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You know the saying 'never judge a book by its cover'?

26 replies

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 25/07/2020 18:09

Do you ever judge a book by the author photo?

Long story of the reason why I'm asking. I was looking for audio books on Scribd and I fancied a thriller so I was searching for particular authors. I couldn't remember the name of one of them so I went onto Amazon and searched for the title of the book that I had already read, then clicked on the author name to see what else there was available. And this is his author photo. I really enjoy his books (I've only read three so far) but I'm not at all sure that I would even bother to read the blurb if I picked an unknown book up in a bookshop and this photo was on it. I'm not even sure why, I think he just looks as though he might be a bit arch and annoying. Maybe he was aiming for mysterious in a Mona Lisa smile sort of way? www.amazon.co.uk/Andrew-Mayne/e/B004U8GVHY?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_1&tag=mumsnetforu03-21&qid=1595696691&sr=8-1

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SkepticalCat · 25/07/2020 18:36

Put it this way, I'm not surprised he's a magician. That's a very "magician" look on his face!

DancelikeEmmaGoldman · 25/07/2020 19:49

I’ve decided not to read a book on the basis of an author photo. There was a hat, beard and scarf situation which read very “I AM AN AUTHOR”, to me and I went, nope.

tobee · 25/07/2020 19:52

This is a very funny thread and I know what you mean!

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 25/07/2020 19:56

@DancelikeEmmaGoldman

I’ve decided not to read a book on the basis of an author photo. There was a hat, beard and scarf situation which read very “I AM AN AUTHOR”, to me and I went, nope.
I'm guessing it was either Terry Pratchett or someone trying to look like him.

I'm even sure that I follow of the logic of having an author photo on a book at all. I don't think anyone would read a book that didn't sound appealing on the blurb just because the photo looks nice, but there's a chance that prospective buyers won't even consider a book because they don't like the photo. So it's not a win some-lose some scenario. Obviously there is a case for it if the author is famous before having written a book.

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BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 25/07/2020 19:57

"I'm NOT even sure" (makes no sense with the typo).

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Lucked · 25/07/2020 20:02

Yes o am a bit judge you about that photo!

I judge books by their cover all the time and it mostly works. I don’t look at the authors picture but it might become my new test when I am undecided.

Commentutappelles · 25/07/2020 20:03

YANBU. I shan't say what i think of the man, I'm sure he's perfectly nice, but no.
I judge books by covers. I don't like a crap cover and garish ones mean I just KNOW the book will be bad.

NoAdventureNoTime · 25/07/2020 20:07

I can't say I've ever judged a book by the authors photo before buying no.
But I recently read Queenie by Candice Carty Williams, finished the book and didn't notice she'd put her photo on the inside back cover and it made me jump as I wasn't expecting it 😂 had to look round my overlooked back garden incase my neighbours saw me.

Photos in books always remind me of old CVs where you were required to attach a photo.

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 25/07/2020 20:43

There is a slight hint of Bond villain about the smile, like he's about to lower you very slowly into a pond of hungry piranhas and he's going to enjoy all the screaming.

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CaptainNelson · 25/07/2020 22:42

@BlackAmericanoNoSugar

There is a slight hint of Bond villain about the smile, like he's about to lower you very slowly into a pond of hungry piranhas and he's going to enjoy all the screaming.
Grin ^^ this I would not buy a book written by that man either. Well I might if he had better pictures. It's so true. I like a little "Fellatia Brines lives in Wiltshire with her husband Timothy, six cats and 12 chickens' but please don't give me a photo of her.
DancelikeEmmaGoldman · 26/07/2020 01:06

I'm guessing it was either Terry Pratchett or someone trying to look like him. It wasn’t Terry Pratchett - although come to think if it, I’m not a Pratchett fan, so that might have influenced me.

I have a dislike of author names which are obviously fanciful. “Morgana Ravenclaw, author of the 200 book series about sexy goblins”, kind of thing. I figure their books are likely to eschew such quotidian considerations as plot.

