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Self Help Books ITT

Started by Placid Dingo, May 10, 2011, 07:51:05 AM

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Placid Dingo

May 10, 2011, 07:51:05 AM
Nigel in the other book thread mentioned self help books and people probably not being interested, and I kind of thought that there's enough good stuff out there that it's worth a thread.

Personally I'm obsessed with two that have done me a hella lotta good; Ken Kiersly's 'Please Understand Me' and 'Art of Memetics' which isn't really strictly self help but is good for stuff. Ken Robinson's 'The Element' (he's the guy who pops up on youtube periodically talking about Education reform) is more full of examples than advice, but is certainly inspiring in its dealing with sense of purpose.

I think 'The Game' doesn't really count, and shouldn't be taken all too seriously, but it really was one of the first books that helped me develop normal person socialising skills.

I know 'Think and Grow Rich', the 'stoic' book, and others are held in high regard but have yet to read. I do have a 'classic self help' books ap though so will get onto that when my present reading list dies down.
Haven't paid rent since 2014 with ONE WEIRD TRICK.

Reeducation

#1
May 10, 2011, 08:42:45 AM
Fuck it, The ultimate spiritual way. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Fuck-Ultimate-Spiritual-Way/dp/1905633041/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

I could describe it a little but oh just fuck it.
I am very calm

Xooxe

#2
May 10, 2011, 10:55:46 AM

Triple Zero

#3
May 10, 2011, 11:50:44 AM
I always like the ones about systems for ordening and planning tasks in life. I read many  bits and pieces here and there, but the one that really stands out is Getting Things Done. Most other task planning methods you may find online or in books are (at least in part) based on GTD, anyway. So that means the method of GTD is a very useful base to have on which to built your own system.

The book is chuck-full of common sense, nothing more arcane than keeping lists and keeping your inbox empty (by not putting things back into it after you've seen them), which is reassuring. It's also full of weasel-phrases such as "if you're like most people, ", which is somewhat bit annoying, but probably well-intentioned.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Getting_things_done

Wired described it as "A New Cult for the Info Age" :lol:
Ex-Soviet Bloc Sexual Attack Swede of Tomorrow™
e-prime disclaimer: let it seem fairly unclear I understand the apparent subjectivity of the above statements. maybe.

INFORMATION SO POWERFUL, YOU ACTUALLY NEED LESS.

LMNO

#4
May 10, 2011, 03:59:18 PM
I've found that sneaking up on my brain is the best way to get it to pay attention to what it's doing to itself.

That said, here are my recommendations:
The Artist's Way
Knots, by RD Laing
and, of course,
Less Wrong

Mesozoic Mister Nigel

#5
May 10, 2011, 05:37:25 PM
OK, I'll share. One of the books I recently found helpful was "When the Past is Present" by David Ricoh. http://www.amazon.com/When-Past-Present-Emotional-Relationships/dp/159030571X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305044957&sr=1-1
He's really into quoting poetry and songs, which I find more irritating than helpful, but he does a great job of talking about transference and how unresolved issues from the past impact our relationships whether we realize it or not.

I just finished "Getting Past Your Breakup" by Susan Elliott. http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Past-Your-Breakup-Devastating/dp/0738213284/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305045019&sr=1-1
It's more of a workbook than a straight-through read, so by "finished" I really mean "read through it, still have to do the exercises". It was really good though, and I can tell from my past experience with therapy that the exercises are going to be really helpful, and also probably really difficult.

I'm currently reading "If This Is Love, Why Do I Feel So Insecure?" http://www.amazon.com/This-Love-Why-Feel-Insecure/dp/0449218597/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1305045148&sr=1-1
This one is about anxious attachment disorder, basically. It's very dense and has been really eye-opening. Because of my fear of abandonment issues and feelings of insecurity in our relationship, I had assumed that I was the one with insecurity issues. Reading this book, it's becoming obvious that actually, Mr. Language is the one with relationship anxiety, and his behavior in the relationship, especially his hangup on his ex, made the relationship actually insecure. My reaction of feeling insecure was completely natural and probably unavoidable. It is very telling that I started to feel more secure and sane the moment I broke off contact with him.
"I'm guessing it was January 2007, a meeting in Bethesda, we got a bag of bees and just started smashing them on the desk," Charles Wick said. "It was very complicated."

