Judging a Book by Its Cover

A friend of mine mentioned how he'd recently read some books by Lois McMaster Bujold, and how he thought they were really great. Well I'm always on the lookout for a great new author and I researched her. Well...I hate to admit it, but I don't want to be caught dead reading her books simply due to the craptacular covers. Petty and silly? Maybe. But they're bad.

<-----Take this one. Cheesy, awful picture of disembodied hands handing a sword to her? What?! It looks like a scene from the most boring first-person shooter ever. This other one ----> has a terrible split cover. Is that weirdo on the cover even human? Why would I buy and read this book? Am I 8 years old? This seems to be a problem this publisher's (Baen) books have in general. All of their books have covers uglier than Dan Dierdorf.
<------Now here's a magnificent cover. It's evocative and well-done. I want to know why there's a starship above this primitive African village. It's magnificent simplicity.

This cover from a Gene Wolfe novel has nothing to do with any story in the book...but it's still great. --------->

So I'm sure I'll read at least one Bujold book. I mean, she's won the Hugo at least three times, and surely other awards. But thanks to those crappy covers I'll probably never buy one; I'll just get them from the library and read them under cover of darkness.

Sammich

Is there anything better than a turkey sandwich on white bread with a ton of mayo? (Not deli turkey, mind you. Plucked-from-a-bird turkey.) Probably...but I'll bet it's a short list.

Note to NBC

Please stop airing hour-long episodes of your 1/2-hour comedies. Even brilliant ones such as The Office can't sustain themselves over that time period. Please. Less is More.

I haven't missed this, though

By diving into the lives of teenagers, sometimes the stark reality hits you in the face.

One of the guys in my small group is really hurting at home—and it's hard to admit that lots of kids out there have less-than-prefect lives outside the church walls. So it's that much more important that we introduce him to Jesus—the real Jesus—who is the perfect cure for our imperfect lives.

I thank God for the opportunity to be a loving force in this kid's life.