Author: Oprah Winfrey
Publisher: Flatiron Books
ISBN: 1250054079
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
The inspirational wisdom Oprah Winfrey shares in her monthly O., The Oprah Magazine column updated, curated, and collected for the first time in a beautiful keepsake book. As a creative force, student of the human heart and soul, and champion of living the life you want, Oprah Winfrey stands alone. Over the years, she has made history with a legendary talk show - the highest-rated program of its kind, launched her own television network, become the nation's only African-American billionaire, and been awarded both an honorary degree by Harvard University and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. From all her experiences, she has gleaned life lessons—which, for fourteen years, she's shared in O, The Oprah Magazine's widely popular "What I Know For Sure" column, a monthly source of inspiration and revelation. Now, for the first time, these thoughtful gems have been revised, updated, and collected in What I Know For Sure, a beautiful cloth bound book with a ribbon marker, packed with insight and revelation from Oprah Winfrey. Organized by theme—joy, resilience, connection, gratitude, possibility, awe, clarity, and power—these essays offer a rare, powerful and intimate glimpse into the heart and mind of one of the world's most extraordinary women—while providing readers a guide to becoming their best selves. Candid, moving, exhilarating, uplifting, and frequently humorous, the words Oprah shares in What I Know For Sure shimmer with the sort of truth that readers will turn to again and again.
What I Know For Sure
Author: Oprah Winfrey
Publisher: Flatiron Books
ISBN: 1250054079
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
The inspirational wisdom Oprah Winfrey shares in her monthly O., The Oprah Magazine column updated, curated, and collected for the first time in a beautiful keepsake book. As a creative force, student of the human heart and soul, and champion of living the life you want, Oprah Winfrey stands alone. Over the years, she has made history with a legendary talk show - the highest-rated program of its kind, launched her own television network, become the nation's only African-American billionaire, and been awarded both an honorary degree by Harvard University and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. From all her experiences, she has gleaned life lessons—which, for fourteen years, she's shared in O, The Oprah Magazine's widely popular "What I Know For Sure" column, a monthly source of inspiration and revelation. Now, for the first time, these thoughtful gems have been revised, updated, and collected in What I Know For Sure, a beautiful cloth bound book with a ribbon marker, packed with insight and revelation from Oprah Winfrey. Organized by theme—joy, resilience, connection, gratitude, possibility, awe, clarity, and power—these essays offer a rare, powerful and intimate glimpse into the heart and mind of one of the world's most extraordinary women—while providing readers a guide to becoming their best selves. Candid, moving, exhilarating, uplifting, and frequently humorous, the words Oprah shares in What I Know For Sure shimmer with the sort of truth that readers will turn to again and again.
Publisher: Flatiron Books
ISBN: 1250054079
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 241
Book Description
The inspirational wisdom Oprah Winfrey shares in her monthly O., The Oprah Magazine column updated, curated, and collected for the first time in a beautiful keepsake book. As a creative force, student of the human heart and soul, and champion of living the life you want, Oprah Winfrey stands alone. Over the years, she has made history with a legendary talk show - the highest-rated program of its kind, launched her own television network, become the nation's only African-American billionaire, and been awarded both an honorary degree by Harvard University and the Presidential Medal of Freedom. From all her experiences, she has gleaned life lessons—which, for fourteen years, she's shared in O, The Oprah Magazine's widely popular "What I Know For Sure" column, a monthly source of inspiration and revelation. Now, for the first time, these thoughtful gems have been revised, updated, and collected in What I Know For Sure, a beautiful cloth bound book with a ribbon marker, packed with insight and revelation from Oprah Winfrey. Organized by theme—joy, resilience, connection, gratitude, possibility, awe, clarity, and power—these essays offer a rare, powerful and intimate glimpse into the heart and mind of one of the world's most extraordinary women—while providing readers a guide to becoming their best selves. Candid, moving, exhilarating, uplifting, and frequently humorous, the words Oprah shares in What I Know For Sure shimmer with the sort of truth that readers will turn to again and again.
