Loser or Lover? What Bookcases Reveal?

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I read this article today on Lavalife, and I wondered.. have you ever judged someone on their book collection? I did once, the guy had a few books on Scientology on his shelf, and I had a hard time taking him seriously after that. What about you? --- By Kelly Jones You can learn a ton about a person from their book collection. Personal libraries can reflect intellectual interests, literary leanings and religious and political dispositions. Even the way publications are stacked can tell a story about a personality. What does your date's assortment of books reveal about them? Stranger Than Fiction There are two general camps -- readers of fiction and readers of non-fiction. While members of the first club might claim that there is more truth, beauty and understanding about the world and human psyche to be derived from fiction, fans of non-fiction might feel that learning through stories cannot compare to the straightforwardness of plain fact and details. I think it's fair to say that both are right to some degree. Regardless, what matters is what you believe. Quality Versus Quantity Don't be intimidated by a room stacked with books from floor to ceiling. Anyone can snatch a trunk full of poorly written paperbacks from a garage sale for $5 and call it a library. Remember that there's quality literature and, well -- no offence to V.C. Andrews -- there's reading for escape. Taking a look at the authors' names and cover treatments (gaudy and shiny, say, in a standard pocketbook format versus less flashy cover treatment in a trade paperback) will tell you about the quality of a person's books. If he's collected a number of books by the same author or poet, it shows premeditated purchasing and a preference for a certain writing style -- hinting also at a seasoned reader. Just What the Reader Ordered Some folks store their books alphabetically by author or title, others by genre or topic. Many line up their books by order of size -- trade paperbacks here, pocketbooks there, pornographic comic books under the mattress. But these are just the obvious systems. You may come across bookshelves that appear to have no order at all. Don't be fooled. While it's true that some may not give a thought to the way they keep their books, there are few collections that don't embrace some system. For example, one mess of a bookcase might actually reveal a chronological pattern -- by date published or read. The degree of organization is what reveals the most about your newest flame. If every book in her house is lined neatly in bookcases, and those shelves are labeled alphabetically alongside a dewy-decimal filing-card drawer, your date may verge on the anally organized. Likewise, you can deduce that your recent fling may be a bit scatterbrained if all his books are merely stacked on the ground in piles along the hallway, with library cards from 1998 spilling from plastic wrapped covers. A Conditional Love Books that are scribbled in, with comments or underlines or doodles, can mean a few things. It's possible your date may have bought many of his books second-hand (which bodes well for the environmentally friendly and money-conscious) or perhaps your companion used her books as a form of note-taking while at school (sacrilege or academically thorough?). There's also a chance that he knew, at first reading, that he would be revisiting the book again and again and thought to highlight favorite sections (a sentimental, thinker type). If all volumes have bookmarks in them and appear unfinished, you may wonder about your beau's ability to follow through.