JEEcompass
23 October 2026 · All posts

Overrated JEE Books: What to Check Before You Waste Months

By JEEcompass (IIT Bombay, JEE Advanced AIR 764)

Part of Best JEE Books by Subject: Maths, Physics and Chemistry for a Top 1000 Advanced Rank.

A popular book is not the same as a useful book. Every year students lose months on a famous title that was never matched to their level or to the syllabus.

I cannot give you a single “worst book” list, and I will explain why. This post gives the clearest case I can document, plus a checklist. It belongs to our JEE books hub.

Short answer

  • Cengage for Inorganic and Organic Chemistry is the clearest case I can support. It is a database of mostly out-of-syllabus content.
  • The same book is excellent for Physics and Maths when used selectively.
  • A book is overrated for you if you cannot finish the useful part, or it does not match the Advanced syllabus.
  • Judge every book with the checklist below, not by its popularity.

Case 1: Cengage Chemistry

In my detailed Cengage review I said this is not a sponsored or biased video, and that Cengage chemistry should not be studied at all for the inorganic and organic parts.

  • Inorganic holds around five to six times the volume of the NCERT chapter.
  • About 80 to 85 percent of its organic reactions are outside the syllabus.
  • Physical chemistry is OK.

For the correct way to use the other subjects, read how to use Cengage and the full Cengage review. For the chemistry alternative, see the chemistry books list (NCERT, J.D. Lee, M.S. Chouhan).

Case 2: The short videos

I posted two shorts: one about a popular chemistry book being overrated, and one warning against studying inorganic from a particular book. I do not have caption notes for either, so I will not name the books here. Check the video descriptions before you quote them.

Case 3: Book choices you should check yourself

I do not have a recorded verdict on every famous title, so here is a way to test them:

Check Question to ask
Syllabus Does the chapter list match the Advanced syllabus?
Volume Can I finish the useful part in the time I have?
Level Is it for my current level, not my dream level?
Solutions Can I get stuck and still learn from the solutions?
Revision Can I make a short note from it?

Apply this to books like HC Verma, S.L. Arora and Irodov, and decide using their individual reviews.

Why books feel overrated

  • Too long to finish. Cengage has 60 to 90 solved examples and about 200 problems per chapter. People quit.
  • Repetition. A chapter-end section may have 50 questions and only 20 to 25 distinct concepts.
  • Wrong subject. A great Physics book can be a poor Chemistry book.

Coaching material counts too

The same logic applies to module packs from institutes. Read the FIITJEE module review before assuming that more pages mean more marks.

What to do instead

  1. Pick one core book per subject.
  2. Build a limited question set per chapter.
  3. Time yourself.
  4. Revise from short notes.

FAQ

Is Cengage overrated? For Physics and Maths, no. For Inorganic and Organic Chemistry, avoid it.

Is Irodov overrated? Read the dedicated review and check your level first.

Is HC Verma overrated? I treat it as basic now. See the HC Verma post.

How do I know a book is a waste? If you cannot finish its useful part and it does not match the syllabus, it is.

Can a book be right for a topper and wrong for me? Yes. Level and time matter.

Need help with your own plan?

If you feel you are drifting off track and want an IIT student to guide you through preparation without costly mistakes, check our mentorship page. Explore JEEcompass mentorship

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