It depends on what you understand under "self-help books".
The generic, feel-good ones, sure, those are trash that usually doesn't work (they still might work given the specific situation).
The well researched, written by scientists and psychologists - I found a few that I love. In fact I'm going to buy ten pieces of one book for this Christmas because I have found it crucial.
These are the three well researched books I've read in the past 18 months that turned my life around for the better and that I heartily recommend:
[1] The Promise of Sleep
[2] Self-theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Development
[3] Learned Optimism (that's the one I'm buying ten times for this year's Christmas)
The one recommended in the article, 59 Seconds, is waiting on a pile of books (not exclusively from the self-help category, with The Algorithm Design Manual, Street Smarts, Architecture of Open Source Applications, Learn You a Haskell etc.) to be read soon.
The generic, feel-good ones, sure, those are trash that usually doesn't work (they still might work given the specific situation).
The well researched, written by scientists and psychologists - I found a few that I love. In fact I'm going to buy ten pieces of one book for this Christmas because I have found it crucial.
These are the three well researched books I've read in the past 18 months that turned my life around for the better and that I heartily recommend:
[1] The Promise of Sleep
[2] Self-theories: Their Role in Motivation, Personality, and Development
[3] Learned Optimism (that's the one I'm buying ten times for this year's Christmas)
The one recommended in the article, 59 Seconds, is waiting on a pile of books (not exclusively from the self-help category, with The Algorithm Design Manual, Street Smarts, Architecture of Open Source Applications, Learn You a Haskell etc.) to be read soon.
Let's read, think and become better people.
[1] http://www.amazon.com/Promise-Sleep-Medicine-Connection-Happ...
[2] http://www.amazon.com/Self-theories-Motivation-Personality-D...
[3] http://www.amazon.com/Learned-Optimism-Change-Your-Mind/dp/1...