If you don't have much time and you need to determine whether a book is worth purchasing, borrowing, or reading, 'skimming skills' will aid you in the process.
Read the Title - dead giveaway.
Read the subtitle - some titles are ambiguous, but subtitles tend to shed more light.
Read the preface - usually the writer(s) explain exactly what the book is about.
Look at the Table of Contents - this will give you further information on the books subject structure and components.
Read the Publisher's blurb - usually located in the back, some are found in the book's dust cover. This too is an excellent way to discover the gist of a book.
Identify important chapters to read and less important chapters.
Read the first and last lines of each paragraph to get a feel for the flow of argument and the topics of the chapter.
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