Should you judge a book by its cover??

[@DanielSolis]

My graphic design professors: "If I can't judge a book by your cover, you haven't done your job."

[@WDSimp]

I love the idea of putting the cover artist's name right on the cover.

[@linesinmotion]

Same! But when I expressed that to some people in the reading community, they hated the idea 😮‍💨

[@bread6052]

I agree 100%. I’m British so I grew up with Roald Dahl and David Walliams. As a child the book covers (and inside pictures) really made their books recognisable and lively so I’m really glad Quentin Blake and Tony Ross were credited on the covers. There really is no harm in doing it and it makes the artists recognised in the public eye for their work. I’m not sure why anyone would be against the idea

[@weresmygun]

Another awesome video. As a graphic designer I believe that a book's cover should function as a sort of gateway into the story but a good cover won't make up for a bad story.

[@linesinmotion]

Another graphic designer!!! And I pretty much agree, you can't polish a turd, as they say 😂

[@begobogo2583]

It annoys me to no end that special edition Manga is never released in English.

[@linesinmotion]

FOR REAL!!!!!! Seeing the special edition covers France, Germany and Spain get... And then looking at what English publication do... It's night and day 😭

[@OtakuBox]

I totally agree with the last point of highlighting the cover artists more prominently, I mean, it's such a vital part of how people choose what to read. I know in the light novel world, that's such a big part that most light novel prominently feature the illustrator right beside the author as if it was a primary selling point that you'll get art from a specific artist. Of course light novel art is more than just the cover but still. Some of the books I have, have some seriously cool cover art that I'd love to have that highlighted on the book's forefront

[@linesinmotion]

You definitely raise a good point. For comics and manga/LN, the art is so central to the branding and, well, overall creation in parts to the story. It seems to be no issue for them, and I've never looked at the cover and thought it was too busy with names... (Okay, except maybe the title for some LN's, but that's a different story 😂)

[@blueegg4198]

Maybe my favorite series of manga covers is Blue Period. Each is so striking and colorful with the characters in the throes of creation.

[@RobJJ996]

OMG i was not expecting Charon docks at daylight to be mentioned 😭 what a gem

[@ShadowMisha]

I don't usually type comments. I'm one of the lurkers, but I'll make an exception for once. Since I've seen you announce this video coming up on your community tab, I've been waiting on it, and it was absolutely worth the wait. I've bought books just because of the cover in the past, and while that can be a hit or a miss, I did find some fascinating and fantastic reads that way. Anyway, I'm in a very small online bookclub community, and since you posted your and your sisters reading taste by covers, I challenged my club to do the same and take a pic of 8 books to reflect their tastes (and sent them over to watch your video too). Thank you for making content, fantastic video!

[@linesinmotion]

Thank you so much for writing this comment! That sounds like such a fun thing to do with the club, I bet it'll be super interesting to see all the different types next to another. Thank you for the support!

[@DeadlyLazer]

For me, discovering great manga or anime just by being drawn by the cover/poster for some reason feels so much better than it getting recommended by someone. Its that feeling of discovering a seemingly hidden gem that nobody else knows about.

[@bobbobby475]

It is interesting. Even in video games too, you have an artwork of what you are going to buy but you KNOW it looks different in the game but you still buy it. League of Legends skin cover art vs the in game art. It can impact purchase a kot

[@sle6423]

The level of editing here is beyond incredible. Enhances the discussion to another level. Fantastic job!

[@middenway]

There's only one movie tie-in cover I ever liked-the cover for Little Women to tie-in with Greta Gerwig's film. Instead of being a still from the film or some promotional art, the cover is a match for Jo's book in the final sequence of the film. It was such a subtle and genuinely delightful touch.

[@pocketsnacks]

Your videos are delightfully well made and edited

[@linesinmotion]

Thank you so much!! And thank you for commenting on so many videos! 🥹

[@anaispeyron719]

I always try to get the special edition of Witch Hat Atelier since there's always some goodies with the manga too ^^ For me they are precious collection objects 🤩 And I'm always thrilled when there is a nice embroided cover edition of a book I like ~ It was a nice video! Always happy to support your work 👍

[@linesinmotion]

They always come with little trinkets, I'm so jealous! 😭 And I have a few myself, they're very fancy 😳 And thank you!!

[@anaispeyron719]

@@linesinmotionOh they don't do that in the UK? I'm sorry for you 😢 France is one of the country that consumes the most of manga so I guess it comes with some privileges 🤔

[@notationmusical]

Glad I watched this video. As someone who's in a bit of a book slump, I try finding books to read from tags and/or lists, rather than the covers.

[@s-wo8781]

Book covers have changed. I remember growing up I never got that phrase because most books had ugly covers anyway. Now, a ton of books have pretty covers.

[@TheAnimeTea]

As someone researching book cover designs for my own book, this video came at the perfect time!

