Judging a book by its cover

Working in a book store has afforded me a unique insight into the personal lives of strangers.

I have found, you are what you read. 

Because what you choose to read reflects your beliefs, interests and desires. 

Christians will read Christian literature, community theater college students will buy "Screenplays for Dummies," and teenagers will read Twilight. 

In one glance at your merchandise, a picture of who you really are and what you really want, begins to form. First dates have already figured out this dynamic: If a guy shows up to a girls house for a date and sees Why Men Love Bitches sitting on the coffee table, this will be their first and last date. 

Why? Because this guy can tell from one (seemingly insignificant) choice of reading material, this girl is probably bitter and possessive. Just like happy people don't read "I'm Gonna Kill Myself" books, emotionally healthy girls don't read bipolar, self help, crap. 

I see customers every week whose choice of books never cease to surprise me. Perfectly normal looking people check out with stacks of end times literature. Guys in backwards caps leave with physics books, and the prettiest girls I've seen in my life are always buying books about how to find Mr. Right. 

It's counterintuitive. Nobody are sometimes not who I expect them to be, which leads me to believe maybe you simultaneously can and can't judge a book by its cover. 

And yet, more often then not, people are who I expect them to be. I'm even able to predict what certain demographics will buy. Older white men read Tom Clancy novels and historical biographies. Women between the ages of 18-40 read Nicholas Sparks and Kathryn Stockett's The Help. And how many studded bracelets you wear, directly relates to how many graphic novels you purchase. 

Sometimes I see too far into my customers lives... like the kid who buys the craziest S&M bondage books I have ever seen. Or the girl who keeps buying goofy books like, "Being Your Own Best Friend."  

Some choices point to struggles and addictions. 

There's a man who has come in nearly everyday for a month asking for the new playboy. I wonder, can he even remember a time when he had control over his cravings?

A 20-something indian girl buys a shelf of romance novels every month. You know the ones, with covers showing mens exposed nipples on them. Does she know she is worthy of a real life relationship? One where the man wears a functional buttoned up shirt and doesn't do everything ravenously. 

Still, other reading habits reveal deep wounds. 

Just a few days ago, a woman came to the counter with three relationship "How To" books, and one book titled "Widow To Widow."  

Identifying my own reading habits also taught me about myself. When I finally realized my call to ministry, it made sense why I chose to read dense German theology in my free time. 

Reading is powerful because it shapes you. 

The ancient Rabbis  knew this, and so they put honey one the tongues of their disciples when they learned to recite a new verse from the Torah; to remind them the word of God is good and pleasing.

Jeremiah says, 

When your words came, I ate them; 

   they were my joy and my heart’s delight,
for I bear your name,
   LORD God Almighty.

Jeremiah is saying, I heard your words and they became a part of me— which is what compelling literature does. 

Any teacher will tell you what you read as a child will greatly effect you. Most of us love Dr. Suess because we grew up reading his books. 

Then, as you get older, you latch onto certain books that teach and challenge you: subverting your whole way of thinking. These are the books we read over and over again — as they slowly become a part of our souls. 

What are you reading and what does it say about you? Do you have addictions? Are you searching for easy answers from some Hollywood guru; when the bible invites you to consume truth and healing into your very soul. 

How are you being shaped by what you read?