This is Jo, asking, "Do covers matter?"
To you, as a reader. Do you pick up books because of covers, or avoid them because of covers? Do covers affect how you read a book?
I'm ashamed to admit I have to say yes to all three. I know covers often have little to do with the book. I know the author often has zero say. But some covers, especially where the man looks brutal -- or like a constipated muppet. Love that! -- make it really hard for me to pick the book off the shelf.
It's nothing to do with what others might think. It's simply that I don't want to meet that man inside the covers. I don't want to spend time with him. I don't want to know that hard-faced woman. My view of the characters has been polluted before I begin.
Need I mention that I'm a very visual reader?
So, do covers seriously affect you as a reader?
Jo