Welcome to Gaia! ::

lol I don't do this. I love books so much, and even if someone's reading a book I don't like, I think, Well at least they're reading.

I see what you mean, though. People get along when they have things in common so if they differ in book taste it may be hard to get along. xp

My best friend reads Twilight and if they weren't my best friend and I didn't know what they read. I would judge them and say they have a very poor taste in books.

Twilight's a social stigma at this point, because the franchise is tied to fanatical fangirls, and occasionally, fanatical moms.

I read the book before the movie took off, and liked the storytelling, not the perspective on women and relationships.

I think what you're calling judgment is more people watching. I like seeing what book someone likes enough to read out in public, and see if I know the title or author. If I can't, I make a game of guessing what genre it is from what I can see of the cover, or by the size.

Which mass market paperback genre is that? Which hardcover is he reading without the slipcover?

I also do the same thing when I hear people speaking or see them writing Japanese. I try to guess how long they've been studying by handwriting or pronunciation. I usually have to stop myself from going up and introducing myself, lol.

That's the reason I'm happy I don't have any more intro level writing/lit courses. Every time, 30/40 students would say they don't have time to read, but they watch movie adaptations and claim they've read the book, or regularly buy magazines because the articles are so deep.

I have to quote you here, even though its horribly off topic by saying that, for the record. I am a 17 year old male, have no problem with fantasy, vampire, or romance novels, and have been reading at a college level since I was in fifth grade. It is a this point that I have to say, I read Twilight and New Moon on the recommendation of a cousin when they were brand new, and movies weren't even being thought of, and even at that point I found the narration sloppy and confusing, the storyline loose and uninviting, and the characters flat and boring. Now, so that I am not horribly off topic, I am guilty of judging people by what they read, although I try to say "What else have you read recently?" or "What are your favorite books?" befiore I make any conclusions, although I am not saying I haven't seen someone reading Twilight next to someone reading, lets say, Silence of the Lambs and immediatly felt more inclined to the latter reader. Although I have to say that from a psychological standpoint, alot of judging people by what they are reading doenss't have to do with the book. It has to do with the person and their appearance, the way they read, the way the hold the book itself and how easily distracted they are. I think someone reading Eragon on a Kindle and someone reading Eragon in hardback, and someone reading Eragon in paperback all get judged differently because of the way they read. The hardcover says "i love books, and they are an investment I want to last a long time" The softcover says "I like to read but I probably won't read this more than once or twice" whereas the Kindle states "I love/like to read, but dont value books as objects".

I don't tend to judge people by what they read. I enjoy all kinds of books and so it makes me happy that people read at all. Like everyone else has been saying, there are not that many people, especially young people, that read anymore. People would rather spend their time on Facebook then to sit down and read a good book. I have a friend who I've been trying to get into reading for years now. I FINALLY talked her into getting a library card! So when my friends do read, I don't care what they are reading, I think it's awesome that they *are*.

Now I do have to say though that I have stayed away from the whole Twilight scene. But while I admit that, I have this to say:

I have two girl friends who have read the Twilight series. One of them enjoyed the books and that doesn't bother me at all. The other is obsessed. "My skin is so pale like Bella's. Edward is so dreamy, he's the perfect man." She's always talking about the characters, especially Edward, as if they are her close friends. I do not judge her for having read and enjoyed Twilight. I judge her because of her obsession lol. It's one thing to appreciate the books because they feel they were well written and the plot was good and the characters real. But it does bug me when people barricade themselves in that world and try to pretend it is real, when that is the only thing they've ever read for fun, when they only got into it because it was what was hip and cool to be into. Yes, books are about getting lost in a different world. But this is still the real world, we aren't living in a fantasy.

I don't judge people by what book they are reading but I judge them by the books they have in their room.
I did read Twilight but I also read Oscar Wilde so I would hate for someone to brand me as a Twilight reader.
I think that you can get a whole picture of somebody by the books they own though.