[@luisfelipezortea5253]

As a person who loves books, it was awesome for me see this topic on this channel. Plus, it was really interesting see the English versions of some books that I only knew the Brazilian ones. Hugs from Brazil!!!❤

[@grimgingrin830]

I just want to say the editing goes hard here!! My eyes feel blessed

[@franlock8052]

Your editing for this video is stunning! I love all the different points you make in this video, especially about the challenges minority authors face, and about giving better credit to the cover illustrators! Thanks for this video, another great watch :)

[@oonagi5051]

Book covers that I love are Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Elizabeth Lim’s books illustrated by Tran Nguyen

[@krumirin5534]

love your videos, found you with the dungeon meshi character design one and stayed cuz everything you talk about is so interesting and well made, glad that you take your time to make quality work. Never thought id be so interested in a video about book covers.

[@linesinmotion]

Thank you so much for sticking around, and for the kind words! Glad I was able to make the topic at least somewhat entertaining 😂

[@krumirin5534]

good research and script can make anything interesting, even if the video title doesnt call to me i know if its you ill find it interesting down the line, keep the good work

[@ManjerArt]

You even put so much time in editing the part of the sponsor?! Holy shit???

[@linesinmotion]

haha, only felt right given I really liked the story!

[@peppapotato]

When credit is not inside the front flap it really hurts - that is where people check for artists and hire them a lot

[@osiahene]

I haven't read much as an adult, but I remember being enamored by Goosebumps, Animorphs, and Mindwarp book covers.

[@JoriamRamos]

Great video! Wish the marketing people had a bit less power over book covers - it's not as if they're always right (though also it's not like they're always wrong), wish there was a better process to define what can work for a very targeted audience. We seem to have very similar book tastes! Do you also write your own stories? As always, your animations are mesmerizing, 10/10.

[@linesinmotion]

I do get *why* they do, just because I worked so heavily with the marketing team during my time working at a book publishing company, that I get their side of things, too. But I do think authors should have at least some sway into the decision if they have thoughts, at least. And 🤭🤭 I'm currently in the process of starting my own book, still in the *very* early drafting, but it's been a project I've been excited about for years now haha And thank you, as always!

[@yuki5619]

loved the video! i was also very pleasently suprised to see iron widow on your shelf, i also have a physical copy of that one and i absolutely loved this story

[@linesinmotion]

Thank you!! And I *love* Iron Widow, such a great book!

[@nerdpiggy]

I loved this video on the first watch, now I'm gonna comb through it again to wring some book recommendations out of it.

[@AtomekKotalke]

It’s interesting because for example I heard that when you are buying a wine (let’s say it’s Italian) if you don’t know which type is good quality, you should usually go for a wine with a simple very minimalistic label instead of fancy looking one, that way you can find a better wine. It makes sense for books too.

[@Jazzimus]

this video is so well made, both the explanation and the production. i usually don't read (non academic) books but this video had my eyes glued on the screen for the entire duration.

[@mastermavrick]

This holds true for album covers in music as well, at least back when you had to go to a HMV or MusicWorld. (remember those) As for covers... hmm take your from the Drizzt Do'Urden series for good art. The first edition printing of "The darkness that comes before" was just a black cover with scrawled printed language as the backdrop. Was odd enough in conjunction with the title that i grabbed to see the premise (and followed the series to its end). I remember picking up "All you need is KILL" cause of the cover ( book Edge of Tomorrow is based on) cause the combo of the title/art intrigued me, same deal with "Usurper of the Sun". Then there are books with covers that caught my eye registering who the author was that a instant grab. The "Yashakiden: The Demon Princess" series (bonus points translator and artist are the covers of all Hideyuki Kikuchi works published by DMV anyways), Mardock Scamble, Solanin. Hell there are manga i picked up cause of the cover.. countless ones. Great examples are Nihei's works, MPD Psycho, Kurosagi Corpse Delivery Service. Till the Claymore video.

[@Nkanyiso_K]

I've been really going down the webtoon rabbit hole so I'm definitely going to follow *Neverdraws* 😁

[@luanamurase938]

I'm currently working on my portfolio with the goal of becoming a book cover artist so this video was super interesting and insightful!

[@philippelamarche12]

One of my all time favorite book series is the Neopolitan Novels (My Brilliant Friend, The Story of a New Name, Those who Leave and Those Who Stay, and The Story of the Lost Child) has VERY tacky, generic book covers. The spines look nice and simple in my bookshelf, but without a shining recommendation, I would have never ever picked these up to read. It's a shame, really, but it taught me the same lesson as your favorite indie book!

[@juliam7020]

As for book covers i love, the first that came to mind are the Brazilian editions of The Dispossesed and The Left Hand of Darkness

[@imaginarylivingbody7154]

The Left Hand of Darkness cover is stunning!

[@fndmaioli]

These book covers are great, until my bookshelf starts lacking in space

[@miyayume_eclectic_dream]

I love the variety of vovers that are put in this video. See even book cover that I have not seen at BT with 100k subs and have found just by chance on my own 😯 So yeah...for a low fantasy book with surprisingly good story has the most boring and generic cover like the " I married a lizardman", I do recommend.

[@Acerefunclip]

The edit of all videos in this channel is amazing, I loved, hello from Cuba

[@Sven080100]

okay, so this is completely unrelated to the video topic itself, but I'm loving Sunset Phoenix, and I both love and hate you for telling me about Charon Docks at Daylight. Just finished it and it's so good, but also how dare you do that to me.