How Successful People Think
Author: John C. Maxwell
Publisher: Center Street
ISBN: 1599952157
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 120
Book Description
Gather successful people from all walks of life -- what would they have in common? The way they think! Now you can think as they do and revolutionize your work and life! A Wall Street Journal bestseller, How Successful People Think is the perfect, compact read for today's fast-paced world. America's leadership expert John C. Maxwell will teach you how to be more creative and when to question popular thinking. You'll learn how to capture the big picture while focusing your thinking. You'll find out how to tap into your creative potential, develop shared ideas, and derive lessons from the past to better understand the future. With these eleven keys to more effective thinking, you'll clearly see the path to personal success. The 11 keys to successful thinking include: Big-Picture Thinking - seeing the world beyond your own needs and how that leads to great ideas Focused Thinking - removing mental clutter and distractions to realize your full potential Creative Thinking - thinking in unique ways and making breakthroughs Shared Thinking - working with others to compound results Reflective Thinking - looking at the past to gain a better understanding of the future.
Publisher: Center Street
ISBN: 1599952157
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 120
Book Description
Gather successful people from all walks of life -- what would they have in common? The way they think! Now you can think as they do and revolutionize your work and life! A Wall Street Journal bestseller, How Successful People Think is the perfect, compact read for today's fast-paced world. America's leadership expert John C. Maxwell will teach you how to be more creative and when to question popular thinking. You'll learn how to capture the big picture while focusing your thinking. You'll find out how to tap into your creative potential, develop shared ideas, and derive lessons from the past to better understand the future. With these eleven keys to more effective thinking, you'll clearly see the path to personal success. The 11 keys to successful thinking include: Big-Picture Thinking - seeing the world beyond your own needs and how that leads to great ideas Focused Thinking - removing mental clutter and distractions to realize your full potential Creative Thinking - thinking in unique ways and making breakthroughs Shared Thinking - working with others to compound results Reflective Thinking - looking at the past to gain a better understanding of the future.
Pocket Full of Do
Author: Chris Do
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780578657165
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 175
Book Description
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780578657165
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 175
Book Description
Breaking Free from Emotional Eating
Author: Geneen Roth
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780452284913
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Geneen Roth, an exploration of the link between dieting, compulsive eating, and emotion, complete with life-changing advice on how to break the binge-diet cycle forever. There is an end to the anguish of emotional eating—and Geneen Roth has made it her life’s work to help people heal their relationship with food through an understanding of the deeply personal and spiritual issues at the root of compulsive eating. In this edition of Breaking Free From Emotional Eating, updated with a new introduction, Roth outlines her proven program for resolving the conflicts at the heart of overeating using simple techniques developed in her highly successful seminars to offer reassuring, practical advice on: • Learning to recognize the signals of physical hunger • Eating without distraction • Knowing when to stop • Kicking the scale-watching habit • Withstanding social and family pressures And more! By not only explaining the cause of emotional binge eating but also providing actionable techniques for readers to implement in their own lives, Breaking Free continues to help people end the binge-diet-cycle once and for all.
Publisher: Penguin
ISBN: 9780452284913
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
From #1 New York Times bestselling author Geneen Roth, an exploration of the link between dieting, compulsive eating, and emotion, complete with life-changing advice on how to break the binge-diet cycle forever. There is an end to the anguish of emotional eating—and Geneen Roth has made it her life’s work to help people heal their relationship with food through an understanding of the deeply personal and spiritual issues at the root of compulsive eating. In this edition of Breaking Free From Emotional Eating, updated with a new introduction, Roth outlines her proven program for resolving the conflicts at the heart of overeating using simple techniques developed in her highly successful seminars to offer reassuring, practical advice on: • Learning to recognize the signals of physical hunger • Eating without distraction • Knowing when to stop • Kicking the scale-watching habit • Withstanding social and family pressures And more! By not only explaining the cause of emotional binge eating but also providing actionable techniques for readers to implement in their own lives, Breaking Free continues to help people end the binge-diet-cycle once and for all.
Self-Help Books
Author: Sandra K. Dolby
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252090993
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
Understanding instead of lamenting the popularity of self-help books Based on a reading of more than three hundred self-help books, Sandra K. Dolby examines this remarkably popular genre to define "self-help" in a way that's compelling to academics and lay readers alike. Self-Help Books also offers an interpretation of why these books are so popular, arguing that they continue the well-established American penchant for self-education, they articulate problems of daily life and their supposed solutions, and that they present their content in a form and style that is accessible rather than arcane. Using tools associated with folklore studies, Dolby then examines how the genre makes use of stories, aphorisms, and a worldview that is at once traditional and contemporary. The overarching premise of the study is that self-help books, much like fairy tales, take traditional materials, especially stories and ideas, and recast them into extended essays that people happily read, think about, try to apply, and then set aside when a new embodiment of the genre comes along.
