How do you know whether to ignore, read, or buy a book?

This post is for those who have ever finished a book and said, “I not only want my money back, but I want my day back! That was awful.”

Congratulations! You have joined the club of discerning readers. In a way that can be a good thing because it means you are either 1. Reading widely; 2. Reading a new author; or 3. Reading thoughtfully.

Or it could mean you need some help with choosing books. That is what we will do here. Here are a few tips – then add your own in the comment section.

  1. Evaluate the externals.
    1. Before you get any further:
      • Does it have an interesting title?
      • Does it have a good cover?
      • Does it have a good publisher?
      • Does it have good recommendations?
      • Does it have a picture of a lonely looking woman on the cover? Chances are that is how you will feel after reading it.
  2. Read reviews!
    1. Before you ever read a book you have to, have to, have to read a review on it. This tip alone can save you hundreds of hours of confusing, heretical, and just plain poor writing.
    2. A great place to do this is at www.amazon.com . Make sure you check the “helpful box” on the fair reviews and the “not helpful” box on the bad ones – giving the fair reviews a higher standing than the biased ones. I post all my reviews over there.
    3. Other places include googlebooks.com and goodreads.com
      • I have found that Amazon normally has the best ones.
  3. If you don’t know the author, check it out at a library.
  4. Find good authors and stick with them.
    1. If they consistently put out good material, buy it.
      • Supporting them helps them write more. Everyone benefits.
      • In addition, get other people hooked on them.
    2. We have a few authors that we try to buy whatever they have written
      1. Fiction
        • C.S. Lewis
        • Andrew Peterson (Wingfeather Saga)
        • N. D. Wilson
      2. Christian living
        • Jerry Bridges
        • Tim Keller
        • David Powlison
        • Martha Peace
        • Elizabeth George
        • Paul Tripp

What are some criteria you put on reading/buying books? Do you have any authors you could recommend to us?