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Judging A Book By Its Cover

By some strange coincidence, the last three books I have read happen to be on the subject of Economics. The books were, "The Economic Naturalist" by Robert H. Frank, "Undercover Economist" by Tim Harford and "Freakonomics" by Steven Levitt and Stephen Gubner in that order.

My usual way of picking books in a bookstore is not by scanning the bestseller list but by checking which book has a cover that screams 'Interesting!!!'. One of the primary requirements in this regard is that the book should have an intriguing cover which tells a story about what’s inside. It is similar to a 90-second movie trailer that will tell you what to expect from the movie. In short, I am the kind of person who judges a book solely by its cover and not by what's inside. Which is why I find it strange that nowadays books on Economic theories seem to appeal to me the most. The covers of these books seem to be way beyond ‘Interesting!!!’ to me.

After reading them, I realized that without a doubt these are some of the most interesting books written on Economic Theory for the common man. But having said that, moving from regular easy reading, cold-war espionage and thriller fiction to Economics has been a radical shift, to say the least. On the other hand, it also goes to show that if people can write interesting books even on sleep-inducing subjects such as Economics (I could never get myself to stay awake during the Economics class in my High School) and then round it off with a nice cover, then those books will definitely sell and will help guys like me understand the workings of the real world, at least in theory. Which is why the blandness of our text books beats me! Why can’t we have text books that explain stuff with examples and anecdotes? Why do they have to be dry as a bone - a bone that’s been baking in the sun in the desert for too long - and too conceptual? Well, that way maybe studies would be more fun and easy to understand which is exactly the opposite of what our education system wants. For the guys who shape our education policies, studies have to be rigorous, tortuous and all other type of words ending with ‘ous’ that convey that going to school is no fun at all. Maybe this way the policy makers want fewer bright sparks to pass out and continue to be the torch bearers of our education system. Sounds like a conspiracy to me.

Well, anyways, conspiracy or not, these 3 books I mentioned earlier are a must read for a lazy Sunday afternoon for anyone who is remotely interested in Economics or for someone who wants a logical and convincing (if not always completely correct) explanation regarding why some things are the way they are. Even for a casual reader, these books can give some interesting insights. For example, the author of ‘Freakonomics’ analyzes crime, money and elections, education system in the US, even how our names shape our future and gives a us a new perspective of things using Economic Theories. And Tim Harford in his ‘Undercover Economist’ talks about why the coffee you drink costs as much and where does all that money you spend on it go. Similarly, ‘The Economic Naturalist’ explains how ordinary day-to-day things are designed or happen the way they are, through Economics. For example, why are milk cartons designed as rectangular boxes whereas colas come in rounded cans? Or why don’t manufacturers provide a light in the freezer compartment of the refrigerator? Commonplace but intriguing, yes? Definitely absorbing even from a casual reading point of view. In the process, one also gets a better understanding of such Economics concepts as perfect markets, perfect competition, cost-benefit analysis, ‘money on the table’, moral hazards, marginal costs, etc. In short, knowledge distilled into easy-reading.

And thus, I’ve learnt my lesson. I should always pick my books based on the cover and nothing else. Subjects can be boring or interesting depending on which book you are reading from. If you get the right books and the right material, things will begin to make far more sense and consequently will make even tough concepts easier to understand. And with my limited experience, I can say that books with interesting covers make for interesting reading. My ex-boss recently recommended a book called ‘Outliers’ which provides a similar experience. I think I will pick it up as well. That is, if its cover looks interesting. Needless to say, the cover always comes first.