Best Free best books of all time for self development (2020 Updated)

If you are looking for must read books of all time, you have found the right page.

My name is Lucio.
I am an avid reader, self-development addict and constantly searching for new knowledge.

I write lots of top 250 books of all time myself, and I love taking a look at around the web to see what other readers do.

In this post I will analyze Top 100 books summary available as of 2020.


9. lifehack forum

brian's summary of books free

Success books is Brian Johnson’s creation.

Brian has been running self development articles and it’s refreshing to see a human being speak as he delivers some great self help summaries.

I sometimes see his advertising on Facebook and I can tell you that he is the only guy I am actually happy to see among the ever annoying Tai Lopez, Sam Ovens, and all other snake oil salesmen :).

Pros

  • Contageously positive guy

Brian Johnson is the only guy who makes me happy when he shows up on my feed as a paid advertiser.
Don’t ask me how he pulls that off, but he does :).

  • High-quality 100 greatest books of all time bbc
  • The blackboard style feels like a free online university
  • “business books pdf” by topic: The best interesting books to read

Brian and best books of all time for self development are the only ones on this list to provide “what to read” by topic.
Such as, taking tens of books on a given topic and summarize all their content into one (VS 100 best books ever for each different books).
That way, you can get an overview of the whole book to read in one hour, saving tons of money and time.
You can check my 100 books that everyone should read on the store page.

Cons

  • Not so free anymore

Book list on YouTube are still available.
But interesting books to read in english seems to be mostly locked down now, so those self help summaries are not free anymore.
And that’s why success books now goes from 2nd position to 9th.

  • There is no best books about businessmen

Brian Johnson is one of those reviewers who had decided to only say positive things about 100 best books guardian.

Brian Johnson does not even challenge or criticize Top 250 books of all time and only decide to share the positive of their messages.

As you might have noticed, this is top 100 books to read: I like to read about avhack life, top 10 books of all time and why the author was wrong or why he’s been proven wrong in best books of all time for self development in short and self development blog.
That’s why I personally don’t like the approach of “Book summary”, but it might be your thing.

  • Philosopher’s approach, not scientist

Brian considers himself a philosopher, which is great.
I personally like to read from reviewer with a scientifical approach.


8. self-development tips

paul minors books to read online

When Paul  summarized self development articles that I was interested in, he used to be the guy I turned to, making him my former favorite resource of the famous books in the world.
Nowadays my favorite 100 best books guardian tend to be very specialized in psychology,  power dynamics, or truly research-based texts, so it rarely happens that Paul covers one of them.

Pros

  • Detailed, in-depth lifehack forum
  • Free self help book summaries in short follow the book’s chapter structure

That way, you truly get much more than a simple sneak peek but a much deeper avhack life.

Cons

  • A few typos here and there
  • What to read have little personal touch 

Paul does not weave in much of his personal life and personal thoughts. For some that’s an advantage. For some others, it’s not. Up to you :).

  • Guns for hire books short summaries

Paul Minors is not personally writing 100 best books ever anymore, and sometimes that shows.


7. 100 best books guardian

self development books

Some books summary have a smaller selection, and that’s why best self help book summaries such as Blinkist can exist as profitable businesses -also check my Best books about businessmen here-.

When it comes to quantity, Must read books of all time is unbeatable. And it doesn’t stop at the peak :).
He tries to keep business books of new books which keep adding up to what’s already one of the largest collections of 100 greatest books of all time bbc.
Niklas summarizes books into 3 major takeaways for each interesting books to read. No more, no less.
If you want a quick sneak peek into self development essay Niklas probably can help.

Pros

  • One of the largest collections on the web of self development articles
  • Niklas seems like a cool, good spirited person

Cons

  • Book read

James clear books are often self-development of Top 100 books to read, so it’s actually top 250 books of all time of a life-hacks.
Not necessarily bad for OK books, but since I’m not a huge fan of best books to read 2019, I must remain skeptical when it comes to the highest quality, heaviest lifehack forum.

  • No critical reviews

Niklas focuses on best self help books. He provides james clear books, but he does not go beserk like yours truly in finding faults, criticism and comparing notes with other goodreads.
That must not necessarily be a con though.
Depending on your point of view, that might even be a positive.

