Have you ever bought a book just because you liked the cover? Appealing cover art can hook a potential customer and sway them to make a purchase, while something vulgar and tasteless can easily push them away, especially if they have no idea what they are looking for and are quite literally judging the books by their cover. Terrible artworks have been a hallmark of subpar sci-fi novels and other kinds of pulp fiction for decades and serve as a red flag for any experienced reader.

While the importance of cover art can hardly be understated, some publishers and authors simply choose to ignore it. Famous books can get away with it – the name on the cover can be enough – but for many novels, this might very well be where the story ends. At least we're getting a laugh out of it.