What should I not read for the UPSC? - pravinnath/upscpreparationguide GitHub Wiki

While Debotosh has already given some good pointers on “what not to read” here are some things on my “Negative Reading List” (Apart from what Debotosh has mentioned)

Any book which is more than 500 pages thick should never be read from cover to cover. You should cover them topic wise. Also books like India Since Independence should be read selectively (You can find what chapters to read here) In my opinion ARC reports are not worth the time and efforts invested.

If your optional is Pub Ad you should read them. For GS Paper 4 the ARC Report on Ethics in Governance offers some good material. Rest all you can avoid.

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Avoid Road Side Materials which are available in ORN or Mukherjee Nagar. Most of the time they are not useful or they lead to duplication of material already read.

Avoid Magazines like ChronicKill (Chronicle), Lizard (Wizard) and Competition Success Review (CSR) like plague if you can. They add absolutely no value to the preparation. Also Pratiyogita Darpan should be avoided if you are not preparing for State PCS. It is relevant only for those exams.

Also Frontline is better avoided in my opinion because it is heavily biased towards the left and also too detailed. (Read my answer about which magazines to read here)

Avoid Dutt & Sundaram for the Economy Section as it is too detailed for it to be of any use.

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Avoid reading from too many websites and Random Online Sources. The internet is a vast ocean of information in which it is very easy to drown. (I have detailed some of the good online resources to follow here)

Never read Notes made by other people even if they are the toppers themselves. Always make your own notes and synopses. Why? Because notes making is an important process in itself. When you read something and assimilate that in your mind and then make notes you learn a lot in that process. You can never replicate that by reading someone else’s notes. Also everyone makes notes based on their unique requirements (which may not match yours), so always make your own notes.

I never read India Year Book (IYB) and found it a waste of time. But some people find it useful. At best you can go through some important chapters. Still there is absolutely no reason to read it from cover to cover.

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Never read Current Affairs from more than one place. Always rely more on Newspapers and at best follow one source like gurutechy.

There is no need to read Policies, Laws etc in full. Always opt for the summaries.