I get a lot of authors and book suggestions pop up in my FB feed and some of them I click through, but many I don’t. It’s mostly not based on the photo, more on an avoidance of the “you’ll sit up all night reading this book” kind of thing. Or the title with a built-in review. “Murder in the Shrubbery: a laugh-out loud romantic comedy you’ll never forget.” I get irritated at being told how I’m going to feel about a book before I’ve read it.

I also refuse to read a book where the characters have apostrophes in their names, (other than the O’Toole or whatever kind of name). Life’s too short to keep reading, “And then Fn’arion smacked A’phition in the random apostrophe”.

My other criterion is that of blurbs which are badly written. This is more an issue on Amazon where writers seem to write their own blurbs. If someone can’t write 300 words about their own book, which are engaging and literate, the chances if them writing an entire engaging novel seem slender.

Poor writers, doing their best in a marketplace full of picky readers like me. And that’s even before I’ve started the book.

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 27/07/2020 14:03

I hadn't thought of the apostrophe as a red flag before, which possibly happens more in fantasy books anyway, but now that I think of it there have been a couple of sci-fi books which both contained made up names with an unnecessary apostrophe AND were rubbish enough that I gave up part way through. Grin

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TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 27/07/2020 14:17

Do you ever get a picture in your head of what an author looks like, and then you see their actual pic and you're: "Well, that's wrong!"

Owen Sheers, on the other hand... I'd happily stare at his photo all day.

TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross · 27/07/2020 14:20

I hadn't thought of the apostrophe as a red flag before

Sightly off-topic but the completely random apostrophe in the name of the band Hear'say pissed me off more than you can possibly imagine. For the love of God, why was it there? Apart from to make the manufacturers of the group clear contenders for the gold medal in "Attention-seeking Illiteracy".

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 27/07/2020 16:05

I can only imagine the horrors that the asterisk in B*witched gave you. Grin

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5foot5 · 27/07/2020 16:06

There was a hat, beard and scarf situation which read very “I AM AN AUTHOR”, to me and I went, nope.

Joseph Connolly?

Scout2016 · 27/07/2020 20:24

@TheOnlyLivingBoyInNewCross First off I love your username. Second I know what you mean. I hate seeing author's photos, it's hardly ever how they should be and really disconcerting. Why do they need to put photos at all? Only Margaret Atwood and Beryl Bainbridge and a handful of others look like they should.
In answer to OP's question, definitely I do judge and have tried or not tried out a book based on the photo. More often not, because perhaps the type of books that feature unavoidable author photos aren't the ones for me.

NeedToKnow101 · 27/07/2020 20:27

He's going for the youthful Sly Stallone look.

toffee1000 · 28/07/2020 02:02

Sometimes you don’t even get a blurb, it’s all quotes from reviews.
I’ve read a Beryl Bainbridge book, not sure what she looks like.
I’m not hugely bothered by author photos, but I do see what you mean by that photo you linked to OP. It screams Pretentious Arse, does it not?

tobee · 28/07/2020 03:45

I've now taken things to extremes and won't read a blurb anymore. I got fed up with the them teasing bits of plot that don't really have a significant part in the book. Or else a spoiler for page 268. Confused I'm currently reading a book that I've no idea where's it's going at all.

TheKrakening3 · 28/07/2020 03:54

If they are wearing a black turtleneck, I am out.

GoshHashana · 28/07/2020 07:27

Beryl Bainbridge looks like the barmaid everyone was scared of at my local working men's club.

JaneJeffer · 28/07/2020 10:07

Put it this way, I'm not surprised he's a magician. That's a very "magician" look on his face!

Binglebong · 28/07/2020 12:01

He makes me think of Tom Hiddleston playing Loki. Only he would do it as a joke.

BlackAmericanoNoSugar · 29/07/2020 21:38

OMG I've only just got around to watching that clip JaneJeffer and it's the EXACT look, isn't it. Grin

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