Reading maketh a man. We have been told that since the day we started reading. The wisdom of it is pounded into us by parents and teachers alike as we progress from preschool to our teen years. So, like obedient boys and girls, we trot to the library and the bookshops with our parents. They pick out the books they think we should read.

  Nowadays, as we browse through the book shelves, we see several interesting titles that might be worth a second look. We pick up one and hope that it's worth the time spent picking it up or the money spent on buying it. So, how do we know we have picked a good book for a good read? 

  One way of making sure of a good read is to surf the web. Subscribe to publishers' newsletters or online book lists for the latest titles of books. Do a web search for sites where new or old book titles are posted or reviewed. Credentials of book reviewers might be providded and this will help you to decide the values of the books. Read the publishers' and writers' magazines for the latest titles. They provide reviews of books too. Such reviews might be biased but at least it will give you and idea of what the book is about.

  Most readers have their list of favourite writers. In this case, the best thing to do is to keep tabs on them. Magazines and websites often provide details of their upcoming book. Some give reasons for writing the book and how the characters are developed. This will give you an idea of what to expect and you can decide wheter you want to read it or not.

  The most obvious and easisest thing to do is to study a book's front and back covers. The front offers an attractive and irresistible graphic that symbolies the message of the title. On the inside front cover, there is a blurb and comments by papers and book reviewers. One is prompted and to start reading. On the back cover, one can find a summary of the story while the back page has the writer's information. This is the easiset way to choose a good book to read. Go further and look at the content page which gives chapter titles. This will definitely give you a better idea of the development of the story. 

  The best advice to take is this- browse and pick, then skim throught the contents. Do a random reading of one of the chapters, especially the middle of the story because this is usually where the conflict of the story is. 

  I feel that every book or story has its own credits. So even if you feel that the beginning of the story is not interesting, plough on if you can. You migth be pleasantly surprised. 

  Happy reading!