Avoid the contemporary. If a novel has worth, it will still have in
a decade or two. "The filtering effect of time — imperfect in its
judgment, but still the best thing we have — will remove some books from
consideration"
In nonfiction, if the content is topical, e.g., US China Relations
it will age at speed. Best to use journalism or ChatGPT.
As Schopenhauer said, avoid what's making a great commotion. To read
well is to ignore the now. The opportunity cost is way too high.
Don't read fewer than 50 pages in a sitting. The cost of pecking at
a book here and there is a lost sense of its narrative.
Avoid general histories. The last way to learn about China is a book
named China. THe universal is in the particular.
