You can't digest a green book well:
Its cover shows it isn't ripe.
The lemon-covered ones won't sell --
Their plots don't work, the readers gripe.
A book that's blue is always sad,
And makes you wipe your eyes and nose.
A purple book is not so bad,
But you had best beware its prose.
A book with orange binding's tart,
And one in grey will tend to pall.
A book that's blank is hard to start:
You can't make out the text at all.
The black books you should not get in:
Their owners seldom let you out.
The white ones may be purged of sin --
But also interest, no doubt.
It's best, whenever you've a need
For books, to skip this bunch; instead,
It makes more sense to choose to read
A book more popular -- that's red!
Originally published in SUL News Notes, January 7, 1994.
c 1994, 1995 Fleabonnet Press for the author.