"Are all business books useless?" That is the question Brian Reich, an author of a new business book is asking in his post "Are business books useless?"

Brian quotes the other prolific writer Seth Godin when he says:

Every year, more than a thousand new 'business' books get published in the US. Not textbooks or manuals, but general interest books about how to do business better. Some sell a few hundred copies. Some sell a few hundred thousand. One or two might sell a million. Out of a potential audience of 30 or 40 million white collar workers in the US.

Seth says that most business books are useless.

Are business books useless? That is the question we must ask. But perhaps a better question is: "What do you look for in a business book?"

What I look for in a business book is whether it has some practical advice on "how to do things", like how to get more traffic to my website, how to convert more inquiries into orders, how to raise $500,000 to get a business idea off the ground, and so on.

What about you? What makes you want to read/buy a business book?

Perhaps some of the best advice you should take before buying a business book is entitled "Before You Buy a Business Book" over on the About.com website.

In short there are ten things you should do before buying that "you beut" business book:

•  Read the Book Jacket for a Content Overview
•  Check Author Credibility
•  Determine the Target Audience
•  Read the Chapter Titles
•  Learn More From the Introduction or Foreward
•  Look for Real World Examples
•  Become Familiar With the Author's Style
•  Check for Fad or Flash Temperature
•  Think About Whether the Topic is Timely for You
•  Identify and Buy the Few Great Books

Careful consideration will ensure you buy books that are worthwhile.