system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How can I as a non-academic know if a book is widely used and well accepted by scholars?

I am referring to the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) area.
gpt
An easy way would be to track citation metrics. Search for the book in google scholar and look closely at the entries. That won't work if the book is very new as it takes time for research to get published. 

Another method would involve searching for a review of the book in journals. Reviews are generally positive for academic texts, but it at least gives you more context.