> I stopped reading non-fiction books. Most of them have about a blog post worth of ideas
I feel like this is very true for topics that are extremely shallow, like programming language frameworks.
Otherwise, I find that a good non-fiction book has no equal when it comes to transferring a nuanced mindset or base understanding from the author to the audience.
A tutorial is nice for what it is, a way to quickly become a beginner. Books at their best can give you so much context around they how and why that is very difficult to build by scouring the web for short form content.
I do agree, though, that bad books are insidious time wasters. I've had to find ways to quickly identify if I'm reading one of those, and I apply that process any time I start a big book (I also tend to search out opinions on good books from others before I ever have the book in my hands).
Yeah like I'm reading The Radiance of France about the French nuclear industry and there is no way a blog could be nearly as informative. A blog would be good for a few quick highlights though.
> I feel like this is very true for topics that are extremely shallow, like programming language frameworks.
I'd argue that the framework in question matters a lot. If you could link me to a blog post to get me up and running on Rails, I'd ask for a link (seriously, would be interested).
For vast frameworks like that, I think a book could be very beneficial. "Getting Started" sections can focus too much on streamlined starts when (at least personally) I'd love to dive into how the ORM works for more complex joins instead of just a single "get all" query for a single table.
I had similar thoughts before submitting, but with Spring Framework in mind.
I agree that books like 'Spring in Action' are extremely beneficial, but I also think that the real benefit for me has been in understanding the nuance and context, not an exhaustive covering of details.
I've given up reading plenty of books that are really just reference manuals.
What metrics do you use to identify vacuous books? My current methods so far:
1) Check user reviews for complaints of repetition
2) Read the Table of Contents. If the chapter titles seem more "narrative" (e.g. The Man that Couldn't Tell a Lie..) I expect the kind of fluff I see on social media.
3) Read a chapter towards the middle or end of a book and see if it is building on prior concepts or just rehashing them and presenting new, potentially irrelevant information.
I feel like this is very true for topics that are extremely shallow, like programming language frameworks.
Otherwise, I find that a good non-fiction book has no equal when it comes to transferring a nuanced mindset or base understanding from the author to the audience.
A tutorial is nice for what it is, a way to quickly become a beginner. Books at their best can give you so much context around they how and why that is very difficult to build by scouring the web for short form content.
I do agree, though, that bad books are insidious time wasters. I've had to find ways to quickly identify if I'm reading one of those, and I apply that process any time I start a big book (I also tend to search out opinions on good books from others before I ever have the book in my hands).