Publisher: University of Illinois Press
ISBN: 0252090993
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 210
Book Description
Understanding instead of lamenting the popularity of self-help books Based on a reading of more than three hundred self-help books, Sandra K. Dolby examines this remarkably popular genre to define "self-help" in a way that's compelling to academics and lay readers alike. Self-Help Books also offers an interpretation of why these books are so popular, arguing that they continue the well-established American penchant for self-education, they articulate problems of daily life and their supposed solutions, and that they present their content in a form and style that is accessible rather than arcane. Using tools associated with folklore studies, Dolby then examines how the genre makes use of stories, aphorisms, and a worldview that is at once traditional and contemporary. The overarching premise of the study is that self-help books, much like fairy tales, take traditional materials, especially stories and ideas, and recast them into extended essays that people happily read, think about, try to apply, and then set aside when a new embodiment of the genre comes along.
How to Be Fine
Author: Jolenta Greenberg
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 006295721X
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 196
Book Description
“A hilarious, charming, and totally unique take” on what self-help advice works—and what doesn’t—by the cohosts of the By the Book podcast (Kristen Johnston, Emmy-winning actress and New York Times–bestselling author of Guts). In each episode of their podcast By the Book, Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer take a deep dive into a different self-help book, following its specific instructions, rules, and advice to the letter. From diet and productivity to decorating to social interactions, they try it all, record themselves along the way, then share what they’ve learned with their devoted audience. In this funny, revealing book, Jolenta and Kristen synthesize the lessons and insights they’ve learned and tell their stories. How to Be Fine is a thoughtful look at the books and practices that have worked, real talk on those that didn’t, and a list of philosophies they want to see explored in-depth. The topics they cover include: *Getting off your device *Engaging in positive self-talk *Downsizing *Admitting you’re a liar *Meditation *Going outside *Getting in touch with your emotions *Seeing a therapist “[A] grounded, large-hearted work . . . [The authors] strike a perfect balance between sharing their traumas and folding in amusing anecdotes. This will delight fans of self-help books and encourage even the hardest cynics to reconsider the genre.” —Publishers Weekly “Funny and wise.” —Library Journal
Publisher: HarperCollins
ISBN: 006295721X
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 196
Book Description
“A hilarious, charming, and totally unique take” on what self-help advice works—and what doesn’t—by the cohosts of the By the Book podcast (Kristen Johnston, Emmy-winning actress and New York Times–bestselling author of Guts). In each episode of their podcast By the Book, Jolenta Greenberg and Kristen Meinzer take a deep dive into a different self-help book, following its specific instructions, rules, and advice to the letter. From diet and productivity to decorating to social interactions, they try it all, record themselves along the way, then share what they’ve learned with their devoted audience. In this funny, revealing book, Jolenta and Kristen synthesize the lessons and insights they’ve learned and tell their stories. How to Be Fine is a thoughtful look at the books and practices that have worked, real talk on those that didn’t, and a list of philosophies they want to see explored in-depth. The topics they cover include: *Getting off your device *Engaging in positive self-talk *Downsizing *Admitting you’re a liar *Meditation *Going outside *Getting in touch with your emotions *Seeing a therapist “[A] grounded, large-hearted work . . . [The authors] strike a perfect balance between sharing their traumas and folding in amusing anecdotes. This will delight fans of self-help books and encourage even the hardest cynics to reconsider the genre.” —Publishers Weekly “Funny and wise.” —Library Journal
The Big Leap
Author: Gay Hendricks
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061735345
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 230
Book Description
Most of us believe that we will finally feel satisfied and content with our lives when we get the good news we have been waiting for, find a healthy relationship, or achieve one of our personal goals. However, this rarely happens. Good fortune is often followed by negative emotions that overtake us and result in destructive behaviors. "I don't deserve this," "this is too good to be true," or any number of harmful thought patterns prevent us from experiencing the joy and satisfaction we have earned. Sound familiar? This is what New York Times bestselling author Gay Hendricks calls the Upper Limit Problem, a negative emotional reaction that occurs when anything positive enters our lives. The Upper Limit Problem not only prevents happiness, but it actually stops us from achieving our goals. It is the ultimate life roadblock. In The Big Leap, Hendricks reveals a simple yet comprehensive program for overcoming this barrier to happiness and fulfillment, presented in a way that engages both the mind and heart. Working closely with more than one thousand extraordinary achievers in business and the arts—from rock stars to Fortune 500 executives—whose stories are featured in these pages, the book describes the four hidden fears that are at the root of the Upper Limit Problem. The Big Leap delivers a proven method for first identifying which of these four fears prevents us from reaching our personal upper limit, and then breaking through that limitation to achieve what Hendricks refers to as our Zone of Genius. Hendricks provides a clear path for achieving our true potential and attaining not only financial success but also success in love and life.
