MITSU

(for non fiction)

M = Message

Did the book have a clear message? Did it communicate the message well? Do I feel convinced by the message of the book? Do I think other people would benefit from reading this book? If the book has no specific message, what was the purpose of the book? Did the book succeed in its purpose?

I = Insight

Did the book change the way I think about something? Did it reinforce a concept I already knew about? Did anything from the book strike me as particularly profound? Was the book researched extensively? Is there a bibliography or reference list? How reliable are the sources used?

T = Tone

What did the book aim to make me feel? Did it succeed? Did it make me laugh or cry or angry, or roll my eyes? Did it feel like a textbook, or a scholarly article, or like a conversation with a friend, or something else? Who is the book’s intended audience? Did the author adjust the writing accordingly?

S = Style

This is where I dig into the mechanics of writing. Was it written well, engagingly? Was the writing beautiful, poetic, awkward, clunky, perfunctory, dry, florid? Did the writing ever make me want to stop reading?

U = Utility

Did this book stay with me for weeks after reading it? Did it make me feel seen? Did I change something about my life, actions, or beliefs because of it? Was it useful to me? Has reading it improved my life in some way?