As a long time reader, I know that the question of how to evaluate a particular book or author comes up somewhat regularly. However, now that I am trying to answer this question myself, I can't find any of those previous questions and their answers! Since I'm positive that this has come up before, I'm wondering if there is a way to make the answer easier to find. Can it be added to the FAQ and/or the Book list? (I looked there first...)

For clarity: I'm not asking about how to evaluate a primary, historical source. That's a different discussion, that I believe is currently taking place elsewhere. I'm talking about currently published books, easily found at the bookstore/library. Definitely more Pop history than Academic...