Discussion #20: Why Book Covers Are Important

Note: This is a matter of my own personal opinion. If you might find this kind of post offensive, please do not read. Thank you!

Before, I did a discussion post regarding whether or not you should judge a book by its cover. (The answer is no, btw.) HOWEVER-- This is different. This post, as you may have guessed, is regarding WHY having a nice book cover is extremely important.

Here are three plain reasons why:
1. I don't want to be seen in public with an ugly book.
2. If the book cover is unattractive, then it sells terribly. (You already know. You can have the best synopsis in the world, but if that cover is ugly, there is a very small chance that someone will be attracted to it in the first place, pick it up, and read it. Much less purchase it.)
3. People say to not judge a book by its cover, but a lot of us do it anyway.

I think you can agree with me that the cover is what attracts a reader to a book in the first place, right?

Let's say that an ugly book is stacked with other pretty books at a bookstore. The buyer would be attracted to the pretty books. Yes.

Let me just say that I've encountered a handful of people that thought "The cover was pretty, so I bought it. I don't even read." Those little shits didn't even read the synopsis  Personally, I don't do it, but a lot of people do.

I can recognize what type of book a book is because I've been book blogging for quite a while. I know what a stereotypical dystopian novel would have as a cover, or a contemporary romance novel. Those covers attract me.

So, friends:

The cover matters. A lot.

Discussion #19: Integrity

Ok, I've been doing a bunch of discussion posts recently, and they were kinda rants.. And I'll be honest, discussions are something to post. Unfortunately, I haven't been reading books recently, so not much reviews..

But I do have something to say. This is sort of a spinoff from last week, where I wrote about authors who bought their fake 5 star reviews.

Have you ever come across a book that said, "The next Harry Potter!" Or whatever? I have. A lot of times. I don't want to mention any specific titles because I might offend someone with my personal opinion, so I'll leave it to anonymity.

Yeah. I fucking hate when that happens. I know that it's obvious that Harry Potter is a great, renowned hero in modern literature, and he's dear to most of our hearts. (Am I right or am I right?) But it is NOT OK to claim that your book is "the next Harry Potter." No, what did you want to do? Recreate the cupboard under the stairs, the tell-tale lightning scar? Hogwarts? Wizard chess? Chocolate frogs? What the fuck did you want to do? Maybe I might be one of the only people getting offended at something so little, but...

If you're trying to say that your protagonist will be a great hero just like Harry Potter, then say something about heroism. Don't compare him/her to Harry freaking Potter. You will disappoint so many people. Unless, you know, you know you will be bigger and more loved than JK Rowling.

It's all about integrity. Please, don't claim that it's the next Harry Potter when it's really not. Compare your protagonist to Harry, sure. But don't say that your book will actually be loved as much as JK Rowling's works. Please don't. I mean, if you do, might as well just stick to fanfiction and carry on the Hogwarts world from there.

The Drabble Challenge Begins!

Hey guys! So, recently I've posted pieces of my writing, in drabbles. (Once again, for those who don't know, drabbles are short stories of 100 words. Only. 100 words. And I realized I haven't been writing much recently. So why not write drabbles?

THIS CHALLENGE IS GOING TO BE A THING. OK. I CHALLENGE MYSELF TO WRITE AS MANY DRABBLES AS I CAN IN THE PERIOD OF 1 YEAR. This will start, like, now. 5/14/14. This will end on 5/14/15. I will be numbering my drabbles as I post them, on a separate blog (http://thedrabblechallenge.blogspot.com/) STAY TUNED. Because I don't want drabbles to clog up the book blog. WISH ME LUCK.

Feel free to join in! This is going to be exciting.

Drabbles #1-5

HELLO ALL THIS IS A NEW THING. I am going to start posting my writing on this blog, because hell, why not?

I'll start with drabbles. For those who don't know, drabbles are small short stories that are 100 words. So I want to share drabbles 1-5 with you guys. (Let's see how many I can do. Is this the Drabble Challenge? It might be.) Tell me what you think!

1

“Duuuude. Fuck.”

“Don’t,” I retort, more annoyed than usual at her obscenity.

“Don’t even fucking—”

“I swear to God, if you drop the F-bomb one more time I will sock you in the face, and you’ll be sorry you were ever born,” I yank my keys out of my purse and jab them into the ignition.  

