How to Read Self-Help
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How to Read Self-Help
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Re: How to Read Self-Help
#2If we're talking about books that contain a lot of wisdom,Imight suggest reading 'letters to a young poet' by Rainer Maria Rilke. It left a lasting impression and I get back to it from time to time.
Anyone that wants to get a teaser can watch: https://youtu.be/F5tZ8X-EnAg
Re: How to Read Self-Help
#3Self help that you read and learn is just knowledge; self help that you live and breathe is understanding. Moving from knowledge to understanding is difficult: you can tell a kid that the stove is hot but they just don't get it until they're burnt.
I think sometimes the problem with reading self help is it prescribes too many changes and people become overwhelmed. Learning to understand incredibly simple, trite things like self-acceptance can take a really long time. Simply knowing that you should accept yourself is not enough--ask any depressed person. There is a lot more work to be done before you can fully understand that notion.
Re: How to Read Self-Help
#4The best “self-help” books I’ve read are the ones that are able to formulate known insights that I already had, but put in much better words than I could have done myself.
Re: How to Read Self-Help
#5I’m a fan of some self-help books. However, a major aspect that this article misses is that self-help is not a purely mental & cognitive activity. In my experience, the best books are pathways to action - they are like recipe cookbooks, where you actually have to try out the thing in order to experience a change. Neurosurgeons don’t get their wisdom by reading - they practice, watch other people, assist, perform, and train. They learn by training. Self-help is the same.
Evaluating self-help books by what we understood by reading it is like trying to feel full and satiated by reading a cookbook of recipes. The cookbook and self-help book is there to be acted on.
Re: How to Read Self-Help
#6My main objection to these types of books is how overly verbose they tend to be. With a few exceptions, this category of book is built around a nucleus of few possibly valuable pearls of wisdom, and then 300 pages of filler is added. Usually lots of anecdotes ("Let me tell you about my friend Alice..."), checklists, and needless exposition.
If this really is wisdom, it does not follow that it takes 300 pages to communicate. But I suppose the propounders have to make a living somehow.
To be honest, I don't object to buying the book if it's really got some good wisdom, but I would be more likely to if they shipped with some sort of executive summary.
Re: How to Read Self-Help
#7My main objection to these types of books is how overly verbose they tend to be. With a few exceptions, this category of book is built around a nucleus of few possibly valuable pearls of wisdom , and then 300 pages of filler is added. Usually lots of anecdotes ("Let me tell you about my friend Alice..."), checklists, and needless exposition. If this really is wisdom , it does not follow that it takes 300 pages to com…
Most self-help books do ship with an executive summary, conventionally written on the inner cover and in online descriptions. "This book contains a great self-help tactic but I won't tell you what it is" doesn't exactly drive sales.
Re: How to Read Self-Help
#8I recommend the podcast "By The Book" if you're fascinated by/interested in the self-help book genre. The hosts select a self-help book, try to live it to the letter, and report their findings.
Re: How to Read Self-Help
#9My main objection to these types of books is how overly verbose they tend to be. With a few exceptions, this category of book is built around a nucleus of few possibly valuable pearls of wisdom , and then 300 pages of filler is added. Usually lots of anecdotes ("Let me tell you about my friend Alice..."), checklists, and needless exposition. If this really is wisdom , it does not follow that it takes 300 pages to com…
> If this really is wisdom, it does not follow that it takes 300 pages to communicate. But I suppose the propounders have to make a living somehow.
The article makes the point that the wisdom really does take much longer to communicate - a nugget of wisdom like ‘accept yourself’ seems trite when taken alone, but the examples (presumably filling the other 300 pages) are what makes the advice actually sink in.
Re: How to Read Self-Help
#10My main objection to these types of books is how overly verbose they tend to be. With a few exceptions, this category of book is built around a nucleus of few possibly valuable pearls of wisdom , and then 300 pages of filler is added. Usually lots of anecdotes ("Let me tell you about my friend Alice..."), checklists, and needless exposition. If this really is wisdom , it does not follow that it takes 300 pages to com…
> If this really is wisdom, it does not follow that it takes 300 pages to communicate.
There's not a big market for 10 page books.
A lot of business books suffer from the same issue. There's some genuinely interesting or innovative idea, but you could explain it to a bright audience in about 10 pages. So you fluff up everything in order to have a book you can sell.