Publisher: Harper Collins
ISBN: 0061735345
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 230
Book Description
Most of us believe that we will finally feel satisfied and content with our lives when we get the good news we have been waiting for, find a healthy relationship, or achieve one of our personal goals. However, this rarely happens. Good fortune is often followed by negative emotions that overtake us and result in destructive behaviors. "I don't deserve this," "this is too good to be true," or any number of harmful thought patterns prevent us from experiencing the joy and satisfaction we have earned. Sound familiar? This is what New York Times bestselling author Gay Hendricks calls the Upper Limit Problem, a negative emotional reaction that occurs when anything positive enters our lives. The Upper Limit Problem not only prevents happiness, but it actually stops us from achieving our goals. It is the ultimate life roadblock. In The Big Leap, Hendricks reveals a simple yet comprehensive program for overcoming this barrier to happiness and fulfillment, presented in a way that engages both the mind and heart. Working closely with more than one thousand extraordinary achievers in business and the arts—from rock stars to Fortune 500 executives—whose stories are featured in these pages, the book describes the four hidden fears that are at the root of the Upper Limit Problem. The Big Leap delivers a proven method for first identifying which of these four fears prevents us from reaching our personal upper limit, and then breaking through that limitation to achieve what Hendricks refers to as our Zone of Genius. Hendricks provides a clear path for achieving our true potential and attaining not only financial success but also success in love and life.
Time Rich
Author: Steve Glaveski
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0730383873
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
Recover wasted time and start living your fullest life Most of us wouldn't dare give away our money, but when it comes to time, we let it go without a second thought. Business and creative professionals often dedicate long hours to their work, with little to show for it. We take on more than we should, we treat everything as urgent, and we attend pointless meetings. This book can help you see where you might be sabotaging your own goals. Time Rich helps you identify where you’re losing personal time and mismanaging career time. Through practical productivity tools and techniques, author and entrepreneur Steve Glaveski will show you how to be more productive at work, have more time to pursue your personal and life goals, and build a culture that supports achieving objectives without risking burnout. Learn how to: • Identity how you are wasting time • Manage your attention, get into the zone and stay there longer • Prioritise, automate and outsource tasks • Optimise your mind and body Time Rich is a blueprint for recovering your work hours, achieving more and spending time where it matters most. ‘Steve Glaveski understands something that few leaders have figured out: it’s possi¬ble to do less and get more done. This book offers a blueprint for working smarter.’ Adam Grant, New York Times best-selling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the chart-topping TED podcast WorkLife ‘Time isn’t money; it’s something of far more value. Glaveski makes the case that we ought to be protecting our time much more than we product other resources. And best of all, he shows you how.’ David Burkus, author of Under New Management ‘Steve Glaveski offers countless ways to get more out of each day by being Time Rich.’ Nir Eyal, best-selling author of Hooked and Indistractable ‘Time Rich by Steve Glaveski makes a compelling argument for abandoning the archaic historical artefact of an 8 hour work-day (or any other arbitrary sum of time) as outmoded and irrelevant to the way we live and do our best work today. Glaveski offers both big ideas and specific techniques to contain or eliminate such time-snatching demons as meetings, email and social media. Reclaim the value of your time by forsaking the management of it and learning instead to manage energy, efficiency and attention — inputs with far greater impact on output and outcomes, not to mention quality of life.’ Whitney Johnson, award-winning author of Disrupt Yourself and Build an A-Team ‘Time Rich is a fascinating look into why we’re all so ‘busy’ — and how to gain back our most precious resource. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned productivity geek, this book will change your life.’ Jonathan Levi, author, podcaster, and founder of SuperHuman Academy ‘A very worthwhile read for ambitious professionals to achieve that elusive work-life holy grail: being present and engaged at home without sacrificing anything on the work front — and even, perhaps, becoming more productive than you ever thought you could be.’ Andy Molinsky, award-winning author of Global Dexterity and Reach
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
