As devoted readers, we truly believe that the right book at the right time can change your life. And when it comes to inspiration, one genre stands out: self-help books. If you're looking to reflect on your life and take action to improve it, we've rounded up the best of the best in this particular field.
With expert advice on how to boost your confidence, take ownership of what you want, and let go when the time calls for it, these books will put you in the driver's seat of life. A brand new you is just a few pages away.
You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life by Jen Sincero
$9, buy now on amazon.com
If you're looking to take charge of your life, this book is a great place to start. In You Are a Badass, New York Times-bestselling author and success coach Jen Sincero dispenses stories, advice, and easy exercises to help you boost your confidence and make the changes you want. This book will inspire you to take risks, get past your fears, and create a life you love.
Queer Eye: Love Yourself. Love Your Life. by Antoni Porowski, Tan France, Jonathan Van Ness, Bobby Berk, and Karamo Brown
$18, buy now on amazon.com
If you're obsessed with Netflix's Queer Eye, you're probably harboring a secret wish that the Fab Five would come to your house and change your life around. This book is the next best thing. Queer Eye: Love Yourself. Love Your Life is filled with tips from the show's hosts—not just about how to style your hair and decorate your house, but also on how to build a well-rounded life for yourself.
The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg
What might science teach us about how we can improve our lives? In The Power of Habit, Charles Duhigg dives into scientific discoveries and research that reveals how the habits we build affect our lives. By understanding how habits work, Duhigg argues, you have an enormous power to achieve your goals.
$15, buy now on amazon.com
Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear by Elizabeth Gilbert
$12, buy now on amazon.com
Every creative person needs a copy of Big Magic on their shelf. In this spellbinding book, Eat Pray Love author Elizabeth Gilbert unpacks how to embrace your curiosity, get past the mental obstacles that keep you from creating, and tap into the energy that inspires you. Whether you're looking to create art or simply have a little more passion in your everyday life, this book will give you a major boost.
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondō
$10, buy now on amazon.com
This book is a classic for a reason, and it's bound to make a huge difference in your life. In The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, professional cleaning consultant Marie Kondō instructs you on how to declutter your life. But her lessons go beyond the literal act of tidying up your house; they speak to a larger mindset of letting go that will deeply impact your day-to-day.
The Art of Asking; or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Let People Help by Amanda Palmer
$9, buy now on amazon.com
Part memoir, part manifesto, The Art of Asking is a book that will definitely empower to reach for your dreams. Musician Amanda Palmer details how the lessons she learned from being a living statue helped her carve her own path and achieve international superstardom. You'll fly through these pages, and walk away with a whole new outlook on life.
Year of Yes by Shonda Rhimes
$10, buy now on amazon.com
You know Shonda Rhimes as the creator of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How to Get Away with Murder. In the Year of Yes, Rhimes lays out the story of how she challenged herself to say "yes" to everything that came her way, and how that radically changed her life. You'll have Olivia Pope levels of confidence after reading this one.
All About Love by bell hooks
$10, buy now on amazon.com
All About Love might just radicalize how you think about your love life for the better. hooks is one of those authors whose writing changes the life of everyone who reads her. In this book, she unpacks how the notions most of us have about giving and receiving love often fail us. Whether you're single or you've been married for 50 years, this book will make a huge impact on you and your relationships.
Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead by Brené Brown
$9, buy now on amazon.com
In Daring Greatly, researcher and thought leader Brené Brown explores how vulnerability might be your greatest strength. Brown unpacks how you can harness your vulnerability and find the courage to be vulnerable in any area of your life, from your career to your love life.
Mindful Anger: A Pathway to Emotional Freedom by Andrea Brandt
$17, buy now on amazon.com
Self-help doesn't always have to do with happiness. In Mindful Anger, Andrea Brandt will teach you how to tap into your emotions and use anger (yes, anger!) in a positive way. With tips on how to practice mindfulness, Brandt explores all the ways in which suppressing your anger might be harming you and holding you back.
