Self Help Books
recommended by psychologists, academics and writers
Last updated: May 08, 2025
We all want to be the best version of ourselves that we can be: happy, productive, motivated and living a life of meaning. But sometimes we find ourselves in need of guidance. There are many books that can help us in our quest to live as well as we can—as every bookshop's groaning shelves can attest. But which self help books are best? We've asked dozens of experts to recommend the best books in their field.
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1
The Surprise Visitor (Quick Reads)
by Cathy Bramley -
2
A Boy Called Saul (Quick Reads)
by Fiona Cummins -
3
A Rising Man (Quick Reads)
by Abir Mukherjee -
4
A New Year (Quick Reads)
by Leila Aboulela -
5
The Mind Manual: Mental Fitness Tools for Everyone (Quick Reads)
by Dr. Alex George -
6
Write It All Down: How to Put Your Life on the Page (Quick Reads)
by Cathy Rentzenbrink
Quick Reads, recommended by The Reading Agency
Quick Reads, recommended by The Reading Agency
Quick Reads, published every year by the Reading Agency, are short books designed to help struggling readers, particularly those who find a longer text challenging. The books are often written by bestselling authors and are designed to encourage reading for pleasure.
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Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art
by James Nestor -
Food for Life: Your Guide to the New Science of Eating Well
by Tim Spector -
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
by Stephen Covey -
Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams
by Matthew Walker -
Outlive: The Art and Science of Longevity
by Peter Attia & with Bill Gifford
Self-Help Books for 2025
Self-Help Books for 2025
New year, new you? Every January, millions resolve to become fitter, happier and more productive. If you’re looking for evergreen life advice, look no further than this curated selection of self-help books, recommended by our expert interviewees.
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1
Self Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself
by Kristin Neff -
2
The Compassionate Mind
by Paul Gilbert -
3
Humankind: A Hopeful History
by Rutger Bregman -
4
Kind: The Quiet Power of Kindness at Work
by Graham Allcott -
5
Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection
by Charles Duhigg
The best books on Being Kinder to Yourself and Others, recommended by Ross White
The best books on Being Kinder to Yourself and Others, recommended by Ross White
There are times in life when it pays to be dynamic, relentless, determined. But we also need to learn when to cut ourselves and our friends, family, and colleagues some slack, argues clinical psychologist Dr Ross White. Here, he recommends five books that help us reflect on being kinder to ourselves and others.
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1
The Marshmallow Test: Why Self-Control Is the Engine of Success
by Walter Mischel -
2
A Curious Mind: The Secret To a Bigger Life
by Brian Grazer -
3
Mindset: The New Psychology of Success
by Carol Dweck -
4
Popular: The Power of Likability in a Status-Obsessed World
by Mitch Prinstein -
5
Path to Purpose
by William Damon
The best books on Character Development, recommended by Angela Duckworth
The best books on Character Development, recommended by Angela Duckworth
Can we cultivate qualities like grit, tenacity and kindness? How about habits of the successful—hard work, perseverance and productivity? Angela Duckworth, bestselling author of Grit and founder of the Character Lab at the University of Pennsylvania, recommends five books, including a title that graces every CEO’s shelf.
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1
The Organized Mind: Thinking Straight in the Age of Information Overload
by Daniel J Levitin -
2
BrainChains: Your Thinking Brain Explained in Simple Terms
by Theo Compernolle -
3
The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
by Atul Gawande -
4
The Inevitable: Understanding the 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future
by Kevin Kelly -
5
The Antidote
by Oliver Burkeman
The best books on Productivity, recommended by David Allen
The best books on Productivity, recommended by David Allen
If you feel like you lose whole days to procrastination or indecision—or simply have too much to do!—you probably want advice on how improve your productivity. We spoke to David Allen, creator of the perennial bestseller Getting Things Done, about the best books on the subject: why we waste time, and what we can change to be more productive.
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1
The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness
by Jonathan Haidt -
2
Meditations for Mortals: Four Weeks to Embrace Your Limitations and Make Time for What Counts
by Oliver Burkeman -
3
Good Reasonable People: The Psychology Behind America's Dangerous Divide
by Keith Payne -
4
A Little History of Psychology
by Nicky Hayes -
5
Supercommunicators: How to Unlock the Secret Language of Connection
by Charles Duhigg
Notable Self-Help & Psychology Books of 2024, recommended by Cal Flyn
Notable Self-Help & Psychology Books of 2024, recommended by Cal Flyn
Five Books deputy editor Cal Flyn offers a concise round-up of the most notable newly released psychology and self-help books of 2024, taking in a study of partisanship in Trump's America, a strongly-argued case against 'the phone-based childhood,' and a manual for improving your own communication skills.
The best books on Mindset and Success, recommended by Carol Dweck
If you’ve stepped inside a school recently, you’ve probably heard teachers talking about the importance of a ‘growth mindset.’ Here psychologist Carol Dweck, who pioneered research into this key concept, explains what it’s all about and recommends books—other than her own—that shed light on it.
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1
Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World
by Mark Williams. Danny Penman -
2
Into the Heart of Mindfulness: Finding Our Path to Well-Being
by Ed Halliwell -
3
A Mindfulness Guide for the Frazzled
by Ruby Wax -
4
The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attunement in the Cultivation of Well-Being
by Daniel Siegel -
5
Mindfulness in Action: Making Friends with Yourself through Meditation and Everyday Awareness
by Chogyam Trungpa
The best books on Mindfulness, recommended by Tessa Watt
The best books on Mindfulness, recommended by Tessa Watt
In a world where many people feel frazzled by the pace of life, can mindfulness help? What’s the best way of practising it? Or is it just a fad? Philosopher Nigel Warburton talks to mindfulness expert, Tessa Watt, about the best books on mindfulness.
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1
Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
by David Allen -
2
Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World
by Cal Newport -
3
The Tao of Time
by Diana Hunt & Pam Hait -
4
Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less
by Tiffany Dufu -
5
Finding Meaning in an Imperfect World
by Iddo Landau
The best books on Time Management, recommended by Oliver Burkeman
The best books on Time Management, recommended by Oliver Burkeman
Feeling stressed and overwhelmed? You are not alone. Oliver Burkeman, author of Four Thousand Weeks, selects some of the best books on time management—including two classic how-to guides, plus several texts focused on helping you decide how you really want to spend your finite time on this planet.
The best books on Happiness, recommended by Jonathan Haidt
Most of us want to be happy, and yet it’s hard to achieve. Jonathan Haidt, psychologist and author of the classic The Happiness Hypothesis, talks us through five books, old and new, to better understand happiness.
