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Okay?

It's a sentence, not a word. Usually people buying a book also know the writer or heard about the book through other means.

Every bookstore I've ever been in lets you browse through the books. And if some come in plastic wraps, there is always at least one unwrapped that you can flick through.

i don't wanna argue with someone who use anime character as their profile picture

View attached image.

Make any kind of assumptions about something without knowing anything about it is not a good idea.Make any kind of asumptions for anything without knowing is never a good idea.

If the book doesn't even put forth the effort to have an attractive cover, chances are, the book isn't worth my time. There are always exceptions, but... come on now. If the book is of quality, it should care enough to extend that quality to its cover.

well your not wrong but your not right either
the bookstore thing is nonesense to start with unless ofcourse in your country they are all wrapped (what I find unlikely)

the meaning of the sentence is more in the way there's more beneath the surface something/someone might look boring or not interesting or what not but you could be absolutly wrong untill you get to know or learn about

but some ppl are shallow and dont want to invest time so for those it does not apply but they miss out on true gems whether it are books games music ...... (fill in the blank)

I'll quote Wikipedia: The English idiom "don't judge a book by its cover" is a metaphorical phrase which means "you shouldn't prejudge the worth or value of something by its outward appearance alone".

And I think that's true enough. Sure, the outward appearance does suggest something, but in many cases very little. Of course, sometimes the cover itself has value, but that doesn't really fall under this idiom.

This phrase means not only books. You could apply to to everything. Mostly humans.

I don't remember the last time I saw a book covered in plastic in a book store.

Most of the phrases like that are dumb but contain a little bit of truth.
(no exemple since i'm not english)

Your friend is right. You don't judge a book by it's cover alone no matter how good or bad it may be. Don't look superficially or deem someone's merits by the first impression.
If you think that's wrong then allow me to judge you by the initial impression you left:

You're an idiot

See? A cover can be bad too. But investing more time to have a closer look may show some positive things. Maybe life-changing. That's how some people got know and love each other even though the initial impression was not positive. But maybe you're just not old enough yet.

I agree because it is a saying that almost always has nothing to do with actual books.

I enjoy looking at covers but I doubt a bad cover would make me think the book itself is bad, I try to have an open mind.
Also I have books with ugly ass covers myself and they are not bad at all :3

The phrase is a metaphor, it is rarely actually used to describe books.... It basically means 'do not judge something/someone without actually taking the time to know it/them'. People that judge based on outward appearance are typically shallow and close-minded.

I do find it ironic that your friend agrees with this metaphor but then judges you based on your 'cover' (avatar).

i dont judge a book by its cover,however,i do judge a game by its cover on steamgift.......

The author is a very different person to the artist. Don't assume the work of the artist will be equal to the work of the author. The cover is just an artistic illustration, the real art is inside.

Maybe the aphorism should be "Don't judge a book by it's cover alone."

There are books that I'm just not going to be interested in, based on the cover. Maybe they have a buxom lady in the arms of a shirtless cowboy, and you can see his abs, but his face has been mysteriously cropped off. I'm pretty sure I won't be interested in the content of that book, no matter how well written. The cover is meant to give you an idea of the content, and draw you in. If the cover art doesn't match the content well enough to sell it to a target audience, then the artist and publisher have really messed up.

Overall, though, I find the problem is that cover art can be more interesting/intriguing than the book warrants. I've been burned by books that had good a good cover and an interesting premise. Some of them even started out pretty strong. But by the end, I wasn't impressed. Sometimes the ending was bad, sometimes it just ended up being mediocre throughout, but when I rate them on Goodreads, they get 2 or 3 stars.

The same principles apply when you're talking about it in less literal terms, like when thinking about people that you meet. What they look like, how they dress, how they groom themselves, etc. is not the totality of their being, nor is it a complete reflection of their personality or character. That said, in many (if not most) cases, it can still give you a pretty good idea of them and whether or not you're interested in getting to know them better.

But it's a lot easier for a person to look like something than for them to be something, and it's only after you get to know them that you realize that they aren't the kind of person that you thought they'd be, and you really don't want to spend any more time with them. Maybe they've changed since you first met them or maybe they were always like that.

So yeah, it cuts both ways. Sometimes you need to give something or someone a chance, despite appearances, but sometimes what looks good at first glance turns out to be a waste of your time.

Judging you by your anime picture is exactly what judging a book by it's cover means. That is why you don't judging a book by it's cover. Is every person on the internet that uses an anime avatar a complete weeb to the fullest extent? If you see someone wearing all black do you immediately judge them and assume that they are emo?

If your friend isn't an idiot, I think he may have been trying to prove a point to you when he said he did not want to argue with you based on your anime/cover. That actually was his argument, he was proving to you that you don't judge a book/person by it's cover/avitar :)

My opinion is mixed on the subject.

First impressions aren't always accurate, people are complex creatures, and you need to continuously connect and interact with the said person(s) to fully find out who they are. One impression is just not enough to judge a person, and yet it's extremely important, people are quick to judge and you may not get another chance. People will look at your clothes, how you style your hair, your tone of voice, your body language...It simply comes down to what image of yourself do you want to convey.

As for books, there's a lot of stuff you can tell from the cover alone, this humorous picture has some pointers :

https://i.imgur.com/w8XOMsQ.png

Ha! Your friend essentially just did the same thing he's advocating again, by using your anime avatar as an excuse to judge you.

I judge shit by covers all the time, though, because I know what I like. That's where alternate views come in - if a friend of mine whose taste I trust points me toward something something I initially passed by, I might go back and take a look at it again.

For people, though? I'd need more information than just their 'cover' (less about how they look rather than how they present themselves. Are you clean? Do your clothes fit? Does it look like you give even a little bit of a fuck?) but that 'cover' presents information I won't disregard, either.

With media AND people, though, my biggest concern is: 'am I enjoying myself? am I being enriched? Am I being engaged?' and if those answers are no? See ya.