Judging a Book by Its Cover

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Sometimes we find it easier to just judge someone based on what we see than to find out the truth. We judge people based on what they wear, how they speak and even what they read. And we also tend to be very close-minded about new things. This post by guest blogger, Leigh-Ann Brodber speaks about why we should be more open-minded about what we read, because we never know what we may learn and how it may help us or others. She also touches on why we should not judge others' reading preferences. Enjoy!

I’m pretty sure you’ve all heard the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” so why do we continue to judge people by what they read?

I am a chronic reader of all sorts of books. I don’t like to discriminate – too much. Sure, I might turn a book down by how it looks but I’d have my reasons. For instance: if there seems to be a lack of creativity in the cover and it looks like it was designed using Paint or if I just want a taste of what the writing is like and turn to a random page just to find that the logic of a character is that of a five year-old, I wouldn’t even give the book a second glance. Other than that, I read anything I could get my hands on; romance, adventure, dystopian, sci-fi, erotica, historical fiction, self-help, comic, mystery, new adult, suspense/thriller, horror, biographies, young adult, pulp fiction, religious fiction, and the list goes on.

The thing is people assume that because you’re reading a book about a girl who’s been abused that you’ve been hurt yourself or are going through some kind of difficult situation. What if you just want to broaden your horizon? What if you were inspired to read the book so that you can be more aware of what the signs of abuse look like? What if you want to approach a friend who’s going through a tough situation and that book comes in handy? You never know why someone is reading what they’re reading and it’s ridiculous to judge someone’s personality on what they read.

Just the other day I was reading “Rock Star” by Jackie Collins. Now, if you’ve ever read a Jackie Collins novel you’d know that it’s filled with a sick and well thought out plot, characters you’d DIE to be friends, slightly explicit sex scenes and a twist at the end. Her books also centre on the lives of fictional Hollywood stars that always have enough skeletons in the closet to fill a hardware store. I binge read all her books and I’m going cold turkey waiting for her to release new books. Anyways, I was sitting in my school library reading “Rock Star” when a lady passed by, looked at the cover (a half-naked girl in sparkling silver Jimmy Choos stooping by a half closed door), sneered and muttered under her breath “youths these days”. As if to say all young people only think and read about sex to continue fuelling their unstable libido. If I wasn’t so occupied with what the antagonist was going to do to the famous blind musician, I would’ve thrown the book right at her upturned nose! (I’m not usually this violent but people with that kind of mentality really get under my skin). What if she caught me reading “Get Well Soon” by Julie Halpern or “Boy Meets Boy” by David Levithan? Would she have thought that I was gay or fighting some mental issues?

It’s time we stop being so closed minded and judgemental. People have a right to read whatever they want. Books take us on journeys far beyond our imagination. Who are we to hold someone back from that awesome adventure? Who are we to make someone ashamed or embarrassed to read a book?

The next time you see someone reading a book with a curious title or cover, don’t hate. Instead, go up to them and ask them what the book is about. Ask them if it’s worth the read or even why they decided to read it. Who knows, maybe you’ll find yourself on an adventure of your own.

You can visit Leigh-Ann's blog at  http://leeleebro.wix.com/disturbing-the-norms