Exclusive: Goodreads Reveals The Nine Most Popular Self Help Books of 2024
By Michael Giltz,
8 hours ago
Goodreads reveals exclusively to Parade its most popular self help books of 2024. Wait, is it time for New Year’s resolutions already? Nope, but in these stressful , overwhelming times, it’s never too soon to seek out some life hacks, positive steps to improve your relationships , figure out what the heck this whole AI thing is and maybe cut yourself some slack.
That’s certainly the case with the voracious readers of Goodreads . All year long, they’ve been exploring various topics like ADHD, better sex, taking things a little slow and so on via some of the best reviewed and most popular books of the year. Now in an exclusive for Parade, the folks at Goodreads dove into the data and offers us an exclusive look at the most popular self help, life-hacking, somebody-explain-AI-to-me books of 2024. And not a moment too soon. So let’s get reading! Here are nine of the titles that the community of Goodreads says will make your life better.
Goodreads Reveals Nine of Its Most Popular Self Help Books of 2024
Ok, I feel like the people talking about books at Goodreads really get me. Because I am definitely down for a book called Slow Productivity. It’s by best-selling author Cal Newport, who also scored with Digital Minimalism and Deep Work. Here Newport talks about the pluses of not rushing. Subtitled “The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout,” Newport says there’s a better way than our hectic, always-on, always checking email life. Everyone from Galileo to Jane Austen offers a model of slow productivity. Newport mixes in historical examples with practical advice for those who have the luxury of taking his advice to heart. (Management, p[ay attention!) Now, I think I’ll have a cup of coffee and watch the sunset before moving on to the next book on the list.
Here’s another winner according to the community at Goodreads and I’m with them again. The Other Significant Others emphasizes the importance of friendship. While the divorce rate is not skyrocketing, people are waiting longer to get married or cohabitate. With family often farflung, our friends are an increasingly important of our lives. They’re not an adjunct to a “real” relationship but often the most significant and long-lasting relationships in our lives. Here author Rhaina Cohen looks at people who really center friendship, to the point of buying homes together, living together and radically reimagining what our lives can and should be like.
Trevor Noah of The Daily Show loves it. And so does Goodreader Hillary agrees, writing, “Yes, yes, YES! This book was exactly what I was hoping it would be! A book about all kinds of relationships that can make a person whole! I am a happily married woman…but I am surrounded by so many others, some in similar relationships, some in situationships, some in committed relationships with a partner, some who are single...and all of us are such wonderful friends. The bottom line is that there are so many ways to be fulfilled….” The Other Significant Others by Rhaina Cohen ($29; St. Martin’s Press) Buy now on Amazon , Barnes & Noble , Bookshop.org
Wharton professor Ethan Mollick says relax. ChatGPT is not HAL-9000. (Yet! Sorry, couldn’t resist.) A renowned expert on the subject of AI, Mollick offers practical insights into the profound impact this “co-intelligence” is already having in countless industries and how it will continue to do so in the years to come. As AI becomes ubiquitous it might become as powerful and taken for granted as electricity. Remember, electricity transformed the world, powers almost everything in sight in every facet of our lives and yet we barely think about it. AI might be just as indispensable, but it helps to understand how we can harness it as a coach and co-worker in ways you and I haven’t even thought of yet…but Mollick has. A primer on one of the defining transformations of our age.
Goodreader Manny says it’s worth reading, even if you’re a teacher and suspicious of it. “People have tried banning students from using them, which doesn't work, and they've tried ignoring the problem and hoping things will somehow just sort themselves out, which works even less. Ethan Mollick, a US professor of business studies, realized at an early stage that a more coherent approach was to embrace the new technology and learn to use it as well as possible. Even if you think this is absolutely the wrong thing to do, you should read about his experiences….”
Intimate relationships are an eternal preoccupation of self-help books because, you know, men! I kid! But whether you’re dating or married for years, relationships take work. Here are two books to help you on your journey.
I’m such a fan of the Beatles that it took me a while to catch the naughty double entendre of author Emily Nagoski’s Come Together. She’s here to have a little fun but also dispel myths about long-term relationships. No, the sex does not have to slowly fizzle out. No, it’s not always the best early on. Yes, you can learn to make sex better for both of you for as long as you’re together! Goodreader ancientreader loved it, writing, “When I look at my early highlights, I'm reminded of why I thought this book was heading for 4+ stars: solid, practical insights in abundance, many of which were the best kind of insight, the kind that make you smack yourself in the forehead because they're blindingly obvious once they're pointed out, or because you knew whatever-it-was all along but keep managing to forget it.”
