Judging a book by its cover is such a great rule for life — yet, for some reason, it is considered highly offensive or taboo.
I am all for judging a book by its cover, and here’s why:
First, let me set the scene;
I’m in middle school, and not that good at reading. I was a little behind and hated the books we were made to read . But I wanted to get better at reading. I didn’t like being the weakest reader in the class. I wanted to change. I knew I needed help when it came to reading, but I hated that I needed it. I hated that I was not overcoming my weakness as fast as I wanted to.
So I went to the library. I went straight to the Young Adult section to browse. There were hundreds of books to choose from. Eventually, I saw a cover that was shiny, it reflected the light and caught my eye. I saw that it was blue — I liked blue. So I picked it up and read the back. It sounded interesting, but it was the second book in the series, so I grabbed the first book. I read that book in two days, and read the entire series in a week.
By judging a book by its cover, I was not only able to pick up a book that became one of my favorites, but I also didn’t have to pick up hundreds of books that I may have not liked. If I never judged a book by its cover, I might have never found that book in the first place.
There are hundreds of thousands of books in the world. You don’t have time to pick up and read the synopsis of every book. If you try that, all you’ll be doing in your life is reading the synopses of books. It’s okay, and even good, to quickly judge a book by its cover.
If you do that, you can quickly and efficiently find the books that interest you. You can read them, like them, and add them to your personal collections. That first judgment — that first impression — is important.
This advice applies to other things in life as well, especially when it comes to people.
It’s not always accurate, but by judging a person by their appearance —the way they dress, talk, and act— you can quickly see if you want to read their synopsis by having a conversation with them. If you like the synopsis, you can fully read the book by going on a date or hanging out with them. If you enjoy them like you enjoy a good book, then you can keep them in your inner circle — the people that you care about and who care about you.
If you try to read everyone you meet, you’re not going to get far. There are so many books out there. It’s okay if not all of them are for you.
