One of the few clear lessons I still remember from my
Kindergarten Teacher. Treat others the way you want to be treated, and don’t
judge a book by its cover. In this, my second blog post, I am going to explain
why you should through that advice out the window.
First things first, I love
reading and always have. When I was young, I was fairly conservative reader. I
used to listen advice like don’t judge a book by its cover. Now I don’t. When I
followed that age-old rule, I would basically read my way through the fiction
section of the library in alphabetical order.
It sucked. Sure, I found some really good
books, but the majority of them just weren’t interesting to me. Then, I changed.
I stopped going in order. I now go to the library, and walk the shelves. I look
and see if there are any new books in a series I enjoy. If there are, I check
them out. If there aren’t, I browse the shelves. I look at titles, authors, and
most importantly, covers.
I think that covers are one of
the best ways to tell if you will like a book. I know that they are for me. The
artwork produces a response from my subconscious. If I like the cover, I’ll feel
drawn to the book, and, more often than not, will really enjoy it. If I’m not
drawn to the book, I move on. Now, I know what you are probably thinking. “Wait,
won’t your system make you miss good books that you would have otherwise read?”
Good question Imaginary Blog Reader! Yes, it will. On the other hand, my system
also makes it less likely for me to waste time reading lots of books that I
don’t like.
I know that you may disagree
with me. There are those among my readers who will no doubt protest that my
system is luck, or erratic. That is your right. I disagree. I have great faith
in the subconscious. I firmly believe in thin-slicing, a concept that is
explained in the book Blink, by
Malcolm Gladwell. The theory basically says that your subconscious will repulse
you from books you won’t like, and will draw you towards books you will like.
Thanks for reading! If you have
any questions or comments, please let me know, as I’d be happy to address them.
I know, right?! people tell you "don't judge a book by it's cover", but that doesn't actually apply to...well, books! I mean, if you want somebody to read the book, make the cover look fun to read! I personally use this policy when doing my blog posts. I see you did that too!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading, HissyFit! It is nice to know that someone has read this and agrees with it. By the way, I really enjoy your blog!
DeleteThe only problem I see with this is, as you mentioned, is missing good books, which are hard for me to find these days. So if you are too picky about reading books, you might want to let up a bit. Just saying. :)
ReplyDeleteNot to be rude or anything, but do YOU actually do it?
ReplyDeletewhat do you mean, Steven?
DeleteJonathan,
ReplyDeleteThere is definitely a chance of missing good books with my systems. I would recommend having someone whose judgement you trust also look through the books and pick out a stack that they think you will like. Then, you go through them with an open mind. It is not perfect, but it may help cut down on books you are missing.