How To Make Sure You Buy The Right Book

This is what my Amazon wish list looks like.

Here’s how to buy books that you won’t regret.

• Firstly. A book is a fantastic investment. So, when in doubt, buy. If a book contains one valuable thought, I believe that’s worth $5 or whatever it costs.

• If a book sounds interesting, I add it to the wish list. I check the list periodically. If the book no longer appeals to me, I’ll remove it. If I really want to read it, I move to cart and buy it. Sometimes I’ll add, remove, add a title a few times. I use time as a filter. Eg. The Edward Bernays and Ronald Reagan books have been in this list for a long time. I know they will be worth reading, but I’m not that excited about it, so I haven’t bought them yet.

I buy a book two ways. 1. I really want to read it. 2. I really think I should read it, meaning that it has stuck around in my wishlist for a long time.

Most books will move through this funnel. Occasionally I’ll impulse buy, in which case the book will skip the first 2 steps.

My wishlist also reflects the themes that I’m interested in at the moment:

Psychology bucket: Behave, Elephant, Sapiens.

Marketing bucket: Tested Advertising, Scientific Advertising, Words that work and Crystallizing Public Opinion.

People: Surely you’re joking, Impro, Exit West, Notes, 

Work: Radical Candor

---

---

---

---