📖 Day 4: Look Out For These Red Flags In Books

Welcome to Day 4/5 of The Art of Reading 101!

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🚩 Be Careful of Books With These Red Flags

When going on dates, there are certain red flags you can look for that will tell you a lot about the person.

For instance, if they’re rude to the waiter or give back-handed compliments, chances are they won’t treat you well in the long run.

The same is true for books.

There are certain red flags in books that can be a warning sign to you that this book isn’t worth reading.

Here’s how to spot them:

1) The Book Has Less Than 4-Stars

A 3.5-star rating doesn’t sound bad, but let’s do some quick math.

A 3.5/5 rating is equal to a 7/10 which is about 70%.

In school, that’s a C- grade. That’s barely passing.

If you look at all of the best books you’ve read, I guarantee you they all have a 4-star or even 4.5-star rating or above.

For example:

• “Atomic Habits” = 4.8 Stars

• “Can’t Hurt Me” = 4.8 Stars

• “The Psychology of Money” = 4.7 Stars

Now of course there are books that have a 3.5-star or 3-star rating that still have lots of wisdom, but those books are hidden gems.

The vast majority of books with a low rating aren’t worth reading and are a waste of time.

With millions of books out there to read, why waste time reading a 3.5-star book when you can pick up a 4.5-star book that you know will be good?

So before you buy a book, take a second to look up its rating on Amazon.

2) The Testimonials Don’t Mention The Book

If you look at the back cover of a book or on its Amazon page, you’ll likely see a list of testimonials.

Now you might think that all testimonials are equal, but that isn’t true.

Take a look at these testimonials from these two celebrity memoirs:

• “Greenlights” by Matthew McConaughey:

  • “Wise and entertaining, this is an inspiring memoir.”—Ryan Holiday

  • “This is a wildly unexpected and delightful book you can’t just read, you have to experience.”—Lawrence Wright

• “Never Grow Up” by Jackie Chan:

  • "Working with Jackie Chan is maybe the most fun I've ever had working on movies." —Owen Wilson

  • "I was always a big fan of Jackie and working with him was like a dream come true.” —Chris Tucker

Notice anything different?

For “Greenlights” the testimonials praise the book.

For “Never Grow Up” the testimonials praise the author.

It’s a subtle but important difference.

You want the testimonials to show that the person actually read the book and thought it was valuable.

If the testimonial only praises the author, it’s likely they wrote it because they’re friends and called in a favor.

If I had known this earlier, I could’ve saved myself a lot of time because “Never Grow Up” ended up being a bad book, but I loved “Greenlights.”

So if you see a book with testimonials that only talk about how great the author is and nothing about how great the book is, think twice before buying it.

3) The Book Is Brand New

Sometimes when a new book comes out, it feels like it’s everywhere.

But, just because you’re seeing it everywhere, it doesn’t mean it’s worth reading.

Just like when a new movie comes out and you see trailers and posters for it everywhere, that doesn’t mean it’s worth watching.

It just means a lot of money is being spent to promote it.

Most new books only sell a few hundred copies their first year and usually go out of print soon after that because it’s just not worth reading.

So instead of being the test subject for a new book, let time be the filter.

Instead of reading new books, you want to read more books that have stood the test of time.

Think of books as wine–the older, the better.

For example, many of my favorite books are quite old:

• “As A Man Thinketh” is 122 years old.

• “Man's Search for Meaning” is 78 years old.

• “How To Win Friends" & Influence People” is 88 years old.

And if you look at many of the books people say are the best books ever, you’ll notice they’re all extremely old:

• “Meditations” is 2,000 years old.

• “Tao Te Ching” is 2,400 years old.

• “The Art of War” is 2,500 years old.

So don’t feel like you have to read a new book or you’ll miss out. If it’s any good, it’ll be around a year later or even ten years later.

✅ Actionable Advice

1) Be careful with books that have less than a 4-star rating. The best books usually have 4.5-stars or higher.

2) Be careful with books that have testimonials that only praise the author. It means

3) Be careful with brand-new books. Chances are it’s just being hyped up by marketing and PR.

I hope these tips were helpful, I’ll see you tomorrow!

-Alex W.