> and you're already in the hundreds of different opinions!
No, you aren’t. Beause there are overlaps. (Seen Venn diagrams, btw?)
> with ZERO external information
This is a very bad advice. When you don't read those threads or blogs, you are not taking advantage of accumulated human knowledge over the years.
And this approach will more likely to lead to poor choice of books.
____
One method I forgot to mention- I also look at reputations of publishers/series. If a book is coming out of Green Tea Press, Pragmatic Bookshelf, or Manning, I will tend to favor them more.
> No, you aren’t. Beause there are overlaps. (Seen Venn diagrams, btw?)
Sorry, I meant different as in distinct, coming from different people.
> When you don't read those threads or blogs, you are not taking advantage of accumulated human knowledge over the years.
I agree, that's why I keep reading them. But more often than not, I feel like I end up with more questions and uncertainty than I started with.
> And this approach will more likely to lead to poor choice of books.
I don't think it's so obvious. Maybe that "average" book that matched your particular taste, would actually be more useful than the "perfect" one, which felt mundane? Simply because the first one would be more engaging, and you'd have higher chance of finishing it. But if you had read the reviews beforehand, you'd end up feeling bad both about the one you liked, and about the one that others recommended, and eventually wouldn't read either.
> One method I forgot to mention- I also look at reputations of publishers/series. If a book is coming out of Green Tea Press, Pragmatic Bookshelf, or Manning, I will tend to favor them more.
No, you aren’t. Beause there are overlaps. (Seen Venn diagrams, btw?)
> with ZERO external information
This is a very bad advice. When you don't read those threads or blogs, you are not taking advantage of accumulated human knowledge over the years.
And this approach will more likely to lead to poor choice of books.
____
One method I forgot to mention- I also look at reputations of publishers/series. If a book is coming out of Green Tea Press, Pragmatic Bookshelf, or Manning, I will tend to favor them more.