“Maybe you shouldn’t be driving when you’re heated,” Adelaide suggested. I didn’t take my eyes off the road, because if I did, I wouldn’t be able to resist punching her stupid, smug stoner face and losing control.

2

His comforting hands were all over me and I couldn’t help but arch my back against his warm body, wishing that we could be closer, closer, just a little more, despite how we were literally pressed against each other— practically the closest we could get. His eager lips hungrily moved over mine and one of his hands rested at my lower back, pressing me tightly against him, the other tangled in my hair.

He groaned, and my fingers found and cradled the back of his neck, ever so gently.

I pulled back. “I love you.”

“Thanks,” he said, smirking.

3

“You,” I hissed. I drew my sword.

“Me,” Aaron laughed. “Me, indeed. Did you miss me, sweetheart? Because I sure missed you.” His sweet-as-honey voice rolled over me, reminding me of the time in which I’d actually trusted him. I used to love that voice, even trust it. But now, I cannot block out the fear every time I see him, I cannot block out the trace of evil that mixes itself in with the sweetness. How could I have missed it before?

“You should’ve stayed away. But now— you will die. A very slow, excruciating, painful death.”

4

The blade sliced through the demon’s middle, and a sickening crack-thump signified that the demon had finally died. Eli wasn’t sure what all the fuss was about— people had been fearing a demon that couldn’t die, and before him was the demon, dead.

“Damn, I’m good,” Eli smirked, cocky.

That was when the demon parts began to reassemble. It sounded like however flesh coming back together was supposed to sound. It attacked Eli from behind, brutally twisting his neck and wrenching his head off his shoulders, and then dropping it, letting it thump to the ground..

5

“Is it because I’m a girl?” Cecily asked angrily.

“No! Of course not! Who do I look like?” Marcus told her, trying to calm her down but at the same time getting even more angry himself. “Not because you’re a girl, but because you are a teenager.”

“Damn you,” Cecily whispered.

Marcus’s hand cracked across her face, and then quickly retreated in horror of what he had just done.

“We’re through,” Cecily bit back a sob and turned her face away. “It’s over. You screwed up so many times already. I don’t care anymore.”

Discussion #18: It's Too Long...!

No, fuck you. No it isn't.

Sorry, ignore that first line. I just got really irritated. So-- as some of you might know, I am a bookaholic. Or at least, I used to be. (What happened? AP classes happened.) Fortunately, people still know me as the girl who reads hella (obviously I'm from NorCal. Who else uses "hella?") or "the crazy book lady." Yeah, seriously. And I find it really funny and satisfying whenever someone asks me for book recommendations. Especially people I don't know that well. Like, wait, how do you know I read? I love my reputation. And then I go on and on and on, listing my all time favorite books/series, Harry Potter (OH MY GOD YOU HAVE TO READ HARRY POTTER), everything Cassie Clare (READ MORTAL INSTRUMENTS AND INFERNAL DEVICES PLEASE)... Usually I suggest mainstream books first. It's my test to see if they're genuinely interested.

Like when Malcolm suspected Macduff of being a spy for Macbeth so he was testing him. Get it? That's the first and only Shakespeare reference I'm making for today..

So, anyway, I recommend Harry Potter and, guess what? "It's too long! Give me something shorter!"

There are so many things wrong with that statement.
1. Reading for leisure? Then I don't see why a long book would be such a problem, because there isn't a due date, is there? Regardless of how fast or slow you read, HARRY POTTER SHOULD BE A PREREQUISITE TO ASPIRING BOOKAHOLICS. I'M SERIOUS. Does it discourage you that Harry Potter is such a long series? Well suck it up, because it's good and that's all that really matters.
2. Asking me for a recommendation? Don't expect me to recommend something like Diary of a Wimpy Kid. If you ask me for a recommendation, expect something big. Don't ask for something small because the big books are usually the good ones. AND I'M GIVING YOU THE GOOD ONES. GOSH.
3. There is no such thing as "too long." A book can be as long as it needs to be. Unless there's a whole bunch of extra shit that's totally unnecessary to the storyline. But if it were a bad book, I wouldn't even recommend it.

HONESTLY I DON'T SEE WHAT'S SO DISCOURAGING ABOUT A BIG BOOK??? There's nothing wrong with hundreds of luscious pages, as long as the author is good! Gosh people are so impossible. They want to read more, yet they don't want to read. I M P O S S I B L E.