I am a writer but I am also an avid reader. On FB, I have joined The Historical Fiction Club, as well as Historical Fiction Book Lovers, not to mention quite a few crime sites such as UK Crime Book Club.

In the past year, I have read in many genres, books such as Pulitzer Prize winner, Anthony Doerr’s All The Light We Cannot See, and popular crime series such as those written by M.W. Craven. I have also read a number of debut novels, and received ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) copies to review on Netgalley.

It seems to me that a book’s cover should be infinitely less important than the subject matter. When you read the blurb, it should either grab your imagination or not.

But we are very influenced by what we see. Many historical novels have women on the front, and many crime dramas have gritty landscapes. Romances have pastel drawings. Psychological thrillers have a pastiche of threatening objects and/or large print questions – Would you, could you live with, kill, escape from…. ?

I am generalising, but you get the gist.

Sometimes, it is refreshing to find a book that has a plain cover such as ‘Drive your Plow over the Bones of the Dead’ by Olga Tokarczuk. a fabulous novel.

In an effort to stand out, publishers are creating amazing covers. Some put glitter on their books, shiny gold threads and eye catching artwork. This costs extra money, but looks good in book shops.

So I’m sure this draws the reader’s eye to their novel. But I am looking for a good story with a premise that interests me. So I will always turn to the back and check it out.

Just saying. What about you?