Books and Looks

Never judge a book by its cover, but can you judge a person by their books? This morning I had a humbling event. I was walking into work, my snazzy heel clicking satisfyingly along the pavement, when I ran into a woman who works for us on the fifth floor. I have spoken with her briefly before (she smokes so it is usually as I am walking by her out of the front door), but I don’t know her name and I have no idea what she does for us. My impression of her, totally based on her exterior, is that she is a nice lady, friendly, maybe a little passive, maybe shy. Not the smartest or highest educated, but not stupid; generally nice. We walked together to the elevator stopped to wait. One of the elevators is broken so it too awhile. I glanced over to her and she was holding a massive book. I looked closer and read the title. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy.

“What a great book,” I said, “What do you think?”

“Oh, I have wanted to read this for awhile. It is a new translation and it is incredible. I am really enjoying it.”

The fact that I was so surprised that this woman would be reading and enjoying this book made me feel really bad. I had seen her as someone who wasn’t sophisticated or smart enough to enjoy, let alone understand, Russian literature. Then again, just because she likes Anna Karenina doesn’t mean she is a super genius. So, no more judging people by their looks, but I will still have to look at their books.