I don't mean to advocate one or the other here. As a writer, I have to trust the editor and his/her knowledge of the intended audience, but when skimming over my bookshelves, the latter faction won – in my case, at least. The majority of my technical books works as reading material on the beach (in bed / in the bathroom / take your pick), as well. There is a minority of books I read once, found the contents interesting, but gathering dust by now, because, as stated, they were interesting, but not fun to read. There may be a connection regarding the style of my preferred fiction books, but hey, who says science has to be boring? It's about getting a point across, isn't it?
To illustrate my point here, head to the ISC website and read the article Follow the Bouncing Malware IX: eGOLDFINGER, it is an excellent example (some people might think a bit over the top, you have been warned) of how to write about a, sometimes kind of boring, subject, security. Tom Liston did a fantastic job describing a common malaise in today's IT-world. IMHO, of course ;-)
Speaking of painting a picture, I collect quotes, as most authors do. I stumbled over a nice quote in my collection yesterday:
The herd instinct among economists makes sheep look like independent thinkers.
