Stop wasting your time with mediocrity.
Bill Gates finishes every book he reads. No, that doesn’t mean he forces himself through a bad book. Instead, he only starts reading the great ones.
How you might ask, can you know whether a book exceeds your expectation before you even start to read?
Unfortunately, there’s no bulletproof formula. Yet, there are a few simple steps that, if applied, will increase the chances of you reading only the greatest books.
My reading time changed once I followed these strategies. I no longer needed to be 100 pages in to realize I wasted my time. I no longer struggled to put a lousy book aside. I finally loved most of the >50 books I read in a year.
Not all books are created equal, and most of the books aren’t worth your time. Yet, some books have the power to change your life and make you healthier, wealthier, and wiser.
By avoiding mediocre books and choosing the greatest books, you’ll find yourself learning from the greatest thinkers that ever existed.
Here is exactly how you choose the right book for you in chronological order.
1) Search beyond bestseller lists
Yes, there’s Goodreads, and Gatesnotes, and so many other great lists indicating if you only read a few books in 2020, you should read these.
And while these lists have their raison d’être, they are only a snapshot of our time. Most of these lists contain the books from authors with the best marketing strategy, or the widest social media reach.
When you look for a great book, you should go beyond mediocre listicles. Search, for example, search through the appendix of Mortimer J. Adler’s classic How to Read a book.
If you look at human history, the chances are small that the greatest books were created in the past decade. The fundamental human problems seem to be the same in all ages: Justice, love, virtue, stability, and change itself.
Another excellent source for book recommendations are people you look up to, not necessarily living in our time. I love browsing through Ryan Holiday’s reading list.
“We may succeed in accelerating the motions of life, but we cannot seem to change the routes that are available to its ends.”
— Mortimer J. Adler
Questions to tick:
Have you looked for inspiration beyond the standard recommendations?
Do you trust or admire the recommendation source?
Which 5 books trigger your interest?
2) Do a two-minute author background check
As said, not all books are created equal. There are so many of them written by people who have never done what they’re writing. Mortimer J. Adler once said:
“The great books are the most instructive, the most enlightening.”
An author’s first-hand experience always trumps if-then scenarios.
Nobody can give you instructive, enlightening examples of things he or she has never experienced before.
Instead of judging a book by its cover, judge a book by the author’s background check.
Questions to tick:
Has the author life experience that undermine the book’s topic?
Is the author living by what s/he is writing?
Do other thoughtleaders support what s/he’s saying?
3) Check the table of content
Most people have never heard about this powerful strategy. To be honest, I didn’t know about it either. Since I know, I browsed through the table of content every time before I buy a new book.
A book’s title triggers your interest, captivates your attention. The table of content is more profound. It gives you a sneak-peak on what’s to come.
Once you’ve narrowed down your search to five or fewer potentially great books, inspect the table of content.
Not looking through the table of content is like buying a jacket without looking at the inside’s material. You won’t know what you get without taking a closer look.
Reviewing the table of content is the fastest, easiest way to judge whether a book delivers on its title. Knowing what a book is about before starting to read it will increase the likelihood of greatness.
Questions to tick:
Did you read through the table of contents?
Does the content (not the title) spark your curiosity?
Are you interested in learning what’s behind the majority of the chapters?
4) Read a 5-star and 1-star review
Some years ago, I’d read every book that had more than a 4-star rating on Goodreads. I even forced myself through a lousy book only because I thought I didn’t get the message.
For example, a super-smart friend recommended me The Truth. Goodreads suggested a solid 4.17 rating from more than 5k people. I finished the book even though it didn’t resonate with me at all. I felt I was listening to an emotionally immature adult.
There will always be books that you don’t like, but most people love.
By reading through the reviews, you can find out which type of people like a specific book. Sometimes, a strong opinion in a 1-star review makes me want to read a book while the arguments in a 5-star review make me abandon the book.
Questions to tick:
Do you sympathise with the characters writing 5* reviews?
Do you find yourself contradicting the opinions of 1* reviewers?
Can you find credible arguments to read this book?
5) Trust your gut
If you only force yourself through books, you don’t like you’ll end up thinking you don’t like reading altogether.
Ultimately, you’ll stop reading. And, by not reading a book, you don’t have an advantage over an illiterate person.
“The great books are the most readable.”
— Mortimer J. Adler
Pick the books you like.
Even if the above criteria match but you don’t like the book, don’t read it.
Mark Twain once said the great books were those everybody recommends and nobody reads, or those everyone says he intends to read and never does. I’d say he’s wrong.
The great books are the ones you genuinely enjoy reading. The ones that are the most readable for you.
“The great books are not faded glories. They are not dusty remains for scholars to investigate. They are not a record of dead civilizations. They are rather the most potent civilizing forces in the world today.”
— Mortimer J. Adler
Questions to tick:
Do you like the tone of voice?
Do you like the language and the content density?
Do you like the narrative?
Bottom Line
New books are written and published every minute. Yet, our lifetime decreases with every minute. We only have a limited number left of books we can read in our lives.
To stop reading mediocre books:
- Search for recommendations beyond bestseller lists
- Research the author’s background
- Read through the table of content.
- Skim through 5-star and 1-star reviews
- Trust your gut
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