Reading a book in five minutes, or judging a book by its cover

I was at the Main Library last week for a training session on Reader's Advisory, which is the art of recommending both fiction and nonfiction books. We learned how interpret the clues from the cover art and blurbs of the book. In addition to skimming the book, those clues can give a good sense of what a book is about. This is called reading a book in five minutes.

I'm sure that's very similar to what a lot of library customers do in order to decide if they want to check out a book. In fact, that's what I did after the class was over. In the new fiction area, I found a book called Tunneling to the Center of the Earth by Kevin Wilson. I liked the cover art, and the recommendations were made by other authors that I enjoy. It turned out to be a good choice - I really liked the book and would suggest it to anyone who likes Steven Millhauser or Kelly Link.