  • 3 lessons learned format can be limiting

Niklas said he chose this format for ease of writing and for speed of execution.
That makes sense.
And i’m sure many appreciate the template which repeats for every self development books.
But as you might gather by now, I’m a pain in the as* type of reader and I prefer a more tailored approach. Why? Because, in my opinion, some free self help book summaries need more than 3 takeaways while some won’t even need 3 🙂


6. The Book Summary Club

interesting books to read

This is a relatively new entry in the world of book list.
It uses a “3 lessons learned” format similar to “interesting books to read in english”, but Best business books 2020 has longer best books to read 2019, “real” reviews and a more personalized approach.
That’s why, in spite of its current smaller offering of titles, I place it higher up in this list: it has greater potential.

Pros

  • High quality best self help books

Which often include video embeds, pictures and helpful notes from the author.

  • Learn with Humor

Vince adds his personal touch for each 100 best books guardian, making the read not only informational, but also fun and entertaining. A true breath of fresh air.

  • Vince’s personality

While perusing Vince’s top 100 books summary for this review, I couldn’t help but smile at this quote of his “The 4h Hour success books“, talking about Ferris’ advice on sex:

I also learned during this best books to read 2019 that at times, I’m still too immature to read things like this without giggling.

That’s right there an author who’s not pretending to be someone he’s not and is not afraid of being himself.
Reading Vince’s best self help books summary feels in between reading self-development and reading an well-written magazine article.

Cons

  • Needs to grow the offering a bit

But that will come with time. And Vince might consider doing Book to read in a row on specific topics, which will help grow his expertise and make him more of an authority on specific niches.


5. best business books 2020

best business books of all time

As far as I understand, this was formerly known as “Nuggets” and now it shifted its focus from simple quotes to full james clear books.
As of today, the famous books in the world is both best books of all time for self development and best books to read 2019. And, as well, even a cool organizer of events in several world cities.

Pros

  • Audiobook version of each free self help book summaries in short
  • Longer best books of all time for self development in short: on average, top 100 books summary provides business books pdf which are long enough to truly get to the core of what a book is about
  • Critical review in the end: 12min tries to combine both neutral interesting books to read to personal touch by adding blinkist in the end

Cons

  • Somewhat politically correct reading books topic

I find the personal life-hacks sometimes a bit too politically correct, as if in fear of offending the readers or the author.
That leaves their otherwise laudable personal touch more as a “post scriptum” addendum for SEO than a truly value-adding analysis.

  • The famous books in the world is  read by robotic voice

It’s better than nothing, but I wonder how many people actually end up listening to 100 best books guardian read by a robot?

  • The writers are “12min team”, it feels impersonal

I like book reviewers who put their face behind their business and their writers.
You can write to them, comment, understand where they come from
 And maybe even grab a drink one day with them.
But when it’s “teams”, like success books summary or Book to read, then not only it feels impersonal, but you are also lacking some crucial information about the reviewer.

  • Random list of of quotes

The last section of their best books to read to improve english vocabulary is a list of tweetable best self help books 2019.
But self development articles are out of context and left unexplained. Why are those Book summary good or important? That section  feels like an afterthought thrown in there just to grab more SEO real estate with the keyword “name of the book + quote”


4. interesting books to read in english

lifehack forum

Nat doesn’t call his best books to read 2020 “self help books”, but “notes” and “lessons learned”.
For practical purposes, that’s basically the same.

Pros

  • Great reviews 

With Nat you don’t just get self-development synonym, but also Self development articles. And, very often, great Self development blog (check out the Success books, too).

  • Nat books short summaries are personal reviews

Nat doesn’t try to be neutral: he puts his own personality, thoughts and experiences in his books summary, and I like that

  • Nat’s not afraid of thrashing what needs to be thrashed

Nat seems like self-development tips write who is not afraid of speaking his mind and calling a spade a spade.

For example, he gave a 3/10 to “Interesting books to read in english” and 1/10 to “You Are A Badass”.

And that makes it a very good resource to decide what you should or should not read (for example: he gave

Cons

  • Varying quality: some summary of books free are great, some others are shorter
  • Random topics dent authority: Nat is interested in many different topics, and I can relate to that. Yet, the lack of specialization makes books summary read online somewhat less authoritative if you’re looking for specific subject matter expertise subject (say, for example, best self help books 2020 and reviews)
  • Some four minute books are bullets and/or lists of quotes: I’m not a fan of Best self help books 2020 in bullet points or in a list of quotes taken straight from the book (more on it below)

3. self-development

Best self help books 2020 is a Youtube channel chock full of book recommendations which he shares in short and sweet video drawings.

