chess books help you :)

Well i recently just finished studying two chess books, The Complete Book of Chess Strategy and The Complete Chess Player. I have to say that reading chess books has improved my game A LOT!! I notice that even if i tend to forget something i read in the book, somehow my mind can maintain it and express itself whenever i see the chessboard. big advice: read chess books to get better. they actually do help you. I've been playing as I've been reading and i thought i didn't know anything different, or at least see a difference in my performance. then i went away on vacation and brought them along, i came back with a fresh mind and bam, i know good tactics and chess strategies. woohoo!

Yes, chess books definitely help you! They provide insights that you have never seen before. Indeed, if you do not have a coach to help you with your analysis or openings, a chess book is the way to go! Puzzle books, for e.g. can actually help you train speed thinking and your tactical vision.

Nevertheless, I believe that one must be discriminating when choosing a Chess Book. As the famous author John Nunn aptly pointed out, some books are actually not well grounded and are full of blunders, merely a means to get some quick money! Therefore, when choosing a chess book, I suggest going for books by reputable authors and also flipping through the book slowly to see if it really provides the material relevant to your area of intended study.

yes, it's obvius books can help. 

but you have to choose the right book suitable for your level

...and you must like reading chess books.  I've tried and tried and tried but I just can't get through any of my chess books.  They are the most boring of books, way worse than reading a dictionary.  I don't even remember those old processor data books being so boring!

My recommendation is not wasting your money on chess books unless you like reading phone books (telephone directory books).

"'Study master games' is the universal advice handed down by teachers, ... [annotated games are] infinitely more useful than bare game scores. However, annotated games vary widely in quality. Some are excellent study material. Others are poor. But the most numerous fall into a third category - good-but-wrong-for-you. ... You want games with annotations that answer the questions that baffle you the most. ..." - GM Andrew Soltis (2010)

Soltis was, at that point, writing about the study of games, but I think that similar ideas apply to chess books in general.

"... If it’s instruction, you look for an author that addresses players at your level (buying something that’s too advanced won’t help you at all). This means that a classic book that is revered by many people might not be useful for you. ..." - IM Jeremy Silman (2015)

https://www.chess.com/article/view/the-best-chess-books-ever

"... The books that are most highly thought of are not necessarily the most useful. Go with those that you find to be readable; ..." - GM Nigel Davies (2010)

"... Just because a book contains lots of information that you don’t know, it doesn’t necessarily mean that it will be extremely helpful in making you better at this point in your chess development. ..." - Dan Heisman (2001)
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626180930/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/heisman06.pdf

You have to make it funny. For example, if the book is analysing a match, use a board to follow the moves. 

Good Chess Books for Beginners and Beyond...

https://www.chess.com/blog/RussBell/good-chess-books-for-beginners-and-beyond

@SmokeJS - be sure to check the comments on "Winning Chess Strategy for Kids" by Jeff Coakley...

A chess book cannot be read like a beach novel.  It's more like a textbook of a subject that you naturally enjoy.

From what I have gathered, if you try to read it like a beach novel, you won't learn much. Books have to be studied intensely for max benefit. Whether following through the moves and variations using Forward Chess (great app!!) is good enough or if you need to actually make the moves on a physical chessboard is best, I haven't decided yet. I suspect the latter, but I am too lazy to do so, so it is presumably stunting my progress (which is v slow anyway).

Actually, im reading and study a chess book for kids, because it is more suitable for my level 

https://web.archive.org/web/20140708094112/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review332.pdf