How to Find Books That are Actually Worth Your Time

Huge thanks to Audible for sponsoring this video!

I get this question surprisingly often: "How can I avoid wasting my time on bad books?" In other words, how do you find and pick the BEST books? Where do you go to get great book recommendations?

In this video, I'll share some of the resources I use to find the books that I read.

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[kritik]

I don't know who quoted this but here it goes -
"Reading? It's not about how many books you go through, it's about how many books go through you"

[astarte_silver]

"Don't finish a bad book" is the best advice when it comes to optimizing time and enjoy reading.

[lesleywatts]

Also, ask a librarian. Helping people find books they will enjoy or discover information they need is a huge part of our job.

[greatbookie]

“In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.” ― Mortimer J. Adler

[AndyZaturno]

I stopped buying books for two reasons. I only like them in physical form and they are expensive most of the times, and second, public libraries have amazing books that you can actually borrow. If you really like it, then you can buy it then to store in your own library. Why you didn't mention libraries?

Andy

[Mianroca]

This is why I look up to this man. He has a good taste for books, and his videos are helpful and precise.

[anabananana]

"A short history of nearly everything" is one of my favorite books as well, so surprised when someone else mentions it. Great video😊

[youstinanagi]

Thomas, THANK YOU. You perfectly and quickly answered my questions. It is such a relief to know them . I respect your efforts so much. I'm also proud and happy to hear my own words in your video.

[whoareu-podcastaboutlifeat]

I would recommend Goodreads as well. In my experience the reviews are quite reliable!

Another way I passively find out about new/recommended books is through podcasts. The podcast Fresh Air is always interviewing authors. I've found so many great books that way.

[matthewmatherly]

I know everyone has different interests when it comes to reading, but a few books that I have enjoyed reading are as followed:
• Ego Is The Enemy (Ryan Holiday)
• The Obstacle Is The Way (Ryan Holiday)
• The Second Mountain: The Quest For A Moral Life (David Brooks)
• The Road To Character (David Brooks)
• Rising Strong (Brene Brown)
• Daring To Lead (Brene Brown)


One might say that a more accurate assessment is three authors that changed my life as I listed a couple books by each author that I've come to enjoy reading and have learned to grow my perspective and personal self from what I've read and apply them to my own life and situations that happen within it. I've always been a strong believer that while reading is fundamentally important and essential to helping us learn and grow, it's all in how we apply it as well. I hope for those that see this comment and decided to read any of these books or if you've already read any of them you can share your experiences below. I hope you can experience as much joy from these books as I have come to know. Keep reading what you love and find interesting and grow as much as you can as a person.

[noodlepoodleoddle]

Also don't ever be afraid to start reading multiple books at once. You don't have to commit to everything, as long as one of them is enjoyable you already won.

[chandugatti]

You're such a great inspiration for me. Your videos have changed they way of my life. Keep posting great stuff, as always! :)

[Rocketr]

I like Naval Ravikan'ts approach to reading. He doesn't force himself to finish a book he started, he just reads whatever he's curious about. I haven't fully adopted his philosophy, but he do notice that at times I lose reading momentum if what I'm reading is not that interesting to me, and I skip reading for 1-2 days. Sometimes I also just need a break from a certain book, and then come back to it at a later point, or I don't. The only time I try to be consistent is with text books that I'm trying to study. But because of that I try to read 2-3 categories of books each day, so that I'm always reading something "interesting". The categories would be text-book/study-book (something that requires more focus), non-fiction (something I'm interested in) and fiction (the last book of the day and to balance my reading habits and create diversity in the topics I read).

[JLchevz]

deleting the TBR list is great, if you really wanted to read something youd buy the book right away, instead the tbr list just gives you anxiety lol

[TheNickChug]

I was JUST having this issue the other day! Thanks for another great video!

[charliegoodson]

Thinking Fast and Slow is truly a life-changing book. It should be a required read before starting college. Great video thanks for the recommendations.

[drntisf]

And sometimes its good to read so called “classics” I found the books that we read in literature class such as Dostoevsky, Camus, Jane Austin, Fitzgerald, and etc. very interesting and entertaining. There might be boring books, but there won’t be “bad” books if you find them in this way.
Also, there is a list made by Ted, “why you should read” series, and it’s helpful.

[glenmattson]

Thank you for making this video. My wife is a writer of clean historical romance novels based on places we have traveled. Now that I have retired, I am helping her publish Mellyora Ashley books for others to enjoy. I appreciate your help in this video showing how she might get her books discovered by those looking for enjoyable reads about actual places and history in England.

[treeoflife]

Great video. I agree that reading a summary is like getting notes from friends. Even reading a book second time is a very different experience as you notice different things and make new connections.
When it comes to reading lists, when I add a book to it, I also add a reference (where did I heard it, why it got me interested). That way (hopefully) I will be able to evaluate better when the time comes, if it's still relevant/a good reason to read the book.

[arock]

Tom, Ive been around for a long time and appreachiate every video you release. They really do help. Fam, the dislike percentage of basically all of your videos say something very good about you as a content creator.