In Fight Right, the renowned team of Julie and John Gottman partner on a book about fighting. It’s inevitable in any relationship. But it can also be destructive. Done properly, or should I say more effectively with attention to the sort of fighters each of you are, fighting can hash out disagreements and find a way forward on a problem or a way to accept differences. Not everything need be do or die, but fighting poorly can be just that for a couple. Goodreader Kim said, “I particularly liked the quick reference guide in the back of the book which allows you to easily review key points keeping fights light, fair and civil. These are geared towards life partners but the skills will help in any relationship squabble from social to work possibly even with teenagers.” Come Together by Emily Nagoski, PhD ($30; Ballantine Books) Buy now on Amazon , Barnes & Noble , Bookshop.org Fight Right by Julia Schwartz Gottman, PhD and John Gottman, PhD ($30; Harmony) Buy now on Amazon , Barnes & Noble , Bookshop.org
Ok, we’re back in my wheelhouse as the community at Goodreads embraces a book about embracing your limitations (done!) and making time for what counts. Author Oliver Burkeman maps out a four week plan for reimagining your life, starting with acknowledging who you are (Messy? Always a little late? Easily excited by new projects you start but never finish?) rather than who you’d like to be (Neater! On time! Someone who finishes projects!). Then Burkeman, who is better known in the UK and should be better known in the U.S., offers all sorts of practical advice for getting on with it.
Goodreader Antonia adds, “I’ve seen this book characterized as “Religion & Spirituality” (I don’t get that) and/or “Self-Help.” But oh, it is so much more. This book is a compact course in philosophy–a philosophy of life that any mortal can relate to and benefit from.” Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman ($27; Farrar, Straus and Giroux) Buy now on Amazon , Barnes & Noble , Bookshop.org
Subtitled “A Guide To (Mostly) Thriving,” one aspect of this book is gobsmackingly obvious. A title about ADHD, it’s written in an accessible style and format well suited to…people with ADHD. Well, duh, but I hadn’t thought of that, had you? It’s also a useful primer for people living with or friends with someone who has ADHD.
Goodreader Steff has some thoughts, writing, “I think there is a lot of information that can be gleaned from it and it was certainly far more of an entertaining read than your typical ADHD support book… Ultimately, I think it’s important to take the authors at their word: this is not the end all be all of ADHD books. It’s a tips and tricks sort of book with a side of personal stories with the hope that readers may find pieces of the advice useful in their day to day. It’s a positive hype up to support those who have negative feelings about their diagnosis or life struggles.” ADHD Is Awesome by Penn and Kim Holderness ($29.99; Harper Horizon) Buy now on Amazon , Barnes & Noble , Bookshop.org
Pulitzer Prize winner Charles Duhigg scored hits with The Power of Habit (explaining why we do what we do and how that can be changed) and Smarter Faster Better (explaining how we can achieve real productivity). Now he offers another tool: how to go from a communicator to a supercommunicator. The gist is recognizing three central types of communication and how doing so helps you make every communication more effective. Am I getting this across right?
Goodreader Meike says Duhigg certainly did, writing, “Duhigg's book is so fun because it explains scientific findings with real-life examples, which renders the text entertaining and the findings easy to remember.” Supercommunicators by Charles Duhigg ($30; Random House) Buy now on Amazon , Barnes & Noble , Bookshop.org
Maybe you’re too cynical for self-improvement or learning more about AI and how to make your relationship work. “I’ll always be late!” “I don’t even understand algebra; how can I understand AI?” “My relationships never work out!” Hey, why so cynical? And if you are cynical, maybe you could use a little dose of…hope. Stanford psychologist Dr. Jamil Zaki insists that cynicism can be a sickness. He doesn’t ask you to embrace your inner Pollyanna, but instead try what he calls “hopeful skepticism.” Hmm, I’m not sure about that, but it’s worth a try. (See?)
Goodreader (and author!) Chris Boutté says, “This is easily one of my favorite books of the year, and I can’t recommend it enough. I’m a major cynic, and I went into this book with insane amounts of skepticism. I was thinking, ‘Alright. Here comes a guy completely disconnected from the real struggles of everyday people who is about to tell readers to look on the bright side.’ Halfway through the introduction, I thought, ‘Damn it. This guy’s making a lot of good points.’” Hope For Cynics by Jamil Zaki ($30; Grand Central Publishing) Buy now on Amazon , Barnes & Noble , Bookshop.org
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