Is it just me, or do the Frazetta covers tend to make books look a lot more exciting than it actually is?
Isnāt that the point?
Good point, thatās the whole idea of cover art, isnāt it? 
āDonāt judge a book by itās cover, but instead, by the content of its character.ā
- Benjamin Franklin
Iād say you can often tell plenty from the cover of any book - itās far from a perfect or bias-free information source, but thereās certainly stuff that can be gleaned from it. Of course book covers should sell, but part of that tends to be communicating what kind of book it is.
I donāt disagree. But Iām still pleased that Amazon & Co made it much easier to select books based on more than just cover, blurb and a skimmed paragraph in the bookshop.
For sure - I generally try to go by something more reliable. But if one does see the cover, it would actually be a bit off not to judge the book by it - just not only by the cover, if there is anything else to go by.
I had a variation on this problem with beer, once upon a time. As my personal inclination was one of experimentation, I tended towards just picking what looked interesting, with a bias towards more reliable breweries, but otherwise going very much by beer type and label. It worked out better than it should have, really - even beers trying to fake an interesting style and label tend to somehow stand out.
Books are quite a different investment, of course.
Charles Stross had judged-by-the-cover-only problem with the US(?) edition of Saturnās Children(?) - the cover art was scantily-clad space lady and was sometimes regarded as porn lit instead of SF.
I actually buy about a third of my wine based on the label, with very mixed results. But I still do it because itās fun and I simply like some wine label designs so much 
He most certainly did - had I not bought it online, I might not have bought it at all, with that cover. Itās funny how I think of myself as not prude at all, yet I really wouldnāt want to be seen with that book in my hand with the cover showingā¦
As for wine, I never really bought enough to have a strategy for it, but certainly Iād avoid any label that looked too silly. A good label for me would look old-timey and conservative, either almost monochrome, or with a color scheme that speaks of a century past.
It sounds easy to manipulate, but while I couldnāt speak for wine, for beer it somehow appears more difficult to game than one would think. Perhaps few on the market truly try to game it? Perhaps repeat buyers are more important?
I forgot which edition I bought (my position is luxurious: Amazon Germany has no issues selling me US and UK books :)), but in this case my decision was anyway based on the author - Iām not sure if I had bought it based on the cover and blurb.
But back to alcohol; silly labels are the (my) whole point, this one was even twofold silly: A flying squirrel and grown at the north pole (ok, Canada. but still.). Quite tasty, btw. When buying wine not for the giggles I either choose vineyards (or even better: terroirs) I know and like or opt for middle priced French redwines with Bauhaus-like minimalistic black-and-white labels - works more often than not.
If it has a castle on the front, and says āestate bottledā in any language, go for it
My friend has this tattooed on his back.
An old Italian once told me, āIf itās got a cork in it, itās good enough.ā
What if it has a sword and boobs?
Iām happy youāve found a method that works for you, but flying squirrels would almost be up there with bottles that have prints of fish on the inside to look like aquariums. Far too risky for me. Beer labels, on the other handā¦ letās just say I had plenty of luck with a bunch of beers with labels by Ralph Steadman (while also some less than stellar beersā¦)
Iād being told Pluto is a little bit colder than Mars.
She will need an additional chainmail bikini.
Wheen googling Steadmanās beer labels I found Ralph Steadman and the beer that outraged the US. Iām outraged I never heard this before!
Maybe I should start label-based beer shopping, especially as craft beers are slowly emerging here, too.
