When should I read skill books in Fallout New Vegas?

I was given a lot of books with skill names with a quest. When do I use them? And are any of them more than just short term perks?

Solution 1:

It depends if you talk about skill books or magazines.

Skill Books give you +3 permanent boost and should be used immediately,or you could save them until you get comprehension perk since it will give you additional point increase per book you read.

Skill Magazines give you temporary +10 skill boost for 1 minute and should be saved in case you run in some trouble and need a higher skill like lock picking high lock, sneaking near crowded areas...Increased by +20 with comprehension perk.

It is also good idea to collect one magazine for every skill and keep it in you inventory in case you get the Voracious Reader perk,with which you can copy Skill Magazines from your inventory at a Workbench.

Solution 2:

If you plan on getting the Comprehension perk, then you should save all your skill books until you get that perk as it'll give you an additional skill point from reading them (note, the bonus isn't retroactive so books you've already read before you got the perk do not give the skill point bonus). Otherwise, just use them up as soon as you get them to prevent carrying around the extra weight from them.

As for the temporary books, you should only use them right before the situation arises, such as using it to temporarily boost your lock picking to open a safe.