By Grant Snider, © Grant Snider 2020
At any given time, two or three… or five or more books sit patiently adjacent to my favorite reading spot in the living room. Each manuscript vying for my attention, hoping I will choose them for my post-dinner read. Most evenings more than one book earns the advancement of their bookmark. Every few days one or more books are bestowed the completion award. Some books wait weeks or even months, while others are devoured in one sitting. I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf is one such book to triumph in one sitting.
I know it may seem eccentric, but I photograph those heroic bindings. My thought process is: “Wouldn’t it be nice to post the picture and share the author’s intellectual or artistic achievements with others”. This is one of those rare occasions that I got around to sharing a review.
But before you heap praise on this rare soul for achieving this public review status, be aware that I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf took a few short cuts to ease my reading journey.
I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf is a124 page compilation of comic strip anecdotes about the habits of book readers like me—those that have an addiction to books. It cleverly dissects our complex and compulsive relationship with them. The first part creatively and comically dives into the neurotic relationship booklovers have with their collections and relationship with books. It then transitions into the realm of writing fantasies of many booklovers.
Typically, I research books before reading and certainly before purchasing. However, I Will Judge You by Your Bookshelf, lured me into a spontaneous purchase based on its title and cover. In this case, ‘judging a book by its cover’ was successful and accurate.
Tim Palmer © January 5, 2025