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For me, for a new field, I never know which is the "best" book. And whichever it is - it's not complete; there are additional nuggets to be found, maybe in the
by ci5er 10y ago
For me, for a new field, I never know which is the "best" book. And whichever it is - it's not complete; there are additional nuggets to be found, maybe in the corner of a minor chapter, in many/most of them. I will read ~100 to just get a feel for the lay of the land. This is because I don't know what I don't know and certainly don't know enough to pick the best! And then go back and re-read (with more directedness) 10~20 of them, and then settle in and make 1~5 of them my touch stones for re-re-reading over time. This last bit is because I have a leaky brain, and I need to refresh it from time-to-time.
- TeMPOraL 10y ago> For me, for a new field, I never know which is the "best" book. Solution for that is pretty simple for very many fields: Google: - best books on <field X> - best books on <field X> reddit Read a few lists from sites, especially those frequented by people in that field. See which books tend to appear often in those lists. There, you have quite probably just identified the very best books for the <field X> the human race has to offer.
- ci5er 10y agoWell, sure. Those are the conclusions of people who have already formed their own mental structures. Somehow. That part is not shared. Or maybe they haven't read the books available themselves; there's a shocking number of humans willing to publish their conclusions based on ... sometimes nothing. ("You'll love this book! It's the best! Trust me!") I find that (for me) that the process of forming my own mental structures from the fire-hose to be useful. Partly because what a beginner needs and what an expert recommends often don't line up. Experts have forgotten what it's like to be a beginner.