Answer: it depends on what kind of self-help book it is, what it's trying to help, what it's message is, and whether it's backed by research. Also whether you're self-motivated. About a ten to fifteen minute reading, shorter if you skim and just read the stuff in bold.
Includes ways to weed out the fakes from the real deals and what to do with the real deals when you read them.
All links open in new tab, unless specified. If you enjoyed the book, please consider buying it! My personal recommendation is (and will always be) Thriftbooks, an online resource for getting second-hand, steeply discounted books that would otherwise be left to gather dust as someone buys a brand new one off of Amazon. Please support your local book stores and libraries, as well as buying second hand to minimize the number of new editions and printings made every year! I've listed the lowest price of each book (usually condition is Acceptable, but Good condition is only a few cents more) so that you can compare prices to Amazon, but prices can get up to $50 for hardbacks, special editions, and newly released/published books. In general, if it's a book that's been around for awhile, or isn't in great condition, you'll get a great bargain, but keep in mind that it's not a new book and you will be paying for shipping ($5 if you're in the US, much higher if you're outside of it).
Note: if you make an account with thriftbooks, you get 8 points for every $1 spent, and a free book for every 500 points earned! If you're going to be buying books anyway, you might as well get points, and eventually a free book, for doing so!
✓ Greensleeves Eloise Jarvis McGraw (not yet available on Thriftbooks)
✓ Crossings: A Novel Alex Landragin (link will take you to BooksVooks which gives you the option to read the mobile version, read the PDF version, or download it. You need permission to access the downloaded file, and you can't highlight things in the "pdf" version, so I would pick the mobile version, personally. If you do go with the PDF, the book starts on page 11) ($5.79 on Thriftbooks) (I just bought it on Thriftbooks because if you're planning on reading the Baroness sequence and jumping around the book, you can't do that online, it isn't set up for that and nobody's page numbers line up with the book's. I'm working on it and hopefully my version will have this option so that you can click on a link and it'll either take you to a different spot on the same page or if that's not feasible on this platform, then the link will take you to an entirely new page)
✓ The Midnight Library: A Novel Matt Haig (alternate format - you can either read in continuous or swipe version) (PDF version here, format is good.) (also available on OverDrive) ($22.56 on Thriftbooks)
✓ The Priory of the Orange Tree Samantha Shannon ($8.59 on Thriftbooks) (can also download from Z-Library if you have an account. It's free, and you get 10 downloads per day if you have an account, and then you can access it on any platform)
Life of Pi Yann Martel (PDF version here, format is better.) ($3.99 on Thriftbooks)
Fahrenheit 451 Ray Bradbury (there are a bunch of different options for reading online, I picked my favorite non-PDF but if you don't like the format, just google "fahrenheit 451 read free online" and you can have your pick) (PDF version here) ($3.99 on Thriftbooks)
Far From The Madding Crowd Thomas Hardy (I usually pick the HTML version) ($3.99 on Thriftbooks)
The Madness of Crowds Douglass Murray (available on OverDrive) ($17.79 on Thriftbooks) (couldn't find it online, but idc bc my dad owns a copy so I'll just borrow it from him lol)
The Starless Sea Erin Morgenstern (alternate format) (PDF version) ($25.79 on Thriftbooks, so I would go to Amazon if you want to save money. Or look at eBay or FB marketplace)
The Night Circus Erin Morgenstern (downloaded from z-lib.org, just have to actually start it)
The March E.L. Doctorow (going to download from z-lib.org when I get around to actually reading it)
The Humans Matt Haig
Dune (Dune #1) Frank Herbert
Time Enough For Love Robert A. Heinlein
