This post was updated March 9 at 7:52 p.m.

Sometimes it is best not to judge a book by its cover – unless, of course, the cover is limited edition.

One of the largest trends in the publishing of physical books has become the rerelease of published books with special, limited-edition covers. Readers amass collections of novels they already own but with different aesthetics. Special-edition books can contribute to literary culture and encourage reengagement with old texts, but decorative books can also defeat the primary purpose of physical novels, while having a harmful impact on the environment through excessive reprinting.

Limited-edition novels come in many forms. Certain books feature reworked covers and spines to match the aesthetic of a novel. For example, republished Jane Austen novels usually come in flowery, ornate hardbacks that reflect the romantic, classic style of the period pieces Austen wrote. Stories with multiple novels, such as “Harry Potter” and “Percy Jackson,” are released in box sets, where the spines piece together to make a larger image.

[Related: Alyssa Murray discusses mental health in her self-published book ‘The A-Word’]

These special versions of books encourage the reading community to interact with novels that have already had their moment in popular culture. Novels from different eras, which may not be considered by younger readers, can catch people’s eyes with these decorative covers, potentially exposing them to stories they would not have otherwise picked up. Most teenage readers avoid older classics because of the difficulty to read them, but novels like “Pride and Prejudice” can gain popularity with the age group when they are marketed in a fun, artistic manner. In the same way, series that were more popular upon their initial release can hit the shelves again with a reprinted style in order to find their way to new readers.

In this way, limited edition novels serve to expand the audience of a text, encouraging a revival movement for a fandom that may have otherwise been silent. Our current world relies heavily on aesthetics to influence the way we interact with media; the right film poster, the right TikTok or the right book cover can push someone to engage with something they would possibly have never discovered. In the same way, the wrong poster or cover can be the reason someone avoids a certain piece of media. Special versions of books can help revamp the aesthetic of texts and encourage readers to interact with new content.

But despite this goal of helping readers expand their horizons, the primary purpose of reprinting books remains profit. Authors and publishing houses hope to rerelease novels so they can gain more profit from texts that already exist, rather than paying for a new story. This tactic ends up being successful because the majority of people buying special copies of novels are those who have already read them and want collector’s versions. In this way, rereleased books become more of an aesthetic purchase than anything else – they are not actually making people read more, but instead, they are just getting them to spend money on books they have already loved.

These special edition novels further prey on fans of existing novels by creating artificially high prices for these unique copies. A specific published version of “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontë from Penguin Random House costs $27 for just one copy of the book. In contrast, a paperback copy of the novel can be found on Amazon for just a little over $7. By hyping up the rarity of these special editions, publishing companies and authors make more and more money off readers who are hoping to interact with one of their favorite texts in a new way.

This excessive reprinting of novels can also have an extremely negative impact on the environment. The United States publishing industry cuts down 32 million trees annually to create physical books, which underscores the incredibly detrimental impact of printing large amounts of novels. By printing the same texts over and over, publishing companies justify deforestation for extra profit.

This tactic from publishers can be seen as part of a larger trend of taking advantage of overconsumption behaviors within the general public to maximize corporate gain. Many major musical artists, for example, release countless vinyls of their albums, each with slight differences. The slight differences in vinyls, or republished books, encourage consumers to buy these new versions of the product, even though the benefit of another copy is minimal.

[Related: Second Take: Repeat purchases of vinyl albums harm environment, consumers]

While new versions of existing novels can contribute to literary culture, the trend of republishing books can have many unseen negative impacts. As this trend ramps up over time, it is clear that these environmental effects and consumption habits will eventually catch up with us as a society. Publishing companies focus on reproducing already successful novels in order to prioritize their own profit by taking advantage of overconsumption trends. This forces readers to look deeper and understand why exactly they buy special-edition books and what benefit they might reap from them.

At the end of the day, it is imperative that we look past a book’s cover. After all, it is what is on the inside that matters most.