Went to a bookstore in Brooklyn and watched someone pick a book by the cover alone

I was browsing the new releases table at Greenlight Books on Fulton Street last Saturday. There was a guy who picked up a book with a neon orange spine, read zero blurbs, and just took it to the register. It made me wonder how many people actually judge books by their cover in real life versus online. Has anyone else seen this happen and felt judged for spending 20 minutes reading the first page of everything?

2 comments

2 Comments

jenny_coleman1mo ago

Did the guy at least glance at the back cover or was it truly a blind grab? I'm curious if he looked like he was in a rush or just really confident in the color orange.

perez.willow1mo ago

omg right? I literally watched a girl at my local Barnes and Noble grab a book just because it had a cat on the cover and she didn't even flip through it. i was standing there for like 10 minutes reading the first chapter of something and felt so extra about it. but honestly sometimes you just vibe with a color or a design and roll with it, no shame. i've totally done that myself with a bright pink cover once and it actually turned out to be a decent read. covers are marketing, you know? so yeah, i get why people do it even if i'm over here overthinking everything.