Found a trick at the library book sale that changed how I pick non-fiction

Last Saturday I was at the Friends of the Library sale and this older guy was going through a stack of history books. He told me to flip to the bibliography first. If the sources are solid, the book is worth reading. I used to just grab whatever looked interesting on the cover. Now I check the back notes before buying anything. Has anyone else got a weird way they decide if a book is good?

3 comments

3 Comments

jenny_coleman12d agoTop Commenter

Flip to the bibliography first"... wow. That's actually kind of genius. I've been burned by so many non-fiction books that sound great on the cover but fall apart after two chapters. Definitely trying this at the next sale.

gavinw4512d ago

Yeah @jenny_coleman, isn't it wild how we'll trust a book just because the cover looks good but never check what's actually backing it up? It's kind of the same thing with restaurants that have flashy menus but serve frozen food.

laura18912d ago

Friend of mine grabbed a bestselling health book because the cover was all clean design and promises. She got home, flipped to the back, and every source was either a blog or a single study from twenty years ago. Never bought another book without checking first.