[@KyninhaH]

Yeah, cover design makes a big impact on whether I will pick up a book or not. Cover illustration is my favorite subset of professional illustration and there are books I only picked up because I recognized the artist. It doesn’t really impact my online book shopping, only in person browsing. If I’m browsing online I’m mostly looking at synopses and reviews and ideally sample chapters.

[@linesinmotion]

That's completely understandable! You are going to naturally pick up the cover that grab your attention the most, but I do extra digging (even when I'm at stores) and look up the reviews etc 😅

[@zacharywong483]

Really fantastic script here!

[@jacobbarnes1254]

Definitely my favourite video from you. Continue making excellent stuff.

[@Arcanist_The]

God your editing is so good it never ceases to amaze me.

[@tophatgeo]

Superb video! I always find it impressive how engaging and stylish your video editing is. I think that a book cover having a clear identity and tone they want to set. I remember seeing a beautiful cover for Robert Macfarlane's Underland but it was only after I read some of the book that I realised it was completely unfitting for the book's subject of gardening. In Praise of Shadows has a great video on horror book covers. I love the idea of having the cover artist name on the cover, too often they go uncredited or credited minimally.

[@annevblij]

I would love to get book recommendations from you. I don’t know many books in the Indie genre. So that would be fun to explore!

[@ruygalvao8416]

Your videos are true lessons. Content and style in the same page. (from a brazilian follower)

[@BlindCentipede]

Great vid. As beautifully edited as ususal. Could you do a vidya about the book design as a whole ?

[@thomaspinkerton3450]

Get to the sponsor bit and see "an immortal is dead and you're holding the murder weapon". Cut to my 83 hours and dozen playthroughs of Stray Gods. This... sounds like my kind of comic.

[@LAngel2REAL]

You have fantastic book taste.

[@linesinmotion]

Thank you!!!! 🤭

[@AdaraFukuchi]

im working on my first book. when im done and publish it, I want my partner to illustrate it.

[@linesinmotion]

Hope all goes well with your book!!

[@AdaraFukuchi]

@@linesinmotion ty! ^^

[@mak0vka]

omg yaaas new video! immaculately edited and delivered as usual❤️ love your stuff

[@FlubbedPig]

Personally where I generally have Emotions about book covers is less from the decision to try it or not, but more from the collector's angle. The feeling of "I really like the German version of the cover, WHY DOESN'T THE ENGLISH ONE LOOK LIKE THAT" or "This limited edition version is great, but IT DOESN'T FIT WITH LITERALLY EVERY OTHER BOOK I HAVE IN THE SERIES" Last time I think of that happening was the physical releases for the webcomic Devil's Candy. I really like the Hiveworks version of the first cover, but Viz Media is the main publisher, so every other volume doesn't visually match it, and it BUGS ME SO MUCH

[@topcat59]

Honestly that’s the issue I have with covers for Manga, is that the art on It never reflects the art in the manga .🐱

[@noampresnete8677]

I think i disagree with the notion that a cover has no effect on the content of a book. Just like it's very difficult to change your perception of a human after your first impression it's hard for a book. For example if a terry pratchet book will have a modern fantasy cover the book would feel worse because the reader would expect a serious book (it happened to me once with a perfectly fine light fantasy book that had a serious cover)

[@linesinmotion]

I mean, the content itself wouldn't change, but your perception definitely could be. Like how some people don't like covers with real models as it takes away from the imagination of creating your own picture of the characters

[@tsandabernal3305]

Great video! It made me wish you made a video recommending novels maybe?? 👀

[@Mabinox]

I love your voice and how you do your vids ❤❤

[@linesinmotion]

Thank you so much 🥹

[@TrackingShots]

That Pac-Man edit 💛

[@ashe1317]

i would say i'm much more likely to judge a book by its title, since that's presumably the pithiest summary that the author could conceive. the cover, not so much. i love ~aesthetics~ and artistry and have an eye for graphic design, but books are a non-visual medium, and so it always struck as a little at-odds with the intention, if that makes any sense. i greatly dislike when so much attention is focused on the cover that there isn't even a blurb on the back to give you any idea what the book's actually about. but as a writer myself, i'm liable to get up in arms about such things hahaha "care about the prose, damn it!" i bleat into the abyss 😆

[@MrChocodemon]

Another banger video.

[@eliaspadari2761]

the cover is the very first page of the book you are reading.

[@Otaku_Reaper]

As promised, after work I watch.

[@mdnghtppl0000]

great vid! would love to help out indie authors in need of covers with my art

[@alhesiad]

As someone who reads mostly classics those bright, nice, artsy covers kind of turn me off. Makes me feel like its aimed at teens and manchilds. And for pulpy trashy smutty plots I rather read manga.

[@nickochan3458]

I'm so excited for this video!!! Thank you for making it!

[@linesinmotion]

Wow, you're super early!! Thank you, and I hope you enjoy it!

[@TroyTheCatFish]

📚📕