ISBN: 0730383873
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Book Description
Recover wasted time and start living your fullest life Most of us wouldn't dare give away our money, but when it comes to time, we let it go without a second thought. Business and creative professionals often dedicate long hours to their work, with little to show for it. We take on more than we should, we treat everything as urgent, and we attend pointless meetings. This book can help you see where you might be sabotaging your own goals. Time Rich helps you identify where you’re losing personal time and mismanaging career time. Through practical productivity tools and techniques, author and entrepreneur Steve Glaveski will show you how to be more productive at work, have more time to pursue your personal and life goals, and build a culture that supports achieving objectives without risking burnout. Learn how to: • Identity how you are wasting time • Manage your attention, get into the zone and stay there longer • Prioritise, automate and outsource tasks • Optimise your mind and body Time Rich is a blueprint for recovering your work hours, achieving more and spending time where it matters most. ‘Steve Glaveski understands something that few leaders have figured out: it’s possi¬ble to do less and get more done. This book offers a blueprint for working smarter.’ Adam Grant, New York Times best-selling author of Originals and Give and Take, and host of the chart-topping TED podcast WorkLife ‘Time isn’t money; it’s something of far more value. Glaveski makes the case that we ought to be protecting our time much more than we product other resources. And best of all, he shows you how.’ David Burkus, author of Under New Management ‘Steve Glaveski offers countless ways to get more out of each day by being Time Rich.’ Nir Eyal, best-selling author of Hooked and Indistractable ‘Time Rich by Steve Glaveski makes a compelling argument for abandoning the archaic historical artefact of an 8 hour work-day (or any other arbitrary sum of time) as outmoded and irrelevant to the way we live and do our best work today. Glaveski offers both big ideas and specific techniques to contain or eliminate such time-snatching demons as meetings, email and social media. Reclaim the value of your time by forsaking the management of it and learning instead to manage energy, efficiency and attention — inputs with far greater impact on output and outcomes, not to mention quality of life.’ Whitney Johnson, award-winning author of Disrupt Yourself and Build an A-Team ‘Time Rich is a fascinating look into why we’re all so ‘busy’ — and how to gain back our most precious resource. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned productivity geek, this book will change your life.’ Jonathan Levi, author, podcaster, and founder of SuperHuman Academy ‘A very worthwhile read for ambitious professionals to achieve that elusive work-life holy grail: being present and engaged at home without sacrificing anything on the work front — and even, perhaps, becoming more productive than you ever thought you could be.’ Andy Molinsky, award-winning author of Global Dexterity and Reach
Chasing Slow
Author: Erin Loechner
Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM
ISBN: 0310345685
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
Chasing Slow models HGTV star Erin Loechner's journey to help you break out of the faster-better-stronger trap and make small changes to refresh your perspective, renew your priorities, and shift your focus to what matters most. You're here, but you want to be there. So you spend your life narrowing this divide, and you call this your race, your journey, your path. You live your days tightening your boot straps, wiping the sweat from your brow, chasing undiscovered happiness just around the bend. And on and on you run. Viral sensation and HGTV.com star Erin Loechner knows about the chase. Before turning 30, she'd earned the title "The Nicest Girl Online" as she was praised for her authentic voice and effortless style. Her HGTV web show garnered over one million fans worldwide, and her client list includes Walt Disney World, IKEA, Martha Stewart and Home Depot. The New York Times applauded her, her friends and church admired her, and her husband and baby adored her. She had arrived at the ultimate destination. So why did she feel so lost? Through a series of steep climbs--her husband's brain tumor, bankruptcy, family loss, and public criticism--Erin learns just how much strength it takes to surrender it all, and to veer right into grace. In Chasing Slow, Erin upgrades her life through downsizing--her stuff, her obligations, her fears, her personal metric of "perfect." And ultimately, her invitation becomes yours: to turn away from the fast and frenzy, and find freedom in a new-fashioned lifestyle defined by grace. Life's answers are not always hidden where they seem. It's time to venture off the beaten path to see that we’ve already been given everything we need. We've already arrived. You see? You'll see.
