Generation "Guidebook"

I have to make a confession: I still buy books at bookstores. Well, at least some of them. But apart from getting some new reading material there, I like walking around and having a look at all the stuff in the different sections. It is quite interesting to see how they change over the years, watching some of them grow, some of them disappear.

I may be late on this one, but because of some conversations I had recently I realized the considerable increase of a specific genre of books. Even though I am not sure whether it actually is called a genre or not, I will stick to that term. So, when you get the chance to go to a bookstore, look around and you will find them quite easily.

I am talking about guides. Guidebooks on this, manuals on that, how-to books on, well, almost everything. We all know the user guides that come with consumer electronic or kitchen devices. Some of you, just like me, have to work through user manuals and how-to guides on a daily basis. But it is not them I have in mind. It is not about guides for any kind of device. It is about guidebooks to different areas of our lives.

They are everywhere, and their number increases every hour, maybe every minute. Guides on building a successful business, manuals on how to lead a happy life. People offering their help to improve our sex life, while others are trying to make us better parents. And while some are showing what they think are ways to simply make us better human beings, others are trying to (literally) sell us a shortcut to attain real enlightenment. Fortunately, there are less serious publications too.

Facing this massive (and continously growing) amount of how-to manuals, guides and companions I am wondering how mankind managed to survive and come this far without them. As far as I am concerned, the mere existence of this vast amount of guidebooks to "everyday life" is what irritates me most.

Of course, we all need some help before we make decisions, and we all need some reassurance now and then whether the path we have taken is the "right one". We consult our family, our beloved and/or trusted ones to obtain some advice, some insight, a different point of view. But have those books taken over their part and role in our lives? Have they become more important, more trustable for us than the feedback of people we actually meet and know?

When looking for advice in those how-to and companion books, aren't we (wrongly) assuming that we are all playing by the same ruels? Think about it. What are the chances that what worked for someone with roots in a different culture, in a different socienty could work for us, too? Have our lives become so exchangeable, are they really that compatible? And more important: have we really become completely incapable of making decisions on our own? Or are we looking to shift responsibilities on someone else by using those books?

Maybe we are simply trying to avoid learning things the hard way. Maybe we are desperately looking for ways to learn things life would have tought us, without going through life's lessons. Maybe we are afraid of making mistakes. Maybe we are afraid of being hurt, afraid to be laughed at. The fear to fail has become quite a driving force. We are trying to make everything perfect, right from the start.

Those guidebooks may convey the impression that there are universal answers to almost everything. But why are there multiple books on the same subject then? Just lean back and think about it for a moment.

Don't get me wrong: I am not trying to tell you that those books are superflous. Far from it. They are a great resource when it comes to getting a different point of view on a subject. They are a good way to share ideas and concepts that seem to work for some. But they don't offer the one and only, the universal solution. And I am afraid too many people think that this is exactly what those books are about.

Have we become a generation that puts more faith in books, theories and second hand experiences than in real life and its unique, personal lessons? Have we become a generation that has lost the faith in common sense and our ability to solve problems ourselves? Do we really need how-to manuals and companion books to live our lifes?

Personally, I don't think so. How about you?