Self-help is one of the fastest growing and most popular genres of writing today. There is a constant stream of releases in this category which makes up a significant percentage of all new book releases.
Only a small number of years ago books of this nature were quite uncommon and it was seen as somewhat silly to read them – people tended to take the view that simple common sense was the only thing required to overcome difficulties in life. However, the self-help genre seems to testify rather to the contrary.
If common sense were all that is needed, then it would seem nobody would ever get into personal difficulty. With the application of common sense, whether the source is one’s own thoughts or those of another by recommendation, problems should be resolved quickly and simply and eliminate the need for any external fonts of wisdom.
Yet the genre grows year on year, which can only point to the exact opposite – that less and less often are people able to work out their difficulties in the usual way. With such a vast array of self-help books available, it’s really difficult to decide what’s worth reading and what isn’t. Unfortunately matters are further complicated by unscrupulous people who write what is practically nonsense and are able to have it published.
The art to benefiting from self-help books is now knowing what to avoid and how to decide which books are worth your time.
Obviously the first port of call is assessing what your needs are. Looking closely at your life you need to figure out exactly what sort of topics are important in helping you. If this is, in itself, a struggle (as life can often be very complicated) then some books can even help with this!
Once you have worked out what topics you’ll want to read on things already become much easier. However, separating the wheat from the chaff is a much trickier process.
Firstly, look for the author’s credentials. If they’re an eminent, widely respected, public figure of psychology then that’s already a good sign. That isn’t to say there are no good books written by non-famous psychologists, nor that all books by famous psychologists will be good, but it works as a general guide.
Then it’s worth seeking out reviews, and even reading the comments from newspapers etc which grace the back covers of books so often – if they come from respectable sources (good quality newspapers and magazines, other eminent psychologists, etc) then this is another good sign that the book is more than drivel.
Then it’s always worth taking a brief look at the opening few paragraphs to see how you feel about the writing style – some styles suit certain people more than others and this can have a big impact.
Hardest of all is determining the quality of information which the book provides – being rigorous and analytic in your reading will help with this. It should enable you to get a better sense of how valuable the information in the book really is. Don’t be afraid to question what is written.
These simple techniques will help save you a lot of time when trying to find self-help books of a decent quality that provide bonafide information rather than useless waffle. Hopefully this will help steer you clear of misleading or misguiding books and keep your reading focused on books of a better quality.
Navigating the Sea of Self-Help Books
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