Polite Paradise

Personally I prefer covers with illustrations to photos, more so for fiction than non-fiction.  I will actively avoid any romance novels with covers that feature only shirtless men or overly impassioned couples, mostly because I read on the bus and other public places and don't want to answer 'what are you reading' questions with those.

I will admit that I have bought books solely because of the cover art. I wasn't interested in reading the Nancy Drew book series when I was growing up, but I have recently bought a couple with the newer cover art (example: https://www.target.com/p/the-secret-of-the-old-clock-reprint-hardcover-by-carolyn-keene/-/A-15067967 ). They currently sits in my still-to-be-read book horde, so I still don't know if I would recommend the books.