Self-Help Books

Self-Help Books describes a diverse selection of titles that focus on self-discovery and self-improvement. The self-help genre is characterized by literature that shares research and advice to promote self-understanding and prompt changes in one's outlook or behavior, thus improving one's quality of life. The Self-Help Collection features texts that discuss topics ranging from business and personal finance to interpersonal relationships, mental health, and sexuality.

12 Rules for Life

by Jordan B. Peterson

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Love, Mental Health, Truth & Lies

Tags Self-Improvement, Inspirational, Psychology, Parenting, Sociology, American Literature, Science & Nature, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Religion & Spirituality, Politics & Government

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (2018) is Jordan B. Peterson’s second book. Peterson’s self-help book seeks to provide practical and virtuous rules to live by for a wide audience and general readership. The book streamlines, simplifies, and reimagines some of the more traditionally academic topics of Peterson’s first book, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief. Each non-fiction work aims to explain human history and human nature according to universal frameworks. 12... Read 12 Rules for Life Summary

21 Lessons for the 21st Century

by Yuval Noah Harari

Publication year 2018

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Globalization, Community

Tags Science & Nature, Sociology, World History, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self-Improvement, Politics & Government

21 Lessons for the 21st Century (2018) is historian, philosopher, and acclaimed author Yuval Noah Harari’s in-depth look at the current global affairs and the immediate future of humankind. To Harari, the merging of biotechnology and artificial intelligence potentially represents the end of history with some humans becoming godlike. Despite the ramification of this situation on all of humanity, most people are distracted by irrelevant information and do not realize the debate that is occurring... Read 21 Lessons for the 21st Century Summary

ADHD 2.0

by Edward M. Hallowell

Publication year 2021

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Mental Health, Conflict, Family, Self Discovery, Community, Science & Technology

Tags Psychology, Parenting, Self-Improvement, Health, Health, Education

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All about Love

by bell hooks

Publication year 2000

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Love, Equality, Safety & Danger, Sexual Identity

Tags Gender & Feminism, Philosophy, Psychology, Love & Sexuality, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Relationships, Self-Improvement, Religion & Spirituality

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All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten

by Robert Fulghum

Publication year 1986

Genre Essay Collection, Nonfiction

Themes Childhood & Youth, Death, Community

Tags Self-Improvement, Education, Education, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Humor, Philosophy, Inspirational

In his compilation of essays, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, Robert Fulghum studies the simplicity embedded in everyday experiences. First published in 1989, this collection captivated a global audience, becoming a cultural touchstone as a #1 New York Times bestseller and selling over 7 million copies. Fulghum draws from his life experiences to craft this collection of essays. This collection, which falls within the self-help, motivational, and personal transformation genres... Read All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten Summary

A Message to Garcia

by Elbert Hubbard

Publication year 1899

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Tags Military & War, Business & Economics, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self-Improvement, Classic Fiction

Elbert Hubbard’s essay “A Message to Garcia” tells of the heroic journey of an Army soldier who must deliver a letter to a freedom fighter, and of the need for a similar spirit of determination in the workplace. The work first appeared as a magazine article in 1899 and became a pamphlet and book that reached millions of readers. “Carry a message to Garcia” (3) was a commonly used phrase in America during the first... Read A Message to Garcia Summary

A New Earth

by Eckhart Tolle

Publication year 2005

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Language, The Past, Religion & Spirituality

Tags Self-Improvement, Symbolic Narrative, Religion & Spirituality, Inspirational, Psychology, Psychology, Philosophy, Philosophy

A New Earth: Create a Better Life by Eckart Tolle was originally published in 2005 with the title A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose. The book followed in the wake of Tolle’s seminal 1997 work The Power of Now, which discusses the potential inherent in the present moment and suggests that the destructive voice in our heads, which causes us to be constantly dissatisfied and compare ourselves to others, is the ego and... Read A New Earth Summary

Antifragile

by Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Publication year 2012

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Themes Economics, Science & Technology, Nation

Tags Philosophy, Business & Economics, Psychology, Science & Nature, Finance, Leadership, Psychology, Philosophy, Self-Improvement

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A Path Appears

by Nicholas D. Kristof , Sheryl WuDunn

Publication year 2014

Genre Book, Nonfiction

Tags Chinese Literature, Asian Literature, Sociology, Social Justice, Gender & Feminism, Business & Economics, Inspirational, Philosophy, Philosophy, Self-Improvement, Politics & Government

A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity is a nonfiction book published in 2014 by the husband-and-wife team of Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The book speaks to altruism and how people can do something to promote more opportunities for others around the world. The authors declare, “We wrote this book mostly to encourage others—rich and poor alike—to join in this push to improve the world” (16). They promote three ways of doing so:... Read A Path Appears Summary

As A Man Thinketh

by James Allen

Publication year 1902

Genre Essay / Speech, Nonfiction

Themes Perseverance, Fear, Joy, Love, Mental Health, Future, The Past, Environment, Nature Versus Nurture, Place, Self Discovery, Community, Education, Art, Beauty, Fate, Good & Evil, Literature, New Age, Order & Chaos, Religion & Spirituality, Truth & Lies

Tags Self-Improvement, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion & Spirituality, Inspirational

... Read As A Man Thinketh Summary