How do you choose a book or seminar?

Question

Let's say you have a subject you want get some knowledge about. I assume, there is plenty of books and seminars regarding any subject possible. How do you choose which one is good for you? I.e. author should be making his living from doing what he writes about, not from book sales... or The lady who gives a seminar out should spend not more than 10-15 % of her time giving out seminars and the rest should be spent practicing the subject... or It should be top rated on amazon... crazy one... What are your criterias?

Answer 1

I try to get recommendations from people who have done reading in the area.  You can also look to see if there are any well known, respected authors.  It doesn't hurt to look at reviews written by people online (like on Amazon).  If I don't know which book to buy, I prefer visiting a real book store (not virtual) so that I can scan the books before deciding.