I have a fascination with book covers. Yes, I really do. They are my first impression to a story and often to an author. I LOVE that the paperbacks I own color the shelves in my house. No, I don’t buy them anymore, now, I ‘collect’ them virtually, on my desktop shelves and on my Kindle.

It’s the same reason why the ‘art’ in my home is of my own creation — photos of my kids and family — though I own far more of them in digital format. I realized, recently, that I’ve always been this way. I picked books off the shelf at the library ages ago, not by the contents within but by the covers. I’ve always been entranced by the visual appeal, the connection a book makes just with my eyes.

I learn the same way. In a recent work conversation, I had to explain to someone why teaching by audio-only content doesn’t work. It’s because most people are visual. So when we teach through a combination of sight, sound and tactile experience, we learn better. But I learn best by seeing. Doing, yes, but seeing? Yes. Pictures really are worth a thousand words.

That may be why I became a photographer, to showcase life, as I see it or know it, as I experience it or live it, in a medium that pleases … of all people … me!

So … I’ve decided to take my obsession and use it to the advantage of others. Yep! Others. How am I going to do that? Well … I’m going to use my little blog here to talk about book covers that catch my eye … that take ‘visual’ to a level that I go … ‘ooh! I gotta stare at that’

I’m going to give you my impression before I read the blurb and afterward.

Then, you decide by adding it to your Goodreads list, picking up the book at your local store, or buying it immediately for your eReader. I’m not saying I’ve read these books (unless otherwise noted). This is just a view into … the outside.

And yes, every one of these books will go on my TBR (to be read) pile.

I’m going to cheat here and start with a book I’ve already reviewed, but it’s a great starter, and in the coming weeks, I’ll give you a peek into other books that have made an impression on me.

The Glass Man by Jocelyn Adams

About the front:
It’s the color in this cover that pulls at me every time I look at it. All the teal (one of my favorite colors) and the set of the face. I’m not normally a big ‘face on cover’ fan, but this one has that softness that makes me want to like her and find out why she looks so solemn.

But then behind her, there’s that little bit of green that makes me go … ‘ooh, is she on an island? Is that land? Where is she and do I want to be there?’

And her eyes … I think they are following me. They are looking right at me and going “Yes, you … read me. You want to know my story.” Yup. All those things. Title aside, there’s something about that face that absolutely draws me in.

With this one, because of that land and see ‘feel’ I want to be at the ocean to read it. I can picture myself on a beach chair, listening to my kids play while this book and I have an entire, fulfilling and meaningful relationship.

Now let’s look at the back:

Lila Gray is just a human—at least that’s her mantra when she accidentally topples a building or bends a paranoid local’s gun into modern art. That she can sense and control the minds around her doesn’t prove anything, either. Unwilling to put others at risk, she hides in the wilderness from the beautiful creature who hunts her, one who sees her as his ultimate prize.

Alone, the egocentric Glass Man can kill with a thought. Mated with Lila, he’s a supernatural weapon prepared to annihilate the humans he loathes.

Caught in the Glass Man’s latest scheme, Lila is plunged into a hidden fae realm, faced with a secret birthright and a forbidden romance.

With the Glass Man threatening everyone she loves, can Lila accept who she is in time to end his bloody reign? Or will she succumb to his dark power and become the vehicle of destruction for the human race?

Does it match? Front to Back without the in between?
To me? Oh yeah. Absolutely. Not only is the title “Glass Man” the sheen of the colors reminds me of glass … a seafoam shade that decorates my office furniture — the light ‘green’. Now I’m even more intrigued.

What do you think? Do the cover and blurb entice you? Share in the comments!

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