Disco Pickle

#7
May 10, 2011, 08:51:54 PM
Quote from: Xooxe on May 10, 2011, 10:55:46 AM
This -> http://horrell.ca/file_download/7/Self-Trepanation.pdf

I want copies of that to give away at Christmas and birthdays. 
"Events in the past may be roughly divided into those which probably never happened and those which do not matter." --William Ralph Inge

"sometimes someone confesses a sin in order to take credit for it." -- John Von Neumann

The Good Reverend Roger

#8
May 10, 2011, 08:55:03 PM
Helter Skelter.
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

The Good Reverend Roger

#9
May 10, 2011, 09:21:05 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 10, 2011, 08:55:03 PM
Helter Skelter.

Whoops.  Scratch that.  I mean "How to Win Friends and Influence People".
" It's just that Depeche Mode were a bunch of optimistic loveburgers."
- TGRR, shaming himself forever, 7/8/2017

"Billy, when I say that ethics is our number one priority and safety is also our number one priority, you should take that to mean exactly what I said. Also quality. That's our number one priority as well. Don't look at me that way, you're in the corporate world now and this is how it works."
- TGRR, raising the bar at work.

*GrumpButt*

#10
May 10, 2011, 09:23:29 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 10, 2011, 09:21:05 PM
Quote from: The Good Reverend Roger on May 10, 2011, 08:55:03 PM
Helter Skelter.

Whoops.  Scratch that.  I mean "How to Win Friends and Influence People".
husband read that (oh shit he CAN read, maybe, kinda)..

Didn't learn a fucking thing apparently.
*sigh* You have to be kidding me.

Cain

#11
May 13, 2011, 07:40:40 AM
Strangely enough, I have been reading Helter Skelter recently.  I've become somewhat obsessed with the many oddities about the Manson case, from the pathetic Tate murder investigations to the possibility of Process Church of the Final Judgement and Scientologist involvement.

Anyway, self help books:

The Prince by Machiavelli
The 48 Laws of Power, by Robert Greene
Arthashastra by Kautilya
Less Wrong by various
The Strategy of Conflict by Thomas C Schelling

LMNO

#12
May 13, 2011, 01:38:20 PM
Oh, least I forget the obligatorty RAW...

Quantum Psychology/Prometheus Rising

And if you have the head for it, Hoffsteader's Godel Escher Bach

Triple Zero

#13
May 13, 2011, 03:14:30 PM
Dunno if GEB counts as self-help, though. Understanding Goedel's incompleteness proof was one of the bigger mindfucks I encountered in my life*, but if anything, it did more for me in the sense of breaking shit down, than actual self-help. After breaking it down, I went on the lookout for info to help myself building it up again, but GEB couldn't offer me that.


* I realize now it's only a mindfuck for people whose way of making sense of life/reality/etc hinges very strongly on mathematics and logical proofs. The Incompleteness Theorem is a very powerful tool to shatter that dependence. I think for more "normal" (read: different-crazy) people it's either a medium mindfuck or even "just a paradox" (which it's not quite--it actually unhinges mathematics at the fucking bootstraps). /OT
Ex-Soviet Bloc Sexual Attack Swede of Tomorrow™
e-prime disclaimer: let it seem fairly unclear I understand the apparent subjectivity of the above statements. maybe.

INFORMATION SO POWERFUL, YOU ACTUALLY NEED LESS.

Elder Iptuous

#14
May 14, 2011, 02:52:17 PM
i just listened to "how to win friends and influence people" last week.  it's common sense rules that you already know (assuming there weren't any assburgers clogging up your normalinteraction glands), but it's got a bunch of anecdotes that are somewhat inspiring to hear.

I've never really read much self help stuff, but i've been looking for some just lately.
thanks for this thread.
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