Be candid about your chess books.

@Noflaps said in #50:
> ... even at 45 ply the computer (in the given position) supported a
> very "classical" treatment of the center, with black's control of the
> center coming from pawn occupation, and not "from afar" as the
> hyper-modern approach taught us also to value. ... my early
> exploration of Nimzo's book -- with the help of a computer-- makes
> me wonder if even today simple brute-force, very high-ply evaluation
> may not yet be sufficiently deep to really see through to the
> complete value of a hyper-modern "control from afar" philosophy,
> even though the computer's brute force evaluations seem much
> more dependable later on, when we are well into the middle game. ...
A few days ago, I saw a disagreement over whether the position after 1 e4 c6 2 d4 g6 3 Nf3 was appropriately evaluated as 1.2 or .4 in favor of White. In view of the game, www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1943839 [Event "Tata Steel Masters"] [Site "Wijk aan Zee NED"] [Date "2019.01.26"] [White "Jorden van Foreest"] [Black "Shakhriyar Mamedyarov"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "B10"] [WhiteElo "2612"] [BlackElo "2817"] 1 e4 c6 2 Nf3 g6 3 d4 ..., .4 seems to me to be more likely to be appropriate.

If I'm remembering correctly, about 30 years ago elementary school kids taking statistics surveyed adult chess club members, asking them how many books they owned and how many they had read. The average was 20 books owned, 2 books read. I'm not sure if I trust the 2 books read, but I believe the rest.

@JayStober said in #52:
> .... I'm not sure if I trust the 2 books read, ...
Some books (for example, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess) are not that big a deal to completely read.

@JayStober said in #52:
>.... I'm not sure if I trust the 2 books read, ...

@kindaspongey said in #53:
> Some books (for example, Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess) are not that big a deal to completely read.

Oh, I read that one. Also "Play Chess Like a Champion" by Fred Reinfeld. My fellow masters scoffed, but then I won the championship.

if you are going to finish a book or most of it. My System. you will never understand what the others are saying or get no real improvement of at least your understanding of chess with anything else. nimzowitch is the magician that gave away his tricks to the ire of many grandmasters of his day i imagaine. they say he's hypermodern which he was but his system is based on sound chess including occupying the center with pawns! early or late. just watch the many games he played the french defense as white. i too back in the 90s had so many chess books left unfinished for expecting me to understand things that the book does not cover. such as un annotated moves that serve an important function such as stopping pawn storms before they get started or many things like how to deal with doubled pawns or when to exchange ..the knight outpost on a half open file and its true function etc. his handling of the opening is unique and teaches concepts that lasker and everyone else used or uses but never write about.

Never been much of a reader. I prefer to watch videos.
So, while I do have the singular chess book. I have not read it in detail.

Maybe snoozer chess books are just NOT for you?!
You are always sure that the grass is greener in another chess book.
Look hard in the mirror:
You will see a lost lamb bleating and wandering in a dark forest full of enticing yet menacing chess books.
Rescue yourself!

First Alternative: Become reborn. Burn all your books and start over. Live stream the event and publish and promote the video. If this escape hatch is you, Act now and READ NO FURTHER.

Possible Alternatives:
a) Try doing a book with someone else so that it is social and you have someone to help keep you going. (like an exercise buddy)
OR: Start / join an online chess group that goes through books.
b) Start doing at least a little bit each day on a book. As others suggest, do 1 game a day or at least 2 pages. Associate this small change with some other positive habit if you actually have one.
c) Maybe you are a player at heart - so just play lots of games online and try to learn just one little thing from each game. Learn where you went wrong in the opening. You can run the engine but just look at your blunders or mistakes.
d) Try other ways to learn: Videos, Chessable with free courses (no cost), Forward Chess with free book (no cost) or other electronic book formats / sites or do Find the Best Move using pgn files. Plus ??
e) Try reading a book from the last chapter moving towards the first chapter!
Voice:
www.perpetualchesspod.com/new-blog/2022/11/8/ep-304-neal-bruce-what-we-can-learn-from-the-studying-classic-game-compilation-books#

Text: (Just decline the newsletter is fine)
saychess.substack.com/p/diary-a-chess-grinder-by-neal-bruce
saychess.substack.com/p/4-interview-with-neal-bruce-podcast#details

Now I'm a lost lamb?

Well, then: "baaaaaa. Can somebody point me to the soup kitchen? Even though my last name is not Campbell?"

But thank you, @SaltWaterRabbit , for your other interesting suggestions.