Admit it, you judge a book by it's cover. You even judge a book by it's publisher, the font used throughout, the paper. It's okay... we all do. And really, is there anything wrong with that? Part of the reading experience is enjoying the aesthetic of what you're holding... the smell of it, the look, the weight. You curl up with it... you spend time in the most intimate places in your home, in varying degrees of dress with it. You should love the way it looks and feels as well as what it says. In my house, between my husband and I, we have four copies of Ulysses. Four. Have either of us read it in it's entirety? No. But the covers are lovely! The smell of the foxing in the original Modern Library edition is heavenly. And the sheer heft, layout and typography of the first facsimile, (we each had a copy before we were a couple) ,well... shows that we may have a problem, but that's another story.
Now, Ulysses has become public domain in America. What does that mean? It means anyone can churn out a cheap copy with any hideous cover they like. And they are. Below are four of the most horrible book covers i've ever seen... and for Ulysses? It's confounding. On the upside, Ulysses may attract a different set of readers now. Or, let's be real... a new set of people who will buy it keep it on their shelf for the sheer heft of it.
