Although we may like to make out like that it is not the case, books are inevitably evaluated by their covers.
We enjoy checking out books because they are really stunning things. This is true, however the nature of beauty that we may be discussing is definitely separate to what we might be talking about if we were speaking about, say, the visual arts. Or is it? For as long as we have actually had books we have actually decorated them with beautiful book cover designs that effort to mirror the charm of what is within. This dates back for as long as the codex itself has been around, with middle ages monks, those charged with the protection and replication of the uncommon texts that might still be found, ornamenting each hand composed text with astonishingly rich and gorgeous designs. In fact, such was the appeal held within these books that a lot of these creative book cover designs were sculpted into ivory or solid gold, studded with gems, and inlaid with rivers of precious metals. Individuals like the co-CEO of the hedge fund that owns Waterstones can probably value the way that the beauty of these book covers was developed to match the beauty within the book.
When we purchase a book it becomes something really personal to us. It can often be strange seeing a book you like with another book cover, just due to the fact that it is not your book. This personalisation, and indeed ownership, of books was at an entirely different level at the genesis of the age of printing, with book covers being developed by the owners themselves, and what they believed would be the best books covers for the text. They would purchase the book itself from the printer wrapped in paper, then take it to a binder who would incorporate the covers to the customer's specifications. This normally suggested being clad in leather and after that engraved with the name of the book, and, generally, the name of the book's owner. Individuals like the co-founder of the impact investor with a stake in World of Books can probably appreciate the ownership that individuals come to feel in regards to their books.
When you really think of it, it is rather incredible that a book's cover, no matter how stunning it is, is able to stand so eloquently for something that is almost the total reverse of its art format-- writing in black and white. In fact, book covers have been developed to show the feeling of a book and appeal to its designated audience ever since the dawn of large scale publishing in the Victorian Period. Artists were tasked with discovering what makes a good book cover for specific individuals, or to put it simply, marketing. People like the CEO of the asset manager that has a stake in Amazon can probably appreciate the function of marketing in creating book covers.