Ever hear the advice "don't judge a book by it's cover"?
Ever ignore that advice entirely? No? Really?
I was wandering in YEG the other weekend waiting for a flight back to YYZ. Time on my hands and a very nondescript airport in which to spend it. As much as I love the lounges, I wasn't in the mood. That's how I found myself in the little book store across from the arcade and next to one of those anything/everything stores where you can buy overpriced cough drops because you forgot to bring any along (I wouldn't do this, of course).
I was flipping through the fiction aisle, not really intending to buy anything but always on the lookout for something interesting.
When I say I'm looking for something interesting, I mean more glancing and my focus is on the covers.
The fact is, while we can rely on the classics to have crap covers and still contain good writing, I have a hard time buying a more recently written book with an ugly cover. My little pea brain doesn't translate low-budget printing into a quality adventure. If a publisher wasn't willing to commit, why should I?
When I was in high school I bought a book by Steph Swainston called The Year of Our War. It was a phenomenal book that I would highly recommend to fantasy lovers out there, however I didn't know that when I bought it. My purchase was based entirely on the cover, which I fell in love with at first glance.
The cover was white as snow with the title and author's name scrawled across it in silver. Simple, sleek, clean lines and no clutter. I thought it was the most pretentious cover I had ever seen. Consider this: in years past, classics were published with just the title of the book on the spine and the author's name scrawled across the front. Picking them up, you knew you had something good waiting for you. That signature was a promise. Any author who is brazen enough to parallel the greats of literature is worth my judgement, for better or worse.
I still think that cover is pretentious, but I don't regret buying the book.
Back in YEG, I was looking for another The Year of Our War. A cover that tempted, intrigued and drew my attention to the point where I couldn't walk away without it. I was looking for a cover that promised to trade my life and my problems for someone else's, and perhaps a guarantee that it would all turn out well in the end.
All things considered, that's probably what I look for in a vacation destination as well.
Think about it. How often have you decided you want to go somewhere because you saw some pretty pictures?
Yeah, I saw that guilty look.
Perhaps you ordered a brochure, looked up some sights on Lonely Planet, eyed a few hotels or pondered a tour. You might be on a quest for relaxation or for a solid adventure that sets your heart racing. Regardless of what it is, the fact is that likely you'll go in with expectations set. You'll judge by the cover, so to speak.
It's not surprising that we do this. After all, we've spent a lifetime building those expectations.
In the end, I hope you'll think about this when their next opportunity to travel arises. If you're booking because of the pretty pictures, be aware of that fact. If you're after the culture, recognize that Hollywood has formed many of our preconceived notions.
I'm hoping to book a trip to Africa soon. I've already been a number of times, but I'm not picky about where I go next. I want to see more of the continent, but in myself I recognize that I'm not immune to judging without seeing. For me, Ethiopia is a land blanketed in the dust of the past, in West Africa await the origins of voodoo and their curious practitioners, in Rwanda there will be hardship, and in Morocco the snake charmers sit in alleys playing music that permeates the city streets.
I know there's so much more than that. This is why we travel. The cover, it might be good and you might be tempted to fall in love, but there's so much more to be had.
So my challenge to you is this: Don't be satisfied by the pretty pictures and inconsequential words. Go out into the world, do things you never dared when the opportunities arise, roar at lions, walk in the Amazon at midnight, watch the sunrise from a mountaintop, drink French champagne on new years before kissing a stranger, and laugh because you're having the time of your life.
It's simple really: Savor the book, not just the cover.
Ever ignore that advice entirely? No? Really?
I was wandering in YEG the other weekend waiting for a flight back to YYZ. Time on my hands and a very nondescript airport in which to spend it. As much as I love the lounges, I wasn't in the mood. That's how I found myself in the little book store across from the arcade and next to one of those anything/everything stores where you can buy overpriced cough drops because you forgot to bring any along (I wouldn't do this, of course).
I was flipping through the fiction aisle, not really intending to buy anything but always on the lookout for something interesting.
When I say I'm looking for something interesting, I mean more glancing and my focus is on the covers.
The fact is, while we can rely on the classics to have crap covers and still contain good writing, I have a hard time buying a more recently written book with an ugly cover. My little pea brain doesn't translate low-budget printing into a quality adventure. If a publisher wasn't willing to commit, why should I?
When I was in high school I bought a book by Steph Swainston called The Year of Our War. It was a phenomenal book that I would highly recommend to fantasy lovers out there, however I didn't know that when I bought it. My purchase was based entirely on the cover, which I fell in love with at first glance.
The cover was white as snow with the title and author's name scrawled across it in silver. Simple, sleek, clean lines and no clutter. I thought it was the most pretentious cover I had ever seen. Consider this: in years past, classics were published with just the title of the book on the spine and the author's name scrawled across the front. Picking them up, you knew you had something good waiting for you. That signature was a promise. Any author who is brazen enough to parallel the greats of literature is worth my judgement, for better or worse.
I still think that cover is pretentious, but I don't regret buying the book.
Back in YEG, I was looking for another The Year of Our War. A cover that tempted, intrigued and drew my attention to the point where I couldn't walk away without it. I was looking for a cover that promised to trade my life and my problems for someone else's, and perhaps a guarantee that it would all turn out well in the end.
All things considered, that's probably what I look for in a vacation destination as well.
Think about it. How often have you decided you want to go somewhere because you saw some pretty pictures?
Yeah, I saw that guilty look.
Perhaps you ordered a brochure, looked up some sights on Lonely Planet, eyed a few hotels or pondered a tour. You might be on a quest for relaxation or for a solid adventure that sets your heart racing. Regardless of what it is, the fact is that likely you'll go in with expectations set. You'll judge by the cover, so to speak.
It's not surprising that we do this. After all, we've spent a lifetime building those expectations.
- Paris: A concoction of the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame. Flavoured with butter and crusty bread, and seasoned with the romance of lover kissing under bridges.
- Tokyo: Filled to the brim with people, traffic flying by, lights and action and shinjuku girls with too much make-up. Everyone eats raw fish with chopsticks and watches anime over dinner.
- Rome: A city of ruins. Italians out in the street shouting their conversations while wives hang sheets from the windows or berate their no-good husbands from kitchens suffused with mouthwatering smells.
In the end, I hope you'll think about this when their next opportunity to travel arises. If you're booking because of the pretty pictures, be aware of that fact. If you're after the culture, recognize that Hollywood has formed many of our preconceived notions.
I'm hoping to book a trip to Africa soon. I've already been a number of times, but I'm not picky about where I go next. I want to see more of the continent, but in myself I recognize that I'm not immune to judging without seeing. For me, Ethiopia is a land blanketed in the dust of the past, in West Africa await the origins of voodoo and their curious practitioners, in Rwanda there will be hardship, and in Morocco the snake charmers sit in alleys playing music that permeates the city streets.
I know there's so much more than that. This is why we travel. The cover, it might be good and you might be tempted to fall in love, but there's so much more to be had.
So my challenge to you is this: Don't be satisfied by the pretty pictures and inconsequential words. Go out into the world, do things you never dared when the opportunities arise, roar at lions, walk in the Amazon at midnight, watch the sunrise from a mountaintop, drink French champagne on new years before kissing a stranger, and laugh because you're having the time of your life.
It's simple really: Savor the book, not just the cover.
