Introducing the genre challenge

[Nikks]

Ian wrote: "Struggling Em - loathe self help books, so may have to go off on a tangent."

I cant read self help books either. Unless of course you can class reading a good book and living in that story as help help, you know, escapism from your own life ? lol

[Nell]

I have an unread copy of Eat, Pray, Love somewhere, I wonder if that would do? I've fairly recently read A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle - not sure I could manage another of his, although what he says makes perfect sense. I really don't feel that I need help, self or otherwise :)

[Liz, Moderator]

Nell wrote: "I have an unread copy of Eat, Pray, Love somewhere, I wonder if that would do? I've fairly recently read A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose by Eckhart Tolle - not sure I could manage an..."

Isn't Eat, Pray, Love more memoir than self-help?

I'm not into self-help either, but I have read a few titles recommended by friends. Like you, Nell, I've read A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose, which was good - the book reminds you that life is happening NOW and encourages readers to be 'mindful' and focus on the present, rather than waste energy/time dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.

Also, the ubiquitous Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus (good suggestions, irritating & repetitive style), Why Good Girls Don't Get Ahead... But Gutsy Girls Do: Nine Secrets Every Working Woman Must Know (again good advice, irritating style), Born To Win: Transactional Analysis With Gestalt Experiments - more psychology than self-help ( and not as dry as the title makes it sound) - cheaper than a course of psychotherapy!

I know what I'm going to be reading...
50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books to Transform Your Life from Timeless Sages to Contemporary Gurus which I got as a kindle deal months ago. I'm hoping that if I read this one, I might never need to read another self-help book again!

[Em]

I've got that 50 Self Help books as well, I just don't know if I'm in the mood to read it...

I've also got another Paulo Coelho - , that's a possible.

I know it's not everyones taste but I liked reading Mitch Albom, he has the advantage of brevity, but is it self help?

Otherwise I've some parenting books which I ought to read before I mess up my kids....

and although getting my kids to talk isn't generally an issue to be honest. Getting your kids to shut up for five minutes and let you speak! That's the book I actually need.

[Susan]

I'd love to read Mitch Albom's book The Time Keeper if that would count as Self Help....his books are usually uplifting, and have an inspiring message....would that be allowable do you think?

[Em]

It's ok by me Susan, I think he is someone who blends fiction (or memoir as in Tuesdays with Morrie) with an inspirational message which I would call self-help of a kind. I find Mitch Albom more relevant than Paulo Coelho as a rule, but the two strike me as writers with similar intentions.

[Susan]

Thats great Em....thanks.

[Nikks]

My favourite Paulo Coelho book was :

[Angela]

I downloaded something called The The Art of Failure: The Anti Self-Help Guide by Neel Burton. I might have a look at that for the self-help genre.

[Nell]

Liz wrote: Isn't Eat, Pray, Love more memoir than self-help?

It sounded like an instruction to me, but you're probably right. I'll read An Easy Guide to Meditation instead - I need a refresher course and it's free and only 25 pages long :)

[Bill]

I finished my loosely, very loosely Self-Help genre book, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference; it didn't help me, anyway, but it was still interesting. So what's next?? :0)

[Nell]

I've finished the meditation book - it was OK... ish, and I may have learned something.

[Ian, Moderator]

Think I'll be falling at the last hurdle and giving Self Help the big swerve......mixed sporting metaphors forever lol

[Liz, Moderator]

Ian wrote: "Think I'll be falling at the last hurdle and giving Self Help the big swerve......mixed sporting metaphors forever lol"

Are you chickening out, Ian? Perhaps you should be reading Feel the Fear and Do It Anyway ;)

I'm reading 50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books to Transform Your Life from Timeless Sages to Contemporary Gurus, and while it is giving me a few suggestions for books I might want to read more fully, at a later stage; it's really helping me identify those I can quite happily avoid!

[Natasha]

If it's any help, I loved the following books in this genre:


Loving What Is by Byron Katie
Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsch
Awareness by Anthony de Mello
No Attachments, No Aversions: The Autobiography of a Master by Lester Levenson
The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran
The Four Agreements by Don Miguel Ruiz

[Ian, Moderator]

Liz wrote: "Ian wrote: "Think I'll be falling at the last hurdle and giving Self Help the big swerve......mixed sporting metaphors forever lol"

Are you chickening out, Ian? Perhaps you should be reading Feel ..."

Yep...I'm past help lol