[dd_roger]

I share your opinion (I particularily like essays; I follow along the arguments, think whether I agree with them or not, etc. but absolutely hate the "how-to" kind of books which I strongly associate with the hustle and self improvement culture that I find quite toxic.)

But I agree with the author that the later kind of books seems much more popular with the general public, being handed solutions appears to be more attractive to many people that being encouraged to think about problems that probably aren't even relevant to them. And in a sense it's perfectly understandable, but I personally prefer the intellectual stimulation from a good essay over what is essentially a marketing speech from a professional hustler.

[rjyoungling]

That's the kind of stuff I like to write myself as well. But after hundreds of essays, years in, my audience is still tiny. Churn is also higher because when you have such a style, it's harder to make a crystal clear promise so the probability that the content/reader fit isn't just right is higher.

There just aren't that many people like that.

For the gen. pop. you're better off making a crystal clear promise, being very clear about who should and shouldn't read it, and delivering on that promise so the book proves useful to the reader and gets recommended.

Most people read non-fiction to solve a problem. It seems that what you and I like is learning for learning's sake.