A Recent Question

Someone recently asked me, "What are you reading beside the Bible?" My answer, "I am reading a book by Vince Poscente, The Age of Speed." The question then popped up. "How do you choose the books you read?"

I have a habit of walking into bookstores and scanning the recent bestseller rack and the the rack filled with recent books for business men, leaders, and managers. That's how I found my present book.

Here's my favorite method of choosing a book and the one that I shared with my young friend. It may work for you or it may not. But what really counts is that it works for me. You need to discover your own style.

1. The title of the book usually causes me to stop scanning the racks.
2. If the title grabs my attention, I usually pick up the book and read the back cover to find out what others have to say about it. It's helpful to me if one of the commentors is an author that I am familiar with or I have read their book.
3. If I am still interested, I usually open the book to the table of contents and read the chapter headings.
4. If I find an interesting chapter heading, I will turn to those pages and stand in the bookstore and start skimming through the chapter.
5. By now my interest has really been pricked, so I go back to the preface and read why the author is writing the book. I no longer can resist the temptation and off I go to the counter to buy the book.

That's my favorite method of choosing a book. Sometimes, a friend or colleague will recommend a book to me. I will then get it. But by far my favorite way is just to wonder into a bookstore and start looking. I guess I like to shop for a book like some people enjoy shopping for clothes.

The important thing is that you never stop reading and are always expanding your mind. I can thank my mom for my interest in reading. I remember her for almost always having a book nearby that she was reading.