Self-Help is now the current trend of book genres.Oftentimes the author is trying to sell you something life changing, like an idea or a concept either from personal experience or research or in most cases both. It routinely begins with, my life was a total mess and this is what I did to turn it around (doesn’t that format seem familiar?). Unfortunately, there are several self-help books out there that are just 300 pages worth of pep talk with unrealistic optimism rather than a prescriptive approach, which I personally prefer.
If you’re like me, beware of these books because they may not be as helpful as they may seem and can be a total waste your time and money. Consider this a warning for all you book lovers and self-help seeking folks.
Here Are A Few Tips for reading Self-Help Books
Skip To The Fun Stuff
Unlike fictional books, chapters in self help books can be unrelated to each other. That being so, there are no prerequisites for understanding the ideas of each chapter. So, feel free to move along and head to the chapters that interest you the most. You should stop giving attention to the chapters that you don’t like just how you would promptly skip an annoying YouTube ad to watch a video. Jump to the chapters that you think are useful to you and don’t bother about what comes before that. I know this could possibly cause some FOMO (fear of missing out), but I can assure you; you are not missing out on anything.It’s okay to have half-read books.
You know how you would walk into a store, looked around and maybe even tried on a few things and then without purchasing anything you just leave. Which makes you feel guilty like you did something illegal in there but really you just didn’t like anything. Same goes with half-read books, you get the book and you told yourself you’re going to read it and when you do, you just can’t get yourself to finish it which leaves you feeling guilty. Mark Manson said that there’s this idea that when we start reading a book that we feel the need to read every word till very the last page of which is probably from schooling where we were tested on how much of the book we have read. Well, for non-fiction books you actually don’t have to. Therefore, you should relieve yourself of the guilt of not reading the entire book. Take what’s useful for you and leave out the rest.
Listen to audiobooks or book summaries podcasts
If you are a person on the go, this tip would be for you. Unlike reading which requires one to sit down and completely focus on the book, listening to audiobooks allows multitasking. Just like playing music, you can listen to an audiobook while driving, doing chores or even in the shower. Furthermore, if just want to get the ideas of each chapter you can listen to book summaries podcasts. I recommend, Books Are Great podcast and Moonshots Podcast.
As a fellow reader, I hope you find these tips to be helpful to you. Finally, whichever way you choose to consume a book see to it that you choose wisely the books that are worth your time and attention, and servers you well as a reader by giving you valuable self-help solutions. Books are meant to serve the reader not the other way around.
