gowan wrote:From what John Fairbairn says problem books don't sell well. From my own observation on this message board much of the discussion concerns solving go problems. This seems like a contradiction of a sort. It seems that people spend a lot of time working on go problems but they don't buy problem books. Is that because problems are easily available on line for free? I do not find free on line problems to be as useful as those in a book because there is rarely any commentary. I own more than two dozen problem books and I still buy them occasionally (e.g. Cho U's books).
Personally, I primarily buy problem books. I like books on go theory, but sometimes I get a bit sleepy reading them. I really like problem books, and I think that they are particularly more useful than a site like goproblems.com where you can just click through solutions.
I could see some people not buying problem books because of problem availability online. Admittedly, I sometimes read problems online. But when I'm buying go books, I typically aim for problem books. They're a lot of fun.
In fact, the last go book I bought was purchased last week, and it was the igo hatsuyoron.
In retrospect, I think the problems from that book are too difficult for me right now, but I still feel good about buying to book.
I like go problems that I can solve in around 2 minutes.
