Tag: recommend

Yesterday I discussed changes to my reading strategy, and I mentioned that I would write about how I selected books to engage in.

Well, why not today?

How do I choose a book:

• Any book I pick has recommendations by someone I respect
  • This knocks out “book browsing” by a certain degree, I don’t like buying things just to buy them – and recommendations cut down the noise factor significantly.
• After that recommendation, I write it down.
• If I get a second recommendation, I find the book on Amazon
  • This second recommendation takes many forms
    • If another person talks about it
    • If I see it everywhere
    • If I read about it enough
  • If the book has more than 30 reviews and 5 stars, I buy it immediately
    • This has gotten me into some trouble recently, and left me over extended.
  • If it has between 4 and 5 stars I put it in a folder called “books to consider”
    • This list is the one I go through at the end of the year. In 2015, 50 books ended up purchased here.
      • Thought: Compare EOY books with books bought in moment.
  • Less than 4 stars
    • Delete for now, but store it in the memory banks if more recommendations come up.

It is a simple guide, and guided me pretty well over the last few years.

There are exceptions – if Seth, Jason,Mark, or Sean recommend a book, I buy it immediately. They have fantastic track records and I trust them greatly.