Judging a non-fiction book

Checklist

Accuracy

The most difficult for a novice to judge, and the most important.

• is there a reference list?
• how wide-ranging does it seem to be? (are all the references from the same few authors? do they all seem to be from the same approach? e.g., if the book is about accelerated learning, are most of the references it quotes also from proponents of accelerated learning?)
• how solid do the references seem to be? (again, difficult to judge if you're a novice in the field, but as a rule of thumb, a preponderance of references from academic journals (e.g., Journal of Educational Psychology, as opposed to The New Age Journal, or Metro) or from books that are collections of academic articles (as evidenced by the name of the article succeeded by "In (name of book)) is better than a list of book titles.

Currency

Check the publication date. Scan the dates of the references.

Usefulness

How closely does the book’s content match your needs?

Comprehensiveness

Does the amount of detail match your needs? Too much detail can be as bothersome as not enough.

Balance

Is the book up-front about where the author is coming from?

Checklist

Readability

Introductions and initial chapters can be misleading - written at a simpler, more accessible level than later chapters. Open the book in the middle and read a few pages.

• Are you comfortable with the vocabulary used — especially the level of jargon and technical language?
• Are the sentences long and grammatically complex?
• Is the text broken up with sufficient headings, pictures etc?

Background knowledge assumed

The introduction or initial pages should tell you whether the book is aimed at experts, students / keen amateurs, or people with no background in the subject at all. But it's also wise to double-check. Check the table of contents and select the most complex sounding chapter. Scan the first few pages to see whether you can understand enough of it (bear in mind that you don't have to completely understand it - you're starting in the middle after all).

Memorability

Organization
Information designed to be easily remembered will be presented in a format that helps you select the most important information, and helps you make connections between bits of information. Summaries, headings, diagrams, pictures, etc, all help organize information to make it more memorable.

Clarity
To be memorable, information also needs to be understood, so the clear expression of ideas is also required for memorability.

Detail
Fascinating, peculiar, humorous, or otherwise distinctive details are memorable in their own right, and aid your remembering of the text.

Interest

A subjective judgment of course, but very important, not only to the readability and memorability of the book's content, but also to whether you're going to bother reading it!

Availability

How expensive is it? Is it available from a library or friend?

Length

How long is the book? How long are the chapters? Are you comfortable with this length?