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Violanthe Webmaster

Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 5903
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For a Few Demons More by Kim Harrison
Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 2:25 pm |
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Look at the following cover. Imagine that you have only the cover and the information it provides (including images, title and author name) to decide whether to buy this (or any) book.
Would you buy this book having looked only at its cover? If so, what on this cover sold you? If not, what on this cover turned you off?
If you have, in fact, bought and/or read this book, tell us how well our verdicts guided us. Did the cover lead us rightly into great fiction? Or did the cover wrongly steer us toward a bad story or away from a great one?
So, would you buy this book by its cover?
Regular posters are invited to join our "official" Buy the Cover game:
https://www.arwz.com/arwz/viewtopic.php?t=422 _________________ Violet "Violanthe" Kane
[email protected]
ARWZ.com: A Magazine of Alternative Reality Fiction
Last edited by Violanthe on Mon Jun 04, 2007 10:52 am; edited 1 time in total |
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pecooper Active Member
Joined: 05 Apr 2006 Posts: 306 Location: Port Angeles, Washington
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Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2007 8:29 pm |
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Well, the book has a picture of Violanthe going in to defend her Master's thesis on the cover, so I'd at least pick it up and read the back and, maybe, a few pages. |
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Golophin Moderator
Joined: 29 Mar 2006 Posts: 238
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Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 8:30 am |
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Nice title. I would look at the back to see what its about. |
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Shadow_Ferret Active Member
Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 318 Location: Milwaukee, WI
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Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2007 1:43 pm |
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I've read some of her other books in the series and enjoyed them, so yeah, I'd pick it up.
If I hadn't read it, I might pick it up because it is meant to titilate and that it does. |
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librarylover Moderator
Joined: 05 Apr 2006 Posts: 277
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 6:39 am |
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I don't think so. |
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Mervi Warlord
Joined: 29 Aug 2006 Posts: 1119 Location: Finland
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Posted: Sat Mar 17, 2007 3:05 pm |
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While the name of the book is appealing, the cover gives a clear "women not wanted" message. No. |
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Shadow_Ferret Active Member
Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 318 Location: Milwaukee, WI
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 2:01 am |
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Mervi wrote: | While the name of the book is appealing, the cover gives a clear "women not wanted" message. No. |
I'm not sure what you mean. It's paranormal romance. Women are the market. |
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Peter Senior Member
Joined: 21 Apr 2006 Posts: 649 Location: NSW, Australia
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 3:16 am |
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Yeah, I'm scratching my head how a female author like Kim Harrison would want to write a "women not wanted" book too, but that's me...
Personally, I don't like the cover; I think it's trashy. |
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Mervi Warlord
Joined: 29 Aug 2006 Posts: 1119 Location: Finland
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 6:23 am |
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Peter wrote: | Yeah, I'm scratching my head how a female author like Kim Harrison would want to write a "women not wanted" book too, but that's me... |
The picture is basicly a crotch shot from another woman. Granted, it's clothed at least but still to my eye it's highly sexualized and designed to appeal to hetero men. If this book is really aimed at female readers, I'm baffled why the publisher chose such a cover. If I like the writer (alas, I read nothing from her) I'd buy the book *despite* the cover, not because of it. It's also one of those awful covers that you just can't show in public, and I loath them. |
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Peter Senior Member
Joined: 21 Apr 2006 Posts: 649 Location: NSW, Australia
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Posted: Sun Mar 18, 2007 8:23 am |
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Mervi wrote: | Granted, it's clothed at least but still to my eye it's highly sexualized and designed to appeal to hetero men. |
I'm a hetero man and it doesn't appeal to me. Like I said, I think it's trashy. |
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Shadow_Ferret Active Member
Joined: 03 Apr 2006 Posts: 318 Location: Milwaukee, WI
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Posted: Mon Mar 19, 2007 9:46 am |
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Well, I don't know if it's supposed to appeal to hetero men. I just know that several of the female authors of urban fantasy and paranormal romance have book covers similar to this. Laurel K. Hamilton's covers show a lot of stiletto heeled feet, or other female body parts. (An interesting fact is, the first few books in her series had normal covers, but then when she started getting more into erotica, her novels came out with racier covers and her earlier works were reissued with racy covers, too.)
They are written by female authors about female MCs.
I guess I'm not as squeemish about these covers. I read them in public, I just don't take them to church.
Mervi wrote: | Peter wrote: | Yeah, I'm scratching my head how a female author like Kim Harrison would want to write a "women not wanted" book too, but that's me... |
The picture is basicly a crotch shot from another woman. Granted, it's clothed at least but still to my eye it's highly sexualized and designed to appeal to hetero men. If this book is really aimed at female readers, I'm baffled why the publisher chose such a cover. If I like the writer (alas, I read nothing from her) I'd buy the book *despite* the cover, not because of it. It's also one of those awful covers that you just can't show in public, and I loath them. |
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Violanthe Webmaster

Joined: 24 Jul 2003 Posts: 5903
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