Chess books

I enjoy books about chess. When, while at work, I catch sight of a book with chess pieces on its cover, I tend to stop and examine this book. For this reason, I am mildly peeved when the book turns out to have nothing at all to do with chess.

The least offensive examples are those in which chess is a metaphor for some form of strategic conflict. Books on international conflict or diplomacy fall into this category. Here is a typical example:

They even made the top of the pawn all globey! How nice. Also, take this book:

From the looks of it, Uncle Sam doesn't like chess very much.

Also popular is chess as a metaphor for business management. Look! Chess pieces! Your life is not as boring as you thought!





The books I find truly irksome though are those in which there seems to be no direct or even plausibly metaphorical connection to chess. For example:

From what I've been led to understand, this book is about sexy teenage vampires who smooch a lot. Explain yourself, Stephenie Meyer.