Judging a Book by its Cover
Originally posted 2005-06-14 22:33:56
Grandma Thelma always admonished, \”Don’t judge a book by its cover!\” whether or not any reading material lay nearby. Her waggling finger didn’t refer to Great Expectation’s dust sleeve, but rather the importance of looking past superficialities to understand the true nature of other people or things. Of course, we didn’t always listen to Grandma Thelma, especially that part about keeping baseballs out of her petunias, but we recognized the merits of this nugget, didn’t we?
Poor Grandma Thelma. With hillbilly couth, I marched into Border’s last month, saw a book, gaped at the cover, snatched it from the shelf, and bought it. Not a spot of attention could I pay to Grandma Thelma’s sage advice. The cover of this book so arrested my attention, so startled my sensibility, that I felt impelled to act and judge, and to heck with Grandma Thelma and her blasted petunias. This book featured a Granny Smith apple against antiseptic whiteness. A wedge from the apple sat in front and to the right of its parent fruit. In place of apple flesh, however, the exposed innards of the apple sported orange pulp. \”Wow!\” said my mind, fumbling with the unnaturalness. \”That can’t happen!\” Everything looked right, but yet so wrong.
Not content to reach me visually, the cover vied for my tongue’s attention. My taste buds leaped for the crisp tartness of the apple, while my throat readied for the juicy, tangy citrus of the orange. The green and orange of the fruit splashed throughout the layout, seeping into the book’s title and authors’ names, unadulterated by any other color save for a smidgen of utilitarian black. The particular shades of green and orange melted into tubs of lime and orange sherbet, spooned themselves into my eager mouth, and soothed my hot, dehydrated throat. Do you see why I had to ignore Grandma Thelma?
Perhaps you’ve recognized the book by now: Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner’s Freakonomics. Follow that link and take a peek at the cover. Terrific, ain’t it?
So I bought the book on the strength of its cover. I judged it by its cover, reasoning that any book with such a cover must merit a read. Besides, the number of books I read guarantees that a few turkeys will sneak through (Clinton’s My Life, anyone? Even I couldn’t fend off enough ennui to get past page 42), and the book’s sale price made the purchase worth the gamble.
The book did not disappoint. I winced as I read that my swimming pool poses more danger to my children than the gun I staunchly refuse to buy so that they’ll remain safe. I exhaled with relief at the inconsequence of my parenting. I squirmed at the evidence that legalized abortion has arrested crime far more effectively than legions of police officers ever could. Freakonomics promises no central theme, but instead collects various observations, backed by statistics, that defy common sense. It doesn’t preach–it contains no \” . . . and because of this, you should fill in your pool\” moralizations–but instead presents some facts you’ve probably never realized. It entertains, instructs, and challenges some of our ingrained notions. I’m glad I let this book’s cover convince me to buy and read it.
Does anyone know where I can find a print of that apple/orange blend to hang on my wall?