I’m excited to launch a new series called “Read This, Not That”– the purpose of which is to help people with finite time and money decide which books would be best for them.

From my teenage years through my late 20’s, I subscribed to Men’s Health magazine. One of its more popular regular features was called “Eat This, Not That,” which compared the same meal from two different places and told you which one you should eat, and which one you should not. The column featured everything from a burger and fries to a variety of salads.

Now, Men’s Health used actual, measurable metrics such as total calories, fat and protein content to support why one meal was good while another was bad. That’s not quite what I will be getting at – however, if a book is bad and I think you should avoid it, I will say so. In fact, both books I compare might actually be good, but not everyone has the time, money, or inclination to read multiple books on one topic (and have a life). I guess that’s what I’m here for.

While I will attempt some metrics (cost, number of pages, and a made-up scale of readability), for the most part, my choice will be purely subjective. Whereas the “not that” in the Men’s Health series often meant you should avoid it, that will in no way be what it means in my series.

Hopefully, you will find it helpful in selecting from all the books out there, even if my analysis makes you think you should actually go with the ‘not that’ book. I’ll kick off next week with a post on discipline.