The Writer Will Take Your Questions Now (#129) -- Covers Without Pictures

What are your thoughts about the trend of book covers 
not to use pictures, just text, to sell the book?

I like them but I realize they don't work for most books. I think typography can be an art in and of itself, but it takes a knack for it that a lot of designers may not have.

I do think, however, they a typographic cover tends to work better for thrillers. Even so, I still prefer the ones that add at least one illustrative idea (like a small gun or a fingerprint) to the design.

Now that I think of it, the "how-to" book also works well with a typographic cover.