30 Book Covers So Strange You’ll Forget the “Don’t Judge a Book by Its Cover” Rule

I'm a firm believer in the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover." After all, some of the greatest stories ever written have been wrapped in dull or uninspired jackets. But let's be real for a second—some book covers make it very hard to stick to that philosophy. Whether it's the baffling artwork, hilariously bad design choices, or titles so wild they seem like parody, these covers demand judgment (and a lot of side-eye).

These aren't just questionable design choices; they're conversation starters. From sci-fi novels with covers that look like they were made in Microsoft Paint to romance books with titles so cringe-worthy they could be memes, this list proves that sometimes, the outside of the book is the real story.

So while I'll always try to give books a fair shot, these 30 covers might just have me breaking my own rule. Dive in and prepare to wonder, "Who approved this?"

01
Very Basic

via u/Redwards426
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02
Weird indeed

via u/johnc98
03
Ok... wow

via u/Ackman1988
04
Picture not to scale

via u/CrazyBooyy
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05
The Hobbit

via u/Chtorrr
06
Wait... what?

via u/tabitha21
07
Fascinating read

via r/TerribleBookCovers
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08
Is this real life?

via u/beartrapperkeeper
09
Do you like fish sticks?

via u/johnc98
10
Really?

via u/point5_
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11
Can't believe this didn't go viral

via u/bookdepository1
12
Why would you pick such an utterly terrifying cover for a joke book

via u/Chtorrr
13
How to offend absolutely everyone - the book

via u/FearlessIntention
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14
I've read worse

via u/telperion87
15
Am I supposed to read it to my dog?

via u/LovelyWetBrat
16
Not as terrifying as I thought

via u/BookMansion
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17
Photoshop skills over 9000

via u/Ohnobros111
18
More amazing Photoshop skills

via u/pickledhoney
19
This has to be a joke

via u/MVpizzaprincess
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20
Why does she have 3 hands? (No it's not AI)

via u/ShootyMShootFace
21
I don't need a designer, I'll do it myself!

via u/unklethan
22
Good for you, Eleanor!

via u/LovelyWetBrat
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23
The food is absolutely radiating

via u/Greenxgrotto
24
Is this the worst? I think it's the worst

via u/TituCusiYupanqui
25
Pretty sure there are no cowboys in that book

via Dagger-4 Seasons Total Lands
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26
I can't believe they made an entire series of these

via u/TravelingEnceladus
27
Actually I kinda want to read the book now

via u/Chtorrr
28
If you look closely you can see his dad's disappointment

via u/ashes_88
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29
Don't look at the cover too

via u/Ackman1988
30
I'm finding it hard not to judge this book by it's cover

via u/SpahsgonnaSpah