Absolutely. I’m one of those people who doesn’t read the synopsis of the book and 100% goes based off covers/titles.

I can’t say what attracts but what doesn’t attract me is seeing real people in the cover, unless it’s a memoir

I feel like the title more than the cover art is a grab for me. I routinely browse for new authors and stories. I do read the synopsis and appreciate if the synopsis matches the cover art. I found The Expanse by random browsing and the cover art is beautiful and matches the story in a subtle elegant way.

It's a taste thing for sure but for me something that looks classic/elegant/not too busy is great. I don't like the books they would usually have in grocery stores for this reason. too busy and gaudy

Hi! Please make the effort to answer your own questions with enough detail to get a discussion going and to give something to other users to respond to. Let us know if you have edited your post.

>what is it about a book cover that attracts you to pick up a copy of a book by an unknown author?

That rarely happens. However, the Bill Gregory cover illustration of Laura Joh Rowland's Shinju did attract my attention. It is a medieval Japanese style drawing of what looks to be a parade over a bridge with a city scene in the mid ground and a snow tipped mountain in the background (although it may just be a busy bridge, upon closer inspection).

That did not lead me to buy the book, it led me to read the back cover blurb, which did lead me to buy the book by an unknown to me author.

Interestingly, there are a number of other editions of that book with different covers. If I had come across one of those other editions I would not have read the back cover blurb and would not have bought the book.

Hi, I do not actually understand this. Unfortunately, the moment of my post is now dead (Thanks for that), but at least I was able to get four really good answers. Next time allow a couple of hours to go by before taking a post down.

This was an insightful question with many points to make. If you took one look at the responses this got, you could have rationally made a better decision and left it up.