Whitner's Essay 'Horror Books Have Lost Their Identity'

In a very informative video essay titled called “Horror Books Have Lost Their Identity” by Zane Whitner, he argues that book cover art nowadays is making books lose their identity. He thoroughly does a fantastic job at shining a light on an issue while also introducing a possible solution for the horror genre. But he could have added some stronger points and addressed the issue furthermore for all types of genre books.
Whitener starts his video with an example at which he proceeds to name ten books and their summaries. He goes on to explain that he could be lying and because of that as vague book covers do not do the book’s genre any justice. This was a good way to captivate the audience as to the point that book covers are misrepresenting

When I would pick out new books to read, I find myself being captivated by older book covers whereas for newer covers do not get my attention as they used. Which Whitner and I can both share. If he went more into his experience with shopping for books and how difficult it was, it would have been a stronger selling point. He does counteract it nicely with being open about the personal nostalgic those books gave him which, I can resonate with as well, and how he doesn’t get that with newer books which he states, “A lot of the new genre books have lost their charm for me.” This would have been a perfect time to address the counter argument that it doesn’t matter about the cover of the book because the book material itself is good. He could go on to say what the first thing a person see’s is the book cover and can determine if it’s picked up or not. Not to mention how much of a disservice a book cover can potentially affect the sales of a book. Addressing this would help with the potential bias that might come with certain styles one might enjoy vs another by giving recognition that it’s not just about nostalgia but also about the initial first impression of a book’s cover. Then he can talk about how hard it is for him to pick out new horror books relating back to his concern, while also addressing the effects of how new book shoppers struggle to find a book that captivates them. Hopefully making the

This is a nice comparison when he does the same technique talking about the 70’s-90’s horror book covers that are accurately portraying the genre. He also uses techniques with timing like certain cuts when he’s wanting to emphasize on the comparisons of the book covers. Especially the comparison with the different It book covers. It helps so much being able to put the books side by side, seeing all the different stylistic choice’s that have been made with the book. Then bringing it back to how some of the new book cover trends don’t do the book any justice. These examples and comparisons are very strong for Whitner’s points, and he uses his resources very