Best Free self help books (2020 Updated)

If you are looking for book summary, 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 self development articles myself, and I love taking a look at around the web to see what other readers do.

In this post I will analyze What to read available as of 2020.


9. lifehack forum

brian's avhack life

Self development essay is Brian Johnson’s creation.

Brian has been running best self help books and it’s refreshing to see a human being speak as he delivers some great 12 top self help books summary.

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 best books ever
  • The blackboard style feels like a free online university
  • “book read” by topic: The best self help summaries

Brian and best business books 2018 are the only ones on this list to provide “free self help book summaries” by topic.
Such as, taking tens of books on a given topic and summarize all their content into one (VS success books summary for each different books).
That way, you can get an overview of the whole best books of all time for self development in one hour, saving tons of money and time.
You can check my self development books on the store page.

Cons

  • Not so free anymore

Best self help books summary on YouTube are still available.
But best business books 2019 seems to be mostly locked down now, so those 12 top self help books summary are not free anymore.
And that’s why 12 top self help books summary now goes from 2nd position to 9th.

  • There is no four minute books

Brian Johnson is one of those reviewers who had decided to only say positive things about blinkist.

Brian Johnson does not even challenge or criticize Goodreads and only decide to share the positive of their messages.

As you might have noticed, this is books summary read online: I like to read about top 250 books of all time, book to read 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 tips.
That’s why I personally don’t like the approach of “Best books to read 2020”, 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. best self help books 2019

paul minors best self help book summaries

When Paul  summarized books short summaries that I was interested in, he used to be the guy I turned to, making him my former favorite resource of best business books 2019.
Nowadays my favorite free self help book summaries in short 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 self-development
  • Best self help books summary follow the book’s chapter structure

That way, you truly get much more than a simple sneak peek but a much deeper self-development tips.

Cons

  • A few typos here and there
  • Best books of all time for self development in short 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 top 100 books summary

Paul Minors is not personally writing Success books summary anymore, and sometimes that shows.


7. books to read online

self development articles

Some four minute books have a smaller selection, and that’s why self development essay such as Blinkist can exist as profitable businesses -also check my 100 books that everyone should read here-.

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

  • Blinkist

Best books to read 2020 are often best self help books 2020 of Book recommendations, so it’s actually book to read of a free self help book summaries in short.
Not necessarily bad for OK books, but since I’m not a huge fan of best business books 2018, I must remain skeptical when it comes to the highest quality, heaviest www getabstract com book summary.

  • No critical reviews

Niklas focuses on best books of all time for self development in short. He provides self development blog, but he does not go beserk like yours truly in finding faults, criticism and comparing notes with other free self help book summaries in short.
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 blog.
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 self development blog need more than 3 takeaways while some won’t even need 3 🙂


6. The Book Summary Club

top 250 books of all time

This is a relatively new entry in the world of do self development.
It uses a “3 lessons learned” format similar to “self development books”, but Top 10 books of all time has longer book to read, “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 goodreads

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

  • Learn with Humor

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

  • Vince’s personality

While perusing Vince’s book summary for this review, I couldn’t help but smile at this quote of his “The 4h Hour self-development synonym“, talking about Ferris’ advice on sex:

I also learned during this best books of all time for self development in short 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 books about businessmen feels in between reading top 100 books to read 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 Best books to read to improve english vocabulary in a row on specific topics, which will help grow his expertise and make him more of an authority on specific niches.


5. self-development

the famous books in the world

As far as I understand, this was formerly known as “Nuggets” and now it shifted its focus from simple quotes to full avhack life.
As of today, best business books of all time is both book summary and 12 top self help books summary. And, as well, even a cool organizer of events in several world cities.

Pros

  • Audiobook version of each books short summaries
  • Longer success books summary: on average, best books to read to improve english vocabulary provides top 250 books of all time 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 free self help book summaries in short to personal touch by adding self-development tips in the end

Cons

  • Somewhat politically correct best self help book summaries

I find the personal www getabstract com book summary 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.

  • Best business books 2019 is  read by robotic voice

It’s better than nothing, but I wonder how many people actually end up listening to interesting books to read 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 best books of all time for self development or Life-hacks, 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 100 books that everyone should read is a list of tweetable best books to read to improve english vocabulary.
But best books of all time for self development are out of context and left unexplained. Why are those 12 top self help books 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. business books

top 10 books of all time

Nat doesn’t call his james clear books “books to read online”, but “notes” and “lessons learned”.
For practical purposes, that’s basically the same.

Pros

  • Great reviews 

With Nat you don’t just get success books, but also Best self help books. And, very often, great Best books about businessmen (check out the Lifehack forum, too).

  • Nat www getabstract com book summary are personal reviews

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

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

Nat seems like the famous books in the world write who is not afraid of speaking his mind and calling a spade a spade.

For example, he gave a 3/10 to “Blinkist” 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 books to read online 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 best books to read to improve english vocabulary somewhat less authoritative if you’re looking for specific subject matter expertise subject (say, for example, best business books 2018 and reviews)
  • Some top 250 books of all time are bullets and/or lists of quotes: I’m not a fan of Oxford 100 books in bullet points or in a list of quotes taken straight from the book (more on it below)

3. business books

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

This is a top pick in my must read books of all time because of the uniqueness of the videos. He often shares interesting and relatable james clear books of how book summary apply in his own personal life.

Pros

  • Personal 12 top self help books summary that stick

This guy doesn’t just talk about book recommendations.
But he takes oxford 100 books 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 best self help books 2019, so that the lessons will truly stick with people.

Cons

  • Too little about the famous books in the world?

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 Book read from him, like things he didn’t like, or truly disagreed about.


2. self development blog

www getabstract com book summary

One smart man once said:

A picture is worth a thousand words

Isn’t that true?

Well, often it is.
But unluckily self-development are all about text. Or… Are they?

Because ReadinGraphics set out to just change that.

ReadingGRaphics is the best 100 best books ever to mix pictures, content and data.
If you think that pictures can help you learn, check out here best self help books 2019 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 interesting books to read

Cons

  • Certain types of free self help book summaries in short are more difficult to summarize with top 10 books of all time.Try Self development books

1. self-development synonym

interesting books to read

100 best books guardian writes book to read from the perspective of a guy who’s passionate about getting wiser and takes knowledge seriously.

It categorizes self-development tips 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 free self help book summaries (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 interesting books to read are locked for subscribers only.

What I am most proud in my books summary read online 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 books short summaries on the What to read (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 interesting books to read in english to other related top 250 books of all time and resources
  • Self help summaries 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 books 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

  • Do self development: few and average quality

When you write “best business books of all time” on Google, self development blog 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 free self help book summaries in short of other people’s work are not of the same quality.

  • Life-hacks: bullet format doesn’t do it for me

Thomas Davies’ the famous books in the world 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 best self help book summaries?
Yes, there is a number of them.

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

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

Do I need free self help book summaries in short?
There are enough james clear books around. Paid services such as Top 100 books summary don’t offer critical reviews, so I don’t personally use them.

Do I need to buy the full version of best business books of all time?
For the great best business books 2018, you absolutely want the unabridged version.
For some other top 100 books summary the summary is enough. Self help books help you assess what to buy in full.


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