You examine the book. It's open to a seemingly random page about vegetables; different kinds of pumpkins, and so on. An excerpt:

PUMPKINS AND OTHER GOURDS

Choosing the right soil for your gourd is important, since the soil is the main determinate of crop yield. Having soil of low nutrient value will produce low yields, and smaller gourds, while rich soil lacking nitrogen will also fail gourds. Any gardener or farmer ought to follow these steps to successfully grow beautiful and prize gourds. In all cases except where noted, these directions will work with any breed of pumpkin. Rest assured, making mistakes is part of the process, and many mistakes are not irrevocable...

It goes on, and you feel tired just looking at it. You could
quickly flip through the book to see if there's anything important hidden in it,
or despite your initial reservations, continue reading while sitting in that rocking chair.