is self development relevent for me?

[L]

im trying to explore the non fiction sections.
i dont understand popular science. biographies just simply frastrate me they are so acomplished and im not. thats the oposite from inspiring.
and they are american.or old.
can this genre inspire me?
im 30 and not american.

[Scott S.]

I think self development is for anyone willing to apply what they learn. I'm at work, but I'll dig up some recommendations soon.

[Dee]

what don't you understand about popular science? that most of the books are too dense? that statement is a bit vague

i love recommending Mary Roach - who takes science and makes it fun - she has several books that are funny and yet informative - Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void is one of them

[Fustian]

There's a lot of excellent non fiction out there, but I doubt you'll find much of it in the "self-help" section.

What are your interests? You may find that there are non fiction books in an area that interests you (for instance, my foodie husband loves reading Ruhlman and Bourdain).

A lot of good non fiction writing is done on current events and social issues - are any of these of interest to you?

Popular science books in the soft sciences tend to be really approachable. Mary Roach, as mentioned by Dee, is a good example. Or you could try something by Gladwell, one of the Freakonomics books, or something like "The Drunkard's Walk" or "The Paradox of Choice".

Or you could try a collection of essays. David Foster Wallace has a couple of essay collections that are excellent. I really enjoy Jon Ronson - he's a British and more approachable than Wallace. David Rakoff and David Sedaris are both very funny. I enjoy Sarah Vowell, although she usually does American History (I'm not American either, and I learn something new reading Vowell).

There's so much to choose from in non-fiction!

[Josh]

A Book of Five Rings: The Classic Guide to Strategy

[Scott S.]

A third or fourth vote for Mary Roach's non-fiction.

In the actual self-improvement department: QBQ!, Linchpin & The Millionaire Mind. These are mostly business/career related.

Reading about inspiring people always makes me want to strive to be my best: Kisses from Katie, Life Without Limits & Mud, Sweat and Tears.

[Robin P]

I get bored with most non-fiction on audio because so much of it is like this. - "now that we have talked about topic A, we will progress to Topic B. Topic B consists of 3 parts, x, y and z , and here are their definitions +- etc. When reading in print I can zip over that to get to whatever interests me. Of course that's just me, many people find that audio is a great way to read non-fiction.

What I do like are The Great Courses because they are lectures specifically meant for hearing. Getting those from audible with one credit is a steal, but I bet libraries also have them. They cover all kinds of subjects - economics, psychology, history, literature, music, science, etc.

[Scott S.]

Ah, yes! The modern scholar series is good too.