Tuesday, February 28, 2023

A Book and Its Cover

How do we choose books to read?  One way, consciously or not, is the cover.

Thinking of book covers makes me think of a post I wrote back in 2012 and reran in 2015.  It follows, with some edits.

Book covers bring back memories of the first author who I consciously fell in love with (his writing, not the author himself.)

When I was 10 years old and growing up in New York City, I broke my leg roller skating.  I was treated at a hospital in the Bronx (a borough of New York City).  I had to go back to the hospital periodically to see the doctors during my recovery.   On one visit, at the hospital gift store, one of my parents bought me a book to read.  I don't know how or why, but they picked "A Princess of Mars" by Edgar Rice Burroughs.

It changed my life.

I don't know how many young people have heard of Edgar Rice Burroughs.  Even in my day (this was in the early 60's) enough children may have known Edgar Rice Burroughs mainly through Tarzan movies.  Reruns of old Tarzan movies featuring Johnny Weissmuller were a staple of weekend movie afternoons on non-network local New York City channels.

But this book my parent bought me was something different.  The cover attracted me immediately - an exotically dressed woman in peril, with a muscular man, holding a sword, defending her.  Although the book started slowly, I quickly got into the story once the hero, John Carter, reached Mars.  I ended up devouring the other 10 books of the series over the next few years.  Then, I went on to other series written by Burroughs - the Venus books, many of the Tarzan books, one of the Pellucidar books, and a couple of his non-series books.

I loved those book covers on the Ballantine and Ace versions of the Martian books from the 1960's.  In doing research, I found that other Edgar Rice Burroughs books were graced with unforgettable covers.  They really wanted to make you buy and read the contents.    Even after I grew up, the tradition of spectacular book covers continued.

Here, Burroughs himself writes about his experiences with illustrations of his books.

I don't know how popular Edgar Rice Burroughs remains, and I haven't read one of his books in many years. 

If you are interested in reading the Martian (Barsoom) books of Edgar Rice Burroughs, or some of his other books in the public domain, they are available for free online.

10 comments:

  1. There was a John Carter movie a few years ago. So I guess someone is still taking inspiration from Burroughs.

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  2. Book covers are a perfect example of "a picture is worth a thousand words." Although once the picture draws you in, the words have to keep you there.

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  3. ...I'm such a poor reader that books have never changed my life.

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  4. Well, it just occurred to me that I rarely notice the cover of a book. I just looked at the novel I am currently reading and saw that the cover is the night sky and some evergreen branches. I would have finished the book and never noticed it without your post.

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  5. A good cover can definitely draw you in. I do love Project Guttenberg for ebooks in the public domain. Didn't they make some movies with John Carter not a long time ago? I seem to recall a plan for a series that never materialized, but I don't think I saw the movie. (Probably not a great retelling of the book.)

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  6. In my teenage years, I DEVOURED books by Burroughs and I dreamed of living in the jungle with Tarzan! Thanks for the memories.

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  7. As much as I hate to admit it, I have bought books before because I like the covers.
    I've never read any Burroughs which is probably my loss.

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  8. I love walking through old bookstores. I often look at just the titles and the covers. It's like eye candy.

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  9. I loved these stories, but also the detective ones. I love books. Of course the title and the cover image are the first hint, but also the summary on the back cover!
    Have a fabulous Spring! And thank you for this reminder about this author!

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  10. Oooh! I'm all about the cover! I take the cover with me when I read. The characters have to 'look' a certain way because of what the cover tells me!

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