"Outside a dog a book is man's best friend, inside a dog it is too dark to read!" -Groucho Marx========="The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid." -Jane Austen========="I don’t believe in the kind of magic in my books. But I do believe something very magical can happen when you read a good book."-JK Rowling========"I spend a lot of time reading." -Bill Gates=========“Ahhh. Bed, book, kitten, sandwich. All one needed in life, really.” -Jacqueline Kelly=========

Thursday, April 7, 2011

Friday...Following and First Lines

A Few More Pages

First lines from The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath:

It was a queer, sultry summer, the summer they electrocuted the Rosenbergs, and I didn't know what I was doing in New York. I am stupid about executions.
I know the book is about a depressed girl, Esther, and written by a depressed, suicidal author.  So it is telling that it starts off focusing on a death.  Very grim.
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Today's highlighted blogger is Lesley at My Keeper Shelf.  Have a look at this new blog and congratulations, Lesley. Also take a look at my blog.  I am taking a Spring Break Staycation this week so I have several new entries about bookish things I'm doing this week.

Today's question:

Q. Do you judge a book by it's cover?

I rarely give any thought to the covers of the adult books that I read.  They are what they are.  But when it comes to YA book covers I do notice them because I think that my students notice them and are more likely to select books by their covers than me.  I have noticed that if a cover appears to be juvenile, high school kids will shun the book or I will have to do a lot more "selling" of the book before they'll check it out.

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9 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for visiting my blog Anne, I'm now your newest follower.

    Lesley
    http://mykeepershelf.blogspot.com

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  2. Yes, I do think Covers have a bigger Impact on the YA genre. They`re more eye catching & usually draw people in that way.

    Thank you for following. I am following back.

    Romona

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  3. I agree. You have to think about what the students will think. I used to take dramatic quotes from the book and write them on the board and they would pick their book based on the quote (when I did literature circles). It worked better than the cover in investing them in their books. But some of them did balk when they got their book and saw the cover but they always caved.

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  4. Your answer is really interesting. I never even though that it would take more selling power to sell a juvenile-looking book (because of its cover) to high school students. Thanks for sharing.

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  5. Thanks for hopping by my blog! I think JERSEY TOMATOES ARE THE BEST would be good for teens in general, though those who usually read middle grade but are looking for something a bit older might like it. :)

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  6. Thanks for following me!

    Sadly, if a book has a terrible cover... I'll pass it by.

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  7. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
    I kind of like the beginning of your book but am not sure I'd want to read it anyway. Depressed girl and depressed, suicidal writer, I don't think they would do it for me.

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  8. New follower. Even though I like pretty covers I always read the synopsis before buying a book! I love the Bell Jar; it was my favorite book in high school! Have a happy weekend :)

    Crystal @ Elegantly Bound Books

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  9. That is an interesting beginning. I'm intrigued.

    Thanks for participating in Book Beginnings!

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