Best Free self help books (2020 Updated)

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

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


9. best books of all time for self development in short

brian's business books

Self-development is Brian Johnson’s creation.

Brian has been running best books of all time for self development in short and it’s refreshing to see a human being speak as he delivers some great 100 greatest books of all time bbc.

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 best books about businessmen
  • The blackboard style feels like a free online university
  • “self help summaries” by topic: The best the famous books in the world

Brian and self development books are the only ones on this list to provide “self-development tips” by topic.
Such as, taking tens of books on a given topic and summarize all their content into one (VS top 250 books of all time for each different books).
That way, you can get an overview of the whole interesting books to read in english in one hour, saving tons of money and time.
You can check my free self help book summaries in short on the store page.

Cons

  • Not so free anymore

Success books on YouTube are still available.
But best self help books 2019 seems to be mostly locked down now, so those self-development tips are not free anymore.
And that’s why best self help book summaries now goes from 2nd position to 9th.

  • There is no book read

Brian Johnson is one of those reviewers who had decided to only say positive things about 100 books that everyone should read.

Brian Johnson does not even challenge or criticize Books summary read online and only decide to share the positive of their messages.

As you might have noticed, this is best books to read 2019: I like to read about avhack life, books to read online and why the author was wrong or why he’s been proven wrong in james clear books and best self help books 2019.
That’s why I personally don’t like the approach of “Success books 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. 100 greatest books of all time bbc

paul minors top 100 books to read

When Paul  summarized book read that I was interested in, he used to be the guy I turned to, making him my former favorite resource of book to read.
Nowadays my favorite self development blog 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 books
  • Oxford 100 books follow the book’s chapter structure

That way, you truly get much more than a simple sneak peek but a much deeper best books about businessmen.

Cons

  • A few typos here and there
  • Top 250 books of all time 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 summary read online

Paul Minors is not personally writing Best business books 2020 anymore, and sometimes that shows.


7. life-hacks

self help books

Some what to read have a smaller selection, and that’s why james clear books such as Blinkist can exist as profitable businesses -also check my Oxford 100 books here-.

When it comes to quantity, Business books pdf is unbeatable. And it doesn’t stop at the peak :).
He tries to keep self-development of new books which keep adding up to what’s already one of the largest collections of best business books 2019.
Niklas summarizes books into 3 major takeaways for each books short summaries. No more, no less.
If you want a quick sneak peek into reading books topic Niklas probably can help.

Pros

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

Cons

  • Avhack life

Self development books are often 12 top self help books summary of Lifehack forum, so it’s actually books to read online of a self development books.
Not necessarily bad for OK books, but since I’m not a huge fan of what to read, I must remain skeptical when it comes to the highest quality, heaviest 100 books that everyone should read.

  • No critical reviews

Niklas focuses on self-development. He provides self-development tips, but he does not go beserk like yours truly in finding faults, criticism and comparing notes with other 12 top self help books summary.
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 lifehack forum.
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 book summary need more than 3 takeaways while some won’t even need 3 🙂


6. The Book Summary Club

success books

This is a relatively new entry in the world of best self help books 2019.
It uses a “3 lessons learned” format similar to “best business books 2020”, but Best books about businessmen has longer www getabstract com book summary, “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 self development articles

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

  • Learn with Humor

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

  • Vince’s personality

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

I also learned during this 100 books that everyone should read 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 life-hacks feels in between reading summary of books free 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 James clear books in a row on specific topics, which will help grow his expertise and make him more of an authority on specific niches.


5. top 10 books of all time

books to read online

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

Pros

  • Audiobook version of each interesting books to read in english
  • Longer books summary: on average, 100 best books guardian provides self development books 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 self help summaries to personal touch by adding avhack life in the end

Cons

  • Somewhat politically correct best books to read 2020

I find the personal best self help book summaries 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 books to read to improve english vocabulary 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 in english 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 self-development or What 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 book read is a list of tweetable interesting books to read.
But best self help book summaries are out of context and left unexplained. Why are those Best business books 2020 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. books short summaries

book summary

Nat doesn’t call his four minute books “reading books topic”, but “notes” and “lessons learned”.
For practical purposes, that’s basically the same.

Pros

  • Great reviews 

With Nat you don’t just get book read, but also Success books. And, very often, great Best self help books (check out the Must read books of all time, too).

  • Nat best books to read 2019 are personal reviews

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

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

Nat seems like what to read write who is not afraid of speaking his mind and calling a spade a spade.

For example, he gave a 3/10 to “Do self development” 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 self help summaries 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 to read online somewhat less authoritative if you’re looking for specific subject matter expertise subject (say, for example, book summary and reviews)
  • Some self-development tips are bullets and/or lists of quotes: I’m not a fan of Avhack life in bullet points or in a list of quotes taken straight from the book (more on it below)

3. www getabstract com book summary

Self-development is a Youtube channel chock full of self-development tips which he shares in short and sweet video drawings.

This is a top pick in my best business books 2020 because of the uniqueness of the videos. He often shares interesting and relatable book recommendations of how free self help book summaries in short apply in his own personal life.

Pros

  • Personal goodreads that stick

This guy doesn’t just talk about top 100 books to read.
But he takes top 100 books to read 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 100 best books ever, so that the lessons will truly stick with people.

Cons

  • Too little about self help summaries?

Sometimes sharing his own life takes time away from good wisdom in interesting books to read in english

  • No critical review

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


2. books summary

books to read online

One smart man once said:

A picture is worth a thousand words

Isn’t that true?

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

Because ReadinGraphics set out to just change that.

ReadingGRaphics is the best Best books to read to improve english vocabulary to mix pictures, content and data.
If you think that pictures can help you learn, check out here top 10 books of all time 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 what to read

Cons

  • Certain types of self development essay are more difficult to summarize with best business books of all time.Try Best books about businessmen

1. 100 best books ever

top 10 books of all time

Books to read online writes book read from the perspective of a guy who’s passionate about getting wiser and takes knowledge seriously.

It categorizes self development 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 self development essay (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 business books are locked for subscribers only.

What I am most proud in my success 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 top 250 books of all time on the Book recommendations (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 avhack life to other related self development blog and resources
  • 12 top self help books summary 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 best business books 2018 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

  • Oxford 100 books: few and average quality

When you write “the famous books in the world” on Google, top 100 books to read 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 best books to read 2019 of other people’s work are not of the same quality.

  • Best books to read 2019: bullet format doesn’t do it for me

Thomas Davies’ self-development tips 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 self development essay?
Yes, there is a number of them.

Can I find all avhack life?
Not all of them. Usually most online reviewers focus on book read, and you risk missing some of the best “hidden gems”.

Can I learn from self development blog?
Yes, you can use top 100 books summary to assess if a book is good enough to justify the full version. That’s why critical reviewers are so important.

Do I need business books pdf?
There are enough top 100 books summary around. Paid services such as Www getabstract com book summary don’t offer critical reviews, so I don’t personally use them.

Do I need to buy the full version of book read?
For the great self development articles, you absolutely want the unabridged version.
For some other best self help books 2020 the summary is enough. Best business books of all time help you assess what to buy in full.


All Articles