One Incredibly Simple Trick to Tell If the Book Is Worth Your Time
Stop wasting your time on the books you don’t enjoy
“Sleep is good, he said, and books are better.” ― George R. R. Martin.
Books are magic.
It’s a great way to relax, entertain yourself, and get inspired. Books help us learn, write, dream, and have fun — you name it.
Unfortunately, only a small fraction of the books in the world is really good. The rest is not worth your time.
So how do you know?
I spent my fair share of time on books I didn’t enjoy. Some of them I read till the end; others I put aside forever. Since time is a limited resource, I know I could have used it better.
When I implemented this new trick in my life, it changed the way I select books. It helps me find books to read next and prevents me from wasting my time on the books I don’t enjoy.
In this article, I share how I use this trick to find my next best read. After reading this story, you’ll know how you can discover non-fiction books that are worth your time.
15 Minutes a Day Keep a Sh*tty Book Away
If you’re a self-improvement enthusiast like me, you probably read many non-fiction books.
However, many of them are full of fluff. They often have an appealing promise but don’t deliver on it. Essentially, they are useless.
When I found out about an online book summary service, I was skeptical at first.
“A book summary — so basic,” I thought.
I have never been a fan of book summaries. It seemed like cheating — why would you pretend to read a book when you can actually read one.
I changed my mind when I discovered another perspective.
A short recap of the book is a great way to learn what the book is about. It gives you a chance to understand whether the book is interesting for you.
I decided to use this angle to my advantage.
I discovered Blinkist — a subscription-based service that provides summaries of non-fiction books.
If you’re a paid user, you can get unlimited access to Blinkist’s entire library. As a free user, you can access one summary a day. In this case, you can’t choose which book it is going to be —the app updates daily suggestions automatically.
The length of the summaries might differ. From my experience, the average is around 15 minutes — enough time to get the idea behind the book and understand whether it’s worth digging deeper.
How You Can Use This Trick to Your Advantage
Blinkist is a great way to learn more about a book prior to committing to it.
Before you embark on a reading journey with a 500-page book, listening to a summary first can help you understand whether it’s worth it and avoid spending hours and days on it.
When you listen to a Blinkist book summary, you have a chance to discover a topic or a book that is intriguing to you and want to learn more. In this case, create a “want to read” list of validated books and add this book there.
When you choose your next non-fiction book to read, open this list and select the one you’ve already confirmed is worth your time.
If you feel the summary was enough to grasp the idea of the book, let it go and move on. It’s okay that not every book meets your expectations. Sometimes it comes at the right point in time. Other times it might not seem so relevant anymore.
But it’s still a win-win: you got acquainted with the essence of the book without spending hours on it.
You can even mark the book as read if you’re not planning to come back to it. It’s not about the number of books you read or listen to. It’s about not wasting time and focusing on the content that will benefit you.
While having access to one summary a day might seem like a limitation, it also has its benefits.
You save time on selecting what you want to listen to today. You open the app and decide whether to play it or not. It’s as simple as that. If today’s book summary is not exciting, you come back tomorrow.
The idea is to use it consistently and make it a habit. Over time, you’ll build a list of worthy books you want to read that are full of ideas. You can benefit from them, so they are worth your time.
Building your reading list with worthy books helps you focus only on useful books. Keep in mind that this trick only works with non-fiction books. Reading summaries for fiction books should be forbidden.
In Summary
If you’re on your self-improvement journey, using a book summary service is an efficient way to find your next best read and accelerate your learning. It helps you grasp the essence of the book and prevents you from wasting your time on the ones that don’t add value.
If you have many books on your shelves and don’t know what to read next, try this trick:
- Listen to summaries of non-fiction books on Blinkist.
- Add your favorites to the reading list of worthy books.
- Choose your next best read from the list you’ve built.
Take advantage of this free resource, and you’ll no longer waste time on books that are not worth it. Even a few minutes every day can make a difference in the long term — you’ll build up a library of the books you’ll enjoy.
Disclaimer: This story is not sponsored in any way and is written based on my personal experience.
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