Preview Books Before You Read Them

 

I read a lot of fiction books for entertainment, and I pick the books I want to read by subjects that interest me. I will read some reviews and then read the first page or two. If it interests me, I buy and if not, I don’t.

When I read nonfiction books that’s a different story. I’m not reading for entertainment; I’m reading to learn something or gain information about a subject. Many books will bore you to death trying to find out the important stuff that’s spread out over 200-300 pages when the authors could tell you everything, they know about the subject in 10 or 12 pages.  That’s not the book I want, and that type of book is a waste of my time and money.

How do you know if a nonfiction book is worth buying and reading?

Preview it.

Previewing a book gives you a general overview of the book, what it’s all about, and it allows you to quickly determine if the book is even worth your time.

How to preview a book

Read reviews on Amazon and the internet. What do other reviewers say? Does the book have mostly positive or negative reviews? What are they saying about the book? Do the negative reviewers recommend a better book on the subject?

Then open the book and follow these steps to preview the book:

Who is the author? What is their background? What makes them qualified to speak on this subject? Are they an expert in the field? Are they still current in the field? Is the information up to date and current, or is it possibly outdated and no longer relevant? Why should you read their book?

Read the book’s description. Does it layout a good path for the truth to be found inside? Is it simple and to the point? A well thought out description takes a lot of time to do well. If it is good the book is often worth reading.

Skim through the Intro. The intro is the place for authors to put their best ideas to get people excited about the rest of the book. If the intro doesn’t grab you or fails to include a single great idea, then the book is probably not worth reading.

Read the Preface and see what other authors say about this book.

Are the chapter headings in the table of contents arranged so they make sense and the information flows in a logical manner?

Read the chapter introductions and summaries, the first and last couple of paragraphs of each chapter, anything the author has done to make the text stand out: bold, italics, bullet points, lists, large font sizes, images, diagrams etc. as well as the conclusion.

Check out the references and testimonials. Who are they? Do you know any of them? If it is someone whose work you have read before and liked, you will probably like the work they are promoting. What are their credentials? A book backed up by many good references is a book that is often worth reading.

Conclusion

I don't read books just because someone else recommends them. Their taste and mine are usually different. The only way to know if a book is right for you, is to preview it. Previewing a book shouldn’t take very long and afterwards, you will be able to answer the question, do I really want to read this book?