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel A. van der Kolk
$16, buy now on amazon.com
This book is a pretty common recommendation from therapists, and it might entirely change how you think about your own body and emotions. In The Body Keeps the Score, van der Kolk explores how trauma literally rearranges the brain's wiring, and how to use techniques like neurofeedback, mindfulness techniques, play, yoga, and other therapies to heal.
Grit by Angela Duckworth
$14, buy now on amazon.com
In Grit, psychologist Angela Duckworth explores the special blend of passion and persistence that leads to success. Drawing on research as well as her own personal story, Duckworth shows readers how "what goes through your head when you fall down" is what matters more than talent.
Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life by Cheryl Strayed
$9, buy now on amazon.com
You might know Cheryl Strayed as the author of Wild, or perhaps from her advice column, "Dear Sugar." Tiny Beautiful Things collects some of the best advice from Strayed's column. Filled with gems of wisdom about everything from love to finding yourself, this is a gorgeous book that will surely ready you to take on the world.
How to Be Alone by Sara Maitland
$13, buy now on amazon.com
It's amazing how your life can be altered when you embrace the idea of being alone. In How to Be Alone, Sara Maitland explores the benefits of spending time by yourself, offering experiments and strategies for embracing the anxiety that solitude might bring about. This book will revolutionize how you think about your me-time.
The Happiness Project: Or Why I Spent a Year Trying to Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin
$14, buy now on amazon.com
The Happiness Project is probably one of the most beloved self-help books out there. Gretchen Rubin spent a year trying to do everything prescribed by self-help books. The result is that she learned a lot about herself and what truly works. This is a fun read that will definitely give you some new ideas for your life.
So Good They Can't Ignore You: Why Skills Trump Passion in the Quest for Work You Love by Cal Newport
$18, buy now on amazon.com
We've all been told to follow our passion, but is that really the best advice? In So Good They Can't Ignore You, Cal Newport takes a realistic approach to how to develop your career, arguing that what you do for a living is far less important than how you do it.
Gmorning, Gnight!: Little Pep Talks for Me & You by Lin-Manuel Miranda, illustrated by Jonny Sun
$13, buy now on amazon.com
Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda is here to inspire you in this brand new book. In Gmorning, Gnight, Miranda delivers stories, advice, sayings, and poetry that will inspire you to "rise up" in whatever it is life is handing you. Paired with illustrations from Jonny Sun (author of the infinitely adorable Everyone's a Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too) this is a book that will put an extra pep in your step.
The Highly Sensitive Person: How to Thrive When the World Overwhelms You by Elaine N. Aron
$10, buy now on amazon.com
If you're often labeled as "too shy" or "too sensitive," value alone time, and have a keen imagination, you might be what clinical psychologist Dr. Elaine Aron calls a "highly sensitive person." (HSP) In The Highly Sensitive Person, Aron explores what this might mean for you, and how to embrace these qualities in today's world.
Drop the Ball: Achieving More by Doing Less by Tiffany Dufu
$15, buy now on amazon.com
Are you a person who tends to take on too much? Do you feel like it's impossible to achieve your career goals and have a personal life? In this manifesto, Tiffany Dufu argues that the secret to success might be doing less. Drop the Ball will teach you how letting yourself let things go will make an incredible difference in your life.
Take the Leap: Change Your Career, Change Your Life by Sara Bliss
$16, buy now on amazon.com
If you're yearning to make a change in your career, you need to check out this book. Take the Leap features inspiration and advice from more than 65 people who have made massive leaps in their careers. With this guide, you can definitely build a roadmap towards making your dreams come true.
The Year of Less: How I Stopped Shopping, Gave Away My Belongings, and Discovered Life Is Worth More Than Anything You Can Buy in a Store by Cait Flanders
$13, buy now on amazon.com
In her late twenties, Cait Flanders had a realization: nothing she was doing or buying was making her happy. The Year of Less tells what happened when Flanders decided to break the consumerism cycle, challenging herself to buy only consumables (groceries, toiletries, gas for her car) and do everything in her life a little "less." There is so much to learn from this fascinating read.
