Are self-help books really helping our habit of reading?

If you're a reader, and you're on Instagram, chances are the algorithm has fed you posts promising that "this book will change your life" or touting "five books that made me successful." These claims are compelling.

- Ranju Kunwor, Tribune News Service

They make me pause and ask a deeper question: Are self-help books really helping us? I'll say this up front: One book cannot change your life. One self-help book will not transform your mindset, your habits or your emotional health, but the habit of reading might. I recently read “The Mountain Is You” by Brianna Wiest. It’s a popular title in the self-help space — concise, digestible and motivational. It reads like the TikTok version of a self-help book: short chapters, compact insights and neatly packaged advice on how we sabotage ourselves. But it lacks depth and doesn’t provoke critical thought. It offers little in the way of evidence-based guidance, psychological analysis or room for ambiguity.