On Nonfiction Books to Avoid
Writing a New York Times bestseller was a delightful experience. But there are many books which are read by few that should be read and reread by many, as well as books bought by many that are hardly worth the ink. — Ron Brackin
While reading books is extremely important for one’s cerebral acuity and intellectual development, every serious nonfiction reader is intimately aware of the fact that not all books are created equal. There are some books that are written to be read, and there are other books that are written because someone merely wants to publish a book. There is a significant difference between the two. The point of the former is that a writer has a thoughtful, novel argument to make on a topic, whereas the point of the latter is that someone wants the clout (and money) that comes from publishing a book—without developing anything of value to add to the subject. Without understanding the difference between books that are written to be read and books that are written for clout, one will waste precious time on useless texts while neglecting more serious and worthwhile reads. Here are the kinds of books that perspicacious readers ought to diligently avoid.
The book that could have been an article—or even a tweet
Sometimes, there are ideas that are better left in short form. They are not necessarily bad ideas, but they are simple ideas that do not require lengthy explanation. However, because publishing books has become an important part of many people’s branding strategy, there is relentless pressure to pump out books on topics that simply do not warrant book-length treatment. This results in books that are repetitive, filled with pointless and tenuous examples, and other kinds of filler that would make a careful reader wonder whether there was an editor assigned to the text at all. Such books often read like rushed term papers that were hurriedly scribbled before a due date. Fundamentally, these books are nothing more than cash grabs. Often, these books are written (or “written”) by people who have a loyal following, so the quality of the arguments are of limited concern.
The “news dump” nonfiction book
This is a particular kind of book that is generally published by political journalists. (More on books by journalists later.) This kind of book tends to be a rewrite of all of the news stories on a particular issue with no analysis, argument, or insight provided. The authors of this kind of book think that because the stories are all organized around a particular topic, there is no need for sustained argumentation and analysis. The stories, in their minds, are sufficient to carry the book. An interesting nonfiction book should never just be an extended news piece with “just the facts” presented, as contextualization is important to make reading a book worthwhile.
The premature memoir
There are some young people who have lived interesting lives that are worthy of memoirs. However, the average memoir about a young person published these days tends to be comically self-important and very unnecessary. Memoirs are supposed to be written by people who have actually lived life and have a detailed story to tell that has fascinating peaks and intriguing valleys. Memoirs make little sense when they are written by ghostwriters for 23-year-old whippersnappers who achieved fleeting fame for some relatively minor accomplishment. Most of these memoirs try to use all sorts of cheap literary techniques to attempt to make the patently pedestrian appear deeply profound and interesting when the reality is that the memoir simply should not exist in the first place.
There is no shame in waiting to actually live a full life before publishing a memoir. Having accomplishments at a young age does not instantaneously make one’s life interesting enough to be the subject of a memoir. Almost every memoir that tells “the story so far” is a pointless navel-gazing bore that is just a marketing tool for the author. Such texts have little, if any, literary value.
Also see the essay: Against the Commonplace Wunderkind
Books published by zealots
This is a frustrating kind of book to read because the author of such a text writes with the fervor of a cultist who thinks that because their statements appear in print they are automatically valid—no further argumentation or support is necessary. Books that are published by zealots tend to either have no presentation and treatment of counterarguments to the positions that they hold, or they erect the most tendentious straw man arguments that make a caricature of the opposing viewpoint.
The whole point of having a book-length assessment of a topic, however, is that one has the space to not only outline a point of view, but also to argue against alternative perspectives and show the intellectual poverty of the strongest arguments for the other side. Zealots publish books that avoid the strongest case for opposing ideas, which is why the only people who find these texts convincing are people who already agree with the positions defended, and people who do not know any better.
Also see the essay: The Strongest Case for Alternative Ideas
Books by people with no expertise
Lastly, books that ought to be avoided are those written by people with no subject-matter expertise. Sadly, many of these books tend to be published by elite journalists. Some journalists truly believe that because they received their bachelor’s degrees from prestigious institutions, they are licensed to write about any topic under the sun if they skim two books and read three Wikipedia articles. Others believe that their journalism training means they have the knowledge to write on anything and everything. The ability to put together readable sentences is not the sole prerequisite for writing a book that makes an intriguing intellectual contribution to a particular topic.
If one only has time to read a single book on a historical period or figure, for example, it makes much more sense to seek out a text published by an obscure history professor and expert with a Ph.D., whose book probably will never be a New York Times bestseller, than it does to read a bestselling book by a journalist. When it comes to books these days, popularity and quality are strikingly inversely proportional.