it's the prose

yesterday i started reading two books: blink and the j-curve. both of these are pretty popular, i would think, as they were prominently featured in the new non-fiction section of the library. one is about human thought, the other about international politics. one happens to be a fascinating read, the other is a bit dull. the key thing about each book, however, is that it elaborates a concept that can be explained in maybe 15 seconds. thus, a reader's desire to actually read the whole thing will largely be determined by its readability. see, it's not difficult to grasp the central theme, so the each author has to spend a lot of time illustrating that theme. in the case of blink, the illustrations are basically synopses of various experiments involving human subjects, and they are told in gripping style. i knew from the moment i had read a few sentences that i would love this book. i also figured out fairly readily that reading the j-curve would be a bit of a chore, a task undertaken to further my knowledge. the point here: even scholars need to be good writers; if they are, they'll get a much wider audience. good ideas need to be explained well to have an impact.