FWIW The Snowy Day at #1 is a kids’ book where the protagonist is a positively portrayed black child, which was quite unique and controversial when it was written in 1962. If you grew up long after that era it makes more sense to never have heard of it.
It became my 2-year-old’s favorite book for about a month — he asks to read it again and again and again... It definitely has something wonderful in its voice and pacing, the social history aside.
Half the controversy was white people who didn't like a book about a black child, and the other half was black people mad that a white person wrote a book about a black child.
You might be surprised to hear that Paul Graham, creator of Hacker News, recommends that book:
"If you want to learn what people want, read Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People. When a friend recommended this book, I couldn't believe he was serious. But he insisted it was good, so I read it, and he was right. It deals with the most difficult problem in human experience: how to see things from other people's point of view, instead of thinking only of yourself."{1}
I have huge respect for Graham and began to read it based on his recommendation, but gave up about half way. It's so tedious, repetitive, and obvious that I genuinely can't understand what people see in it.
> It's so tedious, repetitive, and obvious that I genuinely can't understand what people see in it.
I think that can be said for a lot of books that are popular. It's a bit like applied math vs. pure math. In pure math, applied math is often seen as a "natural consequence". And yet, applied math is what most people view as useful and moreover, pure mathematicians often don't know how to apply mathematics to engineering or physics. Personally, I agree with you, but I think that what is obvious is not always precise, and what is precise is sometimes not used.
I have a sort of moral objection to these kind of books too, but somehow you can both see these books as a sort of moral "cheating" and you can see these books as a useful way to better you relationships with other people (and both viewpoints have merit). I didn't read How to Win Friends and Influence People, but my comment is based on my experience with trying to read *What they don't teach you at Harvard Business School." [1]
> It's so tedious, repetitive, and obvious that I genuinely can't understand what people see in it.
same! but i finished it anyway. it was during my speed-reading / audiobook transition. i have now become a normal reader again :)
to your point though, in retrospect, i think it all depends on when in your life/career you read a recommended book. seems to me that by the time you got to how to win friends, you have already read a lot and learned most of the "obvious" things in the book.
I’m autistic and books like these are extremely useful for me. I feel like the lessons in the book are things I should have learned if I socialized properly as a child and adolescent.
Except that in 1936 the title seems have a little less negative association than it does now.
While I found the book not all that interesting, a bit like most self help books, it's approach isn't in exploiting human emotion; it's in how to improve yourself to accomplish the same goals naturally.
