Book review
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the For Dummies Series of Books is an invaluable tool for anyone planning to purchase a how-to book in preparation for performing any number of tasks.
One of the key insights of this book is that the For Dummies series is written in an informal, accessible style with a healthy dollop of humor. This saved me countless hours of confusion that I might have encountered in trying to take the jokes seriously.
For example, in order to write this review I consulted Reviewing Books for Dummies. Without the Complete Idiot's Guide, I would not have understood that some of the advice was intended in a humorous vein, and I would have wasted considerable time following instructions such as: "Step One: Read the book."
Ha-ha! Once you know it's a joke, it's really quite funny.
Another key insight is that the books are often written with lots of bullet points and lists. These visual elements highlight key phrases by surrounding them with white space and are not -- as I might have otherwise guessed -- simply padding the length of the book.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the For Dummies Series of Books takes this a step farther in Chapter 8 by placing one bullet point on each page. If they had all been on the same page, or even (horrors!) just separated by commas, I'm sure I would not have been as impressed by "Read the bullet points, read them carefully, they are important."
Wow, I guess I just demonstrated my point.
Likewise, I learned, it is for the reader's benefit and ease of memory that these books contain lots of boldfaced words that highlight key concepts so that you notice them when skimming and come away with a thorough understanding of just one or two important messages the author wants to convey.
Finally, I learned that these books contain many historical tidbits and interesting asides. For example, I was fascinated by one sidebar noting that prolonged exposure to relentlessly cheerful chirpy prose has been shown to cause 23 kinds of cancer in laboratory mice. 23 -- that's my lucky number!
The book concluded with the insight that some of the For Dummies books are actually more difficult to comprehend than others. But now, armed with its wisdom, I feel confident enough to tackle some of the "Ph.D.-level" books such as Crash Tests for Dummies, Becoming a Store Mannequin for Dummies, and Laying Your Bridge Hand on the Table for Dummies.
I heartily recommend the Complete Idiot's Guide to the For Dummies Series of Books, a book that has truly expanded my world.
Happy April fools' day! Join the discussion at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/johnclaytonoutreach/
One of the key insights of this book is that the For Dummies series is written in an informal, accessible style with a healthy dollop of humor. This saved me countless hours of confusion that I might have encountered in trying to take the jokes seriously.
For example, in order to write this review I consulted Reviewing Books for Dummies. Without the Complete Idiot's Guide, I would not have understood that some of the advice was intended in a humorous vein, and I would have wasted considerable time following instructions such as: "Step One: Read the book."
Ha-ha! Once you know it's a joke, it's really quite funny.
Another key insight is that the books are often written with lots of bullet points and lists. These visual elements highlight key phrases by surrounding them with white space and are not -- as I might have otherwise guessed -- simply padding the length of the book.
The Complete Idiot's Guide to the For Dummies Series of Books takes this a step farther in Chapter 8 by placing one bullet point on each page. If they had all been on the same page, or even (horrors!) just separated by commas, I'm sure I would not have been as impressed by "Read the bullet points, read them carefully, they are important."
Wow, I guess I just demonstrated my point.
Likewise, I learned, it is for the reader's benefit and ease of memory that these books contain lots of boldfaced words that highlight key concepts so that you notice them when skimming and come away with a thorough understanding of just one or two important messages the author wants to convey.
Finally, I learned that these books contain many historical tidbits and interesting asides. For example, I was fascinated by one sidebar noting that prolonged exposure to relentlessly cheerful chirpy prose has been shown to cause 23 kinds of cancer in laboratory mice. 23 -- that's my lucky number!
The book concluded with the insight that some of the For Dummies books are actually more difficult to comprehend than others. But now, armed with its wisdom, I feel confident enough to tackle some of the "Ph.D.-level" books such as Crash Tests for Dummies, Becoming a Store Mannequin for Dummies, and Laying Your Bridge Hand on the Table for Dummies.
I heartily recommend the Complete Idiot's Guide to the For Dummies Series of Books, a book that has truly expanded my world.
Happy April fools' day! Join the discussion at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/johnclaytonoutreach/
