Discussion Judging a book by its cover?

I ~judge~ ... decide by the following criteria:

• is the translation only available on one of the two QidianTales sites -if yes, then I don't bother at all and if no (for example starvecleric for LoHP), then I read it on the translator site ...
  
• do I know other stories of the author (Er Gen for example)
  
• are any tags on my <I don't want that> list
• is the novel written by MadSnail
• is the novel dropped, on hiatus since 1923 or did I read the obituary of the author while the story is still ongoing?
• skim through some reviews ... maybe
• read the synopsis (but I won't let me be fouled a second time since Beast Piercing the Heavens)
• start reading ...
• ...
• check if I can stand the translation and/or the story ...
• continue or drop the novel

 

I have lots of different criteria for reading books, and they're not always consistent. Two of the biggest factors are reputation and the author. If a book is famous enough like "Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan", I'm probably going to get around to reading it. Likewise, if something promising gets written by an author I like, it's going to end up pretty high as well. After that, it's going to be a genre and subject matter I'm interested in. Reviews are pretty far down the list, and I'll often not even read them until I finish the book. Likewise, I don't think very highly of novel descriptions beyond finding out what the subject is.

I agree. Some Chinese novels do get customized covers when they get printed, but even then it can be a bit of a crapshoot. I've seen stuff like a cover for "the Six-Fingered Qin Devil" with a woman playing the qin in the title. Yeah, someone plays it all right, but it sure isn't a woman doing so.

 

Thought you were speaking about book covers...
I don't jufge people by the first impression,I mean it's just how it looks,not the real person,looks at Death,1 secong ago alive,and now dead..anyway,judging something by it's cover it's never a good thing,for once that just shows how shallow a person thinks,just my opinion.
And titles...hmm..the simpler,the better.If it's longer,well you can try it too lol.

 

If the cover is obviously from another source (like what OP mentioned, or Release That Witch) it makes me that much less likely to read it. How many people are there in China? There's gotta be enough artists out there that can make an appropriate cover art for the artist for not too much money. If the cover's plagiarized, who know what else might be plagiarized?

 

I do judge book from it's cover~ for printed book~
as for WN? not care~ cuz imo most WN author is bad on making cover~ if I shouldn't say terrible suck~

 

I judge books by the cover! \(^^)/

I mean, when I go to a bookstore, I need to decide rather or not I'll bother with reading the synopsis of the book, right? I need something to tell me that, and the cover is usually what decides it for me.

I don't care much for it on WN though... Still has some influence however.

 

Lets see, first I see the title and check the sinopsis and sometimes the reviews... but if the title feels chuuni... I am less interested... the cover art is important and all but the title for god's sake! I can't get myself to read oh so many CN or KR novels because their titles sound so chuuni that it hurts...

 

I like covers but for Chinese web novels, I don't bother looking at them much since most of them suck.

 

I read the synopsis and if I like what I see then I'm reading a few tens of chapters and see if i wanna keep it or drop it

 

I'm first reading a few tens of chapters of the novel along with the synopsis and see if I like it or not

 

Sometimes you just have to trust your instinct, like with NEET Receives a Dating Sim Game Leveling System
Now considering the title and cover picture I would stay the hell away from that, but why did I see several recommendations of it, so I checked it out, saw decent reviews with 5 stars instead of the bashing 1/2 star ones, one would expect to be on such a novel. Then I thought what the hell, I'll try it and it's an really funny novel.

 

I use the positive reviews to know what novels to stay away from.

 

China's WN cover and synopsis are useless......
So I usually need to read it directly...

 

Few things are more helpful for that than positive reviews that praise it for things you dislike yourself. lol

 

Exactly

 

I believe in my own judgment. I mean come on, some "reviewers" rate a novel 2 stars after reading 14 chapters and start assuming this and that which are proven wrong by the latest chapters

 

Congratulations on finding 'A Certain Sleepy Fox's Guide to Judging Stuff!'

Anime:
Randoms GIFs on forums, that contain funny subtitles or cute grills

Manga:
Random reaction images on forums, that contain funny sound effects or cute grills

Novels:
- Must have a good title
- Must have interesting/unique side characters
- Must have a relatable MC who I can connect with on a personal level
- Must have some sort of fantasy genre included (I rarely want to read about real life)
- Etc...
- Possible exceptions include: cute grills on the cover

I think I pick stuff up at random when I see some post about on a forum, I've skipped past a lot of stuff I know is great and sounds awesome just because I'm too lazy to click the link :/ Idk, nothing motivates me to read/watch something more than cute grills a random mention of it on a random comment lol

 

Title (slight consideration of cover, not that important unless extreme), rating, summary, and then reviews. If I recognize the author, maybe that too.