Confused about When to Use “these” and “those” [duplicate]

Example #1

This site contains links to books that I read. I recommend these/those books.

NOTE: The links are on this site, but not on this page. The links are external links.

Should I use these or those? Why?

Example #2

This page contains links to books that I read. I recommend these/those books.

NOTE: The links are on this page, but you might have to scroll down a little to find them. The links are external links.

Should I use these or those? Why?

Example #3

I read “Book Name + Link”, “Book Name + Link”, and “Book Name + Link”. I recommend these/those books.

NOTE: The links are external links.

Should I use these or those? Why?

NOTE: This question and this question doesn’t help me.

Solution 1:

Strictly speaking, "these" is used for things close to the speaker, while "those" is used for things distant from the speaker. The rule of thumb is to stand in one spot: if you could touch one of the objects you're talking about without moving, use "these". If you'd have to point to indicate them (or if you can't even do that), use "those".

However, distance isn't always literal. Let's look at @user26732 suggests "these books": this is correct, even though you might not literally be able to touch the books as you write this. From the standpoint of your text, you "brought them close" when you presented a specific list. If you'd only mentioned a genre or author or style or some other category, without mentioning any specific works, then "those" would be appropriate. For example, "You might be able to find what you're looking for in medical texts; I recommend that you read some of those" would be appropriate.