there, so read the narrative around it, which makes sense as to why it is included. I have yet to determine if other images would have brought other parts of the book to life.
My way of reading a book is to have a glance at the contents page and then look through the book from the back to the front at speed. I learnt a lesson many years ago about reading books in my studies – it was a painful one with much learning, but I will leave that for another day! I then flip through from the front to the back and dip into the odd passage. It is only then that I start to read. This process is one I have adopted and refined over the years as I read extensively. I am now looking forward to getting the most from this book. Soon it will be read, or cast aside if the content, style and message I have yet to appreciate.
What struck me was the analogy with people we meet.
I have recently been speaking at a range of events, some short sessions, some much longer where I am the keynote speaker. My topic for this series of speaches has been about the impression we make. So some simple questions that have developed, picking up on the book experience:
- When you meet someone for the first time what is your reaction to their appearance – and do you make a judgment? Especially if it is a prearranged meeting with someone you have not met before?
- Do you positively or negatively assess someone whose appearance is different from your own? And in which situation is it positive and in which is it negative?
- When they mention something that creates an image in your mind do you ‘latch’ onto it and find that you cannot let the image go – thus impacting the impression made?
- Once you have got to know the ‘inner person’ how much do you care what they look like?
I could go on with more questions; perhaps you would like to play around with some of your own too. And when you see another ‘cover’, whether that of a book or a person, will you look a second time before you make judgment?
My good wishes,
Peter
