The Truth Detective - Tim Harford

If I’m being honest...I didn’t think I would like this book very much. The reason being, by the cover, I assumed it would be filled with economics problems and theories which require a lot of thinking. I’m naturally a SLOW reader so I knew this would take me at least a week to finish since I like to understand the concept thoroughly before I turn to the next page, which is what turned me away from this book. Well, boy, was I wrong. Let this be a lesson to anyone like me. Don't judge a book by it’s cover -- cheesy and overused but accurate. The Truth Detective by Tim Harford is an incredible and intriguing book which gives tips on how to deal with data. Lots of data. Also I finished it in a day. YES. A DAY :) (to all the fast readers out there: let me have my moment)

Warning: Spoilers Ahead...

The Truth Detective teaches you how to make sense of a world that doesn’t add up. Numbers, misleading headlines...all of it can be overbearing at times. This book helps you to detect which data is accurate and which isn’t, which data is necessary to pay attention to, and the ones which are irrelevant. He cites information from professionals and experts who deal with data on a daily basis. An example of one of his tips is to take notice of big numbers when reading large sources as most of the time, they hold the most important points of the article. By skimming through the rest of the article but holding special importance to these numbers, you’ll manage to get valuable information without spending unecessary time. I wouldn’t want to spoil it for you, but I can say the tips are definitely helpful. One comedic element he commonly used was referencing famous detectives who themselves erred and how to avoid making their mistakes -- one of the detectives being none other than Sherlock Holmes. He also uses various unusual yet funny examples to help explain the concepts which makes it a lot easier to understand. 

One thing I loved about the truth detective is the font. I know it’s random but the font just shocked me because of how fun and energetic it appeared. It reminded me of the Geronimo Stilton graphic novels specifically because their font is very similar. I had an obsession with the Geronimo Stilton novels because I loved the font so much and it looked so intriguing and vibrant (I also liked the story generally and definitely recommend reading it, but I digress). I loved how some of the words were bolded or put in bright colors and crazy fonts used which added a bit more of a dramatic effect. 

The Truth Detective was everything but predictable, which was why I enjoyed it so much. I’m probably going to explore more books by the author as he is certainly gifted at writing (also love the font). Definitely recommend this book, 1000/10!