Self-Help Books

I downloaded the free sample of How to Win Friends and Influence People out of some sort of perverse curiosity, just to see if I had done it a dis-service. I had not. The entire free sample was filled with absolutely no content whatsoever other than cheap sales talk as above. Unbelievable!

Yes Kasie I think I might as well write some such nonsense, very easily done.

I am interested in reading psychology, real psychology, so I'm searching for decent psychology book if anyone has any suggestions. There's a lot of hocus pocus about.

'I was once living in the gutter, eating scraps of food, bits of mouldy bread and old sausages, that I could find in bins, when I came across your amazing book Simple Steps to Success'.
So, presumably, the person who threw the book in the bin is still living on mouldy bread and old sausages. Now why would anyone who has made a fortune bother writing a book about how to do it instead of watching the toiling wage slaves from his ivory tower? The words ‘simple’ or ‘ easy’ are an obvious prerequisite for writers of self-help books because potential readers are looking for an easy option, but there isn’t one. Whether looking to lose weight, bodybuilding, learning another language, playing a musical instrument etc. etc., all human endeavour requires some effort, so there isn’t an effortless solution. This seems so obvious that it’s almost incredible that so many people are prepared to pay in order to find out the hard way.

Ah but you see Emil, if you buy the book and follow the quick and simple steps it lays out, you don't need to put in any effort at all!

That's right. My Simple Steps to Success, is just that, simple steps to a richer, happier life. My secret (that's another good word) is found within these pages. Get ahead of the crowd and fulfil YOUR dreams, order today.

People obviously want easy quick fixes and are prepared to swallow horrendous prose in the hopes that it improves their lives. Even if 'the power of positive thinking' really is an important element in success (and I don't know about that anyway) then you hardly need a complete book on this, a page or two is probably enough, that's why there's so much bumpf in these sort of books they have to pad it out with something. This is where all the gushing stories and sales chatter comes in.

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Originally Posted by Volya

Ah but you see Emil, if you buy the book and follow the quick and simple steps it lays out, you don't need to put in any effort at all!

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I suggest that you try learning a foreign language in three months, which is what one well known brand ( Linguaphone) advertises, then come back to the forum three months hence and let me know how you got on.

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Originally Posted by Neely

I downloaded the free sample of How to Win Friends and Influence People out of some sort of perverse curiosity, just to see if I had done it a dis-service. I had not. The entire free sample was filled with absolutely no content whatsoever other than cheap sales talk as above. Unbelievable!

Yes Kasie I think I might as well write some such nonsense, very easily done.

I am interested in reading psychology, real psychology, so I'm searching for decent psychology book if anyone has any suggestions. There's a lot of hocus pocus about.

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I read a couple of works by the eminent psychiatrist Dr. Anthony Storr which received critical acclaim when published back in the 1990s. Looking at them again, I see that they are worth another read. One is called 'Solitude' and the other is 'Music and the Mind'. The first deals with the necessary part that solitude has played in the works of certain writers and artists whereas the second, as its title implies, is an exploration of the importance of music in the lives of both performers and listeners. You might care to give them a try as they are fairly short works at about 200pp. each.

Thanks I'll have a look at those. I might also just order a standard undergrad/A-level textbook. Some of the slightly out of date editions (3rd edition instead of the 4th for example) are dead cheap and good enough for what I want it for.

They don't exist; these books are 'help' not 'self-help.' If you did it yourself you probably didn't need help.

Excuse me, important news: Maya Angelou publishes her new book, Mom & I & Mom. Can't miss it.