Publisher: HarperChristian + ORM
ISBN: 0310345685
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 297
Book Description
Chasing Slow models HGTV star Erin Loechner's journey to help you break out of the faster-better-stronger trap and make small changes to refresh your perspective, renew your priorities, and shift your focus to what matters most. You're here, but you want to be there. So you spend your life narrowing this divide, and you call this your race, your journey, your path. You live your days tightening your boot straps, wiping the sweat from your brow, chasing undiscovered happiness just around the bend. And on and on you run. Viral sensation and HGTV.com star Erin Loechner knows about the chase. Before turning 30, she'd earned the title "The Nicest Girl Online" as she was praised for her authentic voice and effortless style. Her HGTV web show garnered over one million fans worldwide, and her client list includes Walt Disney World, IKEA, Martha Stewart and Home Depot. The New York Times applauded her, her friends and church admired her, and her husband and baby adored her. She had arrived at the ultimate destination. So why did she feel so lost? Through a series of steep climbs--her husband's brain tumor, bankruptcy, family loss, and public criticism--Erin learns just how much strength it takes to surrender it all, and to veer right into grace. In Chasing Slow, Erin upgrades her life through downsizing--her stuff, her obligations, her fears, her personal metric of "perfect." And ultimately, her invitation becomes yours: to turn away from the fast and frenzy, and find freedom in a new-fashioned lifestyle defined by grace. Life's answers are not always hidden where they seem. It's time to venture off the beaten path to see that we’ve already been given everything we need. We've already arrived. You see? You'll see.
The Self-Help Compulsion
Author: Beth Blum
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231551088
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 507
Book Description
Samuel Beckett as a guru for business executives? James Joyce as a guide to living a good life? The notion of notoriously experimental authors sharing a shelf with self-help books might seem far-fetched, yet a hidden history of rivalry, influence, and imitation links these two worlds. In The Self-Help Compulsion, Beth Blum reveals the profound entanglement of modern literature and commercial advice from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Blum explores popular reading practices in which people turn to literature in search of practical advice alongside modern writers’ rebukes of such instrumental purposes. As literary authors positioned themselves in opposition to people like Samuel Smiles and Dale Carnegie, readers turned to self-help for the promises of mobility, agency, and practical use that serious literature was reluctant to supply. Blum unearths a series of unlikely cases of the love-hate relationship between serious fiction and commercial advice, from Gustave Flaubert’s mockery of early DIY culture to Dear Abby’s cutting diagnoses of Nathanael West and from Virginia Woolf’s ambivalent polemics against self-improvement to the ways that contemporary global authors such as Mohsin Hamid and Tash Aw explicitly draw on the self-help genre. She also traces the self-help industry’s tendency to popularize, quote, and adapt literary wisdom and considers what it might have to teach today’s university. Offering a new history of self-help’s origins, appeal, and cultural and literary import around the world, this book reveals that self-help’s most valuable secrets are not about getting rich or winning friends but about how and why people read.
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 0231551088
Category : Literary Criticism
Languages : en
Pages : 507
Book Description
Samuel Beckett as a guru for business executives? James Joyce as a guide to living a good life? The notion of notoriously experimental authors sharing a shelf with self-help books might seem far-fetched, yet a hidden history of rivalry, influence, and imitation links these two worlds. In The Self-Help Compulsion, Beth Blum reveals the profound entanglement of modern literature and commercial advice from the late nineteenth century to the present day. Blum explores popular reading practices in which people turn to literature in search of practical advice alongside modern writers’ rebukes of such instrumental purposes. As literary authors positioned themselves in opposition to people like Samuel Smiles and Dale Carnegie, readers turned to self-help for the promises of mobility, agency, and practical use that serious literature was reluctant to supply. Blum unearths a series of unlikely cases of the love-hate relationship between serious fiction and commercial advice, from Gustave Flaubert’s mockery of early DIY culture to Dear Abby’s cutting diagnoses of Nathanael West and from Virginia Woolf’s ambivalent polemics against self-improvement to the ways that contemporary global authors such as Mohsin Hamid and Tash Aw explicitly draw on the self-help genre. She also traces the self-help industry’s tendency to popularize, quote, and adapt literary wisdom and considers what it might have to teach today’s university. Offering a new history of self-help’s origins, appeal, and cultural and literary import around the world, this book reveals that self-help’s most valuable secrets are not about getting rich or winning friends but about how and why people read.