As avid readers we have been used to reading fiction/fantasy/comics and losing ourselves in that realm since childhood. There comes a time in our lives or in come of our lives that we want to read non-fiction for the very first tie. Among trade books, after fiction self-help and non fiction are the genres that are published in the publishing industry. With Non-Fiction being printed in such large numbers there is a plethora of non-fiction books and to pick out a good quality story from the pile. That’s when you need to keep these points in mind when you pick up your next non-fiction

  1. Check The Author’s Profession

Often we come across well-known names while browsing who have written non-fiction but have no connection to the topic or the subject they are talking about in their book. Don’t let the fame blind your eyes and spoil your experience of reading your non-fiction book. For example, if I want to read non-fiction on Gender Studies , I would pick up a book that is written by a scholar on gender and has had a good amount of research on the subject they would be talking about in the book. Same holds for History. I have often come across non-fiction books written on History which has been written by a writer who has not studied on the subject and not someone who can be called a historian. So a little research beforehand about the writer before you buy the title doesn’t hurt. The same logic would not apply to autobiographies/biographies though.The personal experiences are distinguished and it would be a personal choice whether you like the book or not.

2. Be specific about a topic that interests YOU

With the spread of Bookstagram, Book Twitter, Booktok, Facebook there are a lot of titles that are hyped up by influencers and some of the non-fiction are not worth the hype. Try browsing titles around the topic that interests you, about a world history or a subject like business you want to further close down in these topics like the sub-category of business that interests you is something you should be looking for. For example if you are interested in filmmaking and want to read a good non fiction on it you need to remember there are many aspects of filmmaking like cinematography, editing,design etc and if you narrow it down to the specific topic it makes it easier for you to choose the book.

3. Browse through Amazon Reviews

When looking for the book you want go on amazon and look through the amazon reviews thoroughly. Don’t read too long reviews rather focus on the reviews that are short and that talk about the USP of the book and what they learned from the book. If they have written a review about the aspects they liked and the ones they didn’t like you should read those reviews as they are the most helpful ones in deciding on a title.

4. Never Count the pages of the Non-Fiction Book

We often fall in the trap of “bigger the book, the better it is.” The number of pages would not determine if you would learn from the non-fiction or would you actually enjoy it. Pretty Covers and Number of pages don’t make the story, the story increase the number of pages and make it worth the read.

5. Set Your Own Parameters

If you are not enjoying it, if you are not gaining something out of it in the first 100 pages then its not worth your time. In my experience that’s what the case has been. After 150+ pages if the book is not holding my attention on the subject particularly when it comes to non-fiction I don’t finish reading it. Similarly you can set your own parameters and what will make you keep the book down and what will keep you interested in the Non-fiction you bought.