Judging A Book By Its Cover

Earlier this year, Penguin Books put out a series called Graphic Classics, a group of well-known works of literature packaged in a snazzy new paperback format. The cover illustrations are by leading comic book artists, including Chris Ware and Seth. I was roaming the aisles at Costco the other day, and I bought Upton Sinclair's The Jungle (with a cover by Charles Burns) and Paul Auster's The New York Trilogy (with a cover by Art Spiegelman).

Before I took this trip to Costco, I felt the need to read some my books that I never got around to reading. By sheer coincidence, I dug out a copy of The Jungle that I had purchased many years ago. I was never required to read this book in school, and its one of the books that I've always been curious about. A book about the poor working conditions and the unsanitary practices of the meat industry at the turn of the century? Sign me up!

Call me shallow, but I'm actually pretty excited to read this book now because the cover is so cool. Take a look - which book would you rather read? This one:


Or this one:


Go ahead and admit it... you would pick that delicious animal head too.