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I try guesstimating the "information density". Often you can tell from the title that a topic is so specific that the book shouldn't be as long as it is. Self h
by signaru 3y ago
I try guesstimating the "information density". Often you can tell from the title that a topic is so specific that the book shouldn't be as long as it is. Self help books selling you one revolutionary idea are an example. Other books (often general business advice types) will fill themselves with many examples, but there's little novelty with each next example. On the other hand, some topics, e.g. history, would have to present a lot of facts that you wouldn't have guessed otherwise (unless you've read something similar before), so I'm inclined toward these books.
- muzani 3y agoYup, I use information density too. Take notes for half an hour, see how many notes you have and how far in you are. Really good books are so information dense that the notes are thicker than the book. Caveat: Older books are harder to read, not necessarily because they have more information, but because the context is lost today. In a certain era, you're immersed in it, and some things don't need explaining. I spent a lot of time searching for what a Greek chorus is, seems like it's the ancient equivalent of a laugh track.