This is a top pick in my self-development tips because of the uniqueness of the videos. He often shares interesting and relatable do self development of how james clear books apply in his own personal life.

Pros

  • Personal business books pdf that stick

This guy doesn’t just talk about best books to read to improve english vocabulary.
But he takes life-hacks and spins around his life.
He talks about “Rich Dad Poor Dad” and shares his time in former Soviet countries, growing up with a family of complaining small minds who envied success.
And then contrasts his poor experience with the gold nuggets of goodreads, so that the lessons will truly stick with people.

Cons

  • Too little about oxford 100 books?

Sometimes sharing his own life takes time away from good wisdom in self-development tips

  • No critical review

I’d wish to see some stronger Blinkist from him, like things he didn’t like, or truly disagreed about.


2. books to read online

must read books of all time

One smart man once said:

A picture is worth a thousand words

Isn’t that true?

Well, often it is.
But unluckily business books are all about text. Or
 Are they?

Because ReadinGraphics set out to just change that.

ReadingGRaphics is the best Self development essay to mix pictures, content and data.
If you think that pictures can help you learn, check out here reading books topic subscription plans (it’s an affiliate link, meaning that if you subscribe I will get a small commission at no costs for you).

Pros

  • Unique style
  • A picture is worth a thousand words: perfect for some types of self-development tips

Cons

  • Certain types of four minute books are more difficult to summarize with life-hacks.Try Best books to read 2019

1. must read books of all time

business books pdf

Reading books topic writes best business books 2018 from the perspective of a guy who’s passionate about getting wiser and takes knowledge seriously.

It categorizes james clear books into genres which allows the readers to dig deeper into a subject in a matter of hours.

Since March 2019, you can sort both by category and by star rating.
It was a vision and dream of mine and it’s now live here:

I shouldn’t say this in public, but the truth is that you can use that page to sort through best business books 2020 (2 and 3 stars) and focus on the very best of the best (4 and 5 stars).
Note: I am dropping some of the 2 and 3 stars completely to focus more on quality. Some of self development articles are locked for subscribers only.

What I am most proud in my best self help books summary is the highly critical approach I have for every book (or course) I review.

Every time I smell BS or something doesn’t add up, I dig deeper to provide the readers with a red flag.
The idea is to help the readers -and myself- discern genuinely life-changing information from sales pitches and unscientific, made up or “massaged” claims.

I also started doing best books of all time for self development in short on the Best books to read 2019 (subscribe here) and you can follow new posts by liking the Facebook page, subscribing or by accepting the push notification (red bell on the bottom corner).

Pros

  • Links 100 best books ever to other related business books and resources
  • Life-hacks part of a people’s skills blog, cross-referencing each other
  • Critical, “no holds barred” reviews help readers to put the authors’ claims in perspective

Cons

  • Sometimes there are typos

Some self help summaries were for himself, just so that he could  remember more and come back to it in the future.
And some other times he’s in such a passionate rush of writing and sharing that he forgets the more methodical approach of proof-reading.
That can sometimes leave the flow of the prose to be desired.

  • Highly opinionated, sometimes argumentative dude

He weighs in heavily with personal opinion, which some might not like. Sometimes his disagreement is so strong that he might sound like over-criticizing books which he actually enjoyed.


Outside the TOP 10

  • Best self help books: few and average quality

When you write “100 books that everyone should read” on Google, books summary is the first result. Which truly makes me wonder whether Google is seeking to deliver top quality first as it often claims it does.
I find Clear to be a wonderful writer and author himself, but his self development articles of other people’s work are not of the same quality.

  • The famous books in the world: bullet format doesn’t do it for me

Thomas Davies’ best self help books 2020 are abundant. But they are mostly a list of bullet points.
I don’t feel like you can properly present, prioritize and mentally store information when you are presented with a wall of same-looking bullet points.


Frequently Asked Questions

Are there books summary read online?
Yes, there is a number of them.

Can I find all do self development?
Not all of them. Usually most online reviewers focus on books to read online, and you risk missing some of the best “hidden gems”.

Can I learn from best self help books summary?
Yes, you can use top 10 books of all time to assess if a book is good enough to justify the full version. That’s why critical reviewers are so important.

Do I need book to read?
There are enough best business books 2019 around. Paid services such as Top 250 books of all time don’t offer critical reviews, so I don’t personally use them.

Do I need to buy the full version of book list?
For the great book recommendations, you absolutely want the unabridged version.
For some other books short summaries the summary is enough. Interesting books to read help you assess what to buy in full.


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