You Can't Judge a Book by Its Cover

The saying goes: "You can’t judge a book by its cover."

But I do think you may be able to judge it by the first few chapters. Four years ago, I made a resolution to read more. My goal was to read at least one book per month. At the end of the year, my final count was 50! I've read about the same amount each year since then . . . until last year.

Last year I discovered audiobooks. I can listen to audiobooks when I'm doing all of my mind-numbing housework or brushing my teeth and getting ready for bed at night. My final count of all books read/listened to for 2014 was 96. Looking over the list (of course I made a list of the books I read . . . doesn't everyone?), I discovered that I only really enjoyed a third of those books.

I admit it. I have a problem. If I start a book, I HAVE to finish it. Sometimes a book is so boring that I can hardly keep my eyes open every time I pick it up. I can't even fathom the idea of not finishing the book, though. What if it suddenly gets better and I miss it?

The problem? The vast majority of the time the book does not get any better. In fact, often times it gets worse.

So why can't I just stop reading?!

Because books are my friends. Yes, I want to give the author the benefit of the doubt, but more so I want to give the characters in the book a 2nd, 3rd, 50th chance. I fully immerse myself in the story (yes, I cheer for the heroes -who are incidentally now my friends - and boo the bad guys - who are now my worst enemies) . . . no matter how bad that story is.

Well, at least I know I won't miss out on that diamond in the rough.