With over 90,000 new books published annually in the U.S., how do I find the right one?
I was overjoyed a few weeks ago. A new IPad app was released that allows me to check out eBooks from my local library. Just what I needed, right? Access to more books. Perfect example of the question I’m addressing; how do we navigate the glut of books available in today’s world?
To continue examining this dilemma let’s look at a few ways to speed up our decision making process concerning the worthiness of a book. Here are a few ideas..
1. Scan the book in order to get a good overview of its content.
Scanning a book involves a careful review of its contents, starting with the jacket of the book. Read the remarks, who's endorsing it? Are they the experts? Etc. If it seems favorable, move to the table of contents and then to the Introduction.
Gather as much information as possible about the author and the book. Is he or she an expert in their field? Is the book ground-shaking in its reviews?
Don’t forget to “thumb” through the book to note items like charts, quotes, illustrations, etc. By the end of scan you should have a good feel for what the author is trying to accomplish. Then make a decision. It should take no longer than 5-10 minutes.
2. Like the book? If so, move on to Ransack the book.
To ransack a book means to read portions of a book in order to glean new ideas, information or material. It’s the step beyond the scan.
As a general rule of thumb, books with material that you are already familiar with should be ransacked. A good place to start would be with chapter titles, especially those that catch your attention.
According to Dr. Bobby Clinton, books that do not add much information to your arsenal probably do not need to be read in their entirety. Ransacking a book could take from 30 minutes to 2 hours.
Conclusion
Incorporate these two methods into your perusal of new reading material, and you’ll be on the way to discovering just the right books for you. Keep in mind that many books should be read at the levels discussed above.
We’ll pick up on this topic again next week. We’ll look at several methods of deeper reading.
Coach John
Acknowledgement
In my graduate studies at Southwestern Christian University in Bethany OK I was introduced to Dr. Bobby Clinton’s book, Reading on the Run. The blog post is based on this book and his framework for higher-level in-depth reading skills. Thank you Dr. Clinton.
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