To read you like a book...

I get a little self-conscious when I am reading a book around people I don't know...I feel like they are somehow judging me by the cover of my book. It's awkward I know... but I just can't help but wonder what they are thinking about me and my choice of literature.

Like if I was reading Harry Potter... would they be thinking, "Gees, what a follower!"

Or Nicholas Sparks... "She's one of those crazy romantic girls."

Or The Da Vinci Code... "Why is she reading that crap!?"

Or James Patterson... "Oh she's the mysterious type!"

Or The Bible... "Turn and run!"

Or The Trial by Franz Kafka... Or Dante's Inferno... Or Persuasion by Jane Austen... Or The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer... Or a Karen Kingsbury novel... Or Sisters by Danielle Steel...

Are you judging me by the authors or novels I've mentioned? It may be a silly thought... but even if no one even notices that I am reading, I still try to hide the cover of my book when reading in a public place. I fear the judgement. However, I really don't know why I care.

I think it's because what you read reveals a tiny piece of who you are... a piece I might be scared to show, even to a complete stranger. So whenever I am reading and catch a stranger's eye, so curiously leaning to see the title of my book, I shudder and try not to notice, as I adjust my position to face the opposite direction.