What ELSE would I judge it by?

Go check out Gary Sullivan's two-part post, "What is your book cover trying to tell us?" Most poets I know are kind of obsessed with book design and fetishize the "beautiful object" of the book. I'm sick of reviews that begin by noting how a given book is a lovely thing unto itself, but I agree that the cover makes a big difference in whether I or anyone feels compelled to pick the book up (or order it online as the case may be).

Sullivan's second post focuses on designer Jeff Clark, AKA Quemadura, who has recently done a lot of covers for Ahsahta Press. I have oohed and aahed over Clark's covers before, especially Chris Nealon's fantastic The Joyous Age. Sullivan thinks the cover really works for Nealon's book but wonders if Clark's designs on the whole aren't too marketing-department slick, which makes me feel like a sucker falling for another Apple campaign.

Some recent covers I've liked: Felonies of Illusion by Mark Wallace, designed by K. Lorraine Graham, Sandra Beasley's Theories of Falling (slick alert?), and from the small press/chapbook front, Victor in the New World by Chad Reynolds from Rope-a-Dope Press right here in Boston.

UPDATE: More cover analysis madness at LIME TREE.