A self help book has become a popular genre of book that people are purchasing more of lately. A self help book serves as a guide to improve one’s current lifestyle by providing tips that you can use to add into your daily routine and practice everyday.
There is a vast range of self help books that are available and it can be overwhelming to choose which self help book would be beneficial for you. These self help books range from relationship advice, financial guidance and actualizing goals. Here are the 10 best self help books in Malaysia.
What should I look for when buying a self help book?
As there are many self help books out there, it can be hard to pick a self help book that will be able to help improve your personal lifestyle. Some of the things you should look for are the quality of writing, customer reviews and usability.
- Quality of Writing
The quality of writing for a self help book is important to look at as you do not want to get a book that uses too many academic terms that can be confusing to understand.
- Customer reviews
Customer reviews can really help you decide on whether you want to get a certain self help book as it gives you the perspective of another person who has already read the book.
- Usability
A self help book should be easy to use with implementations that are simple to do. You do not want to get a self help book that has too many difficult tasks that will unmotivate you.
10 Best Self Help Books in Malaysia
1. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a best-selling self help book that takes an integrated and principle centred approach on improving one’s personal and professional life. This self help book provides step-by-step ways for adding honesty, fairness and integrity into your lifestyle that are beneficial in giving you security when adapting to changes.
Specifications:
- Author: Stephen R. Covey
- Pages: 384 pages
- Publication date: 1986
Pros:
✅ 2×2 matrix rule
✅ Principle-centred approach
✅ Aids professional and personal problems
Price: RM118.17
*Prices may vary at the time of purchase
2. Start With Why
Start With Why is a self help book that was written based on the inspiring Ted Talk that was given by the author, Simon Sinek. This self help book will help you discover what your purpose in life is by asking yourself one simple question: why. This book explores those who have impacted the world with their influence and the way they communicate, act and think.
Specifications:
- Author: Simon Sinek
- Pages: 356 pages
- Publication date: 2009
Pros:
✅ Helps to find your purpose in life
✅ Uses a wide-range of real life stories
✅ Inspired by the popular life-changing Ted Talk
Price: RM51.95
*Prices may vary at the time of purchase
3. Atomic Habits
Atomic Habits by James Clear is an international best seller and has sold over 1 million copies. This self help book focuses on how to incorporate good habits into your life while discarding bad habits that may be decreasing your quality of life. This book gives you a different perspective on changing your behaviour by using simple life changing hacks that will have a lasting impact.
Specifications:
- Author: James Clear
- Pages: 320 pages
- Publication date: 2018
Pros:
✅ Uses simple life changing hacks
✅ Discards bad habits
✅ Helps in changing behaviour
Price: RM82.07
*Prices may vary at the time of purchase
4. How to Win Friends and Influence People
Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People is all about building good relationships, for both your personal and professional life. This all time best selling book offers practical techniques and advice that will help you to be a better speaker and an entertaining conversationalist. Plus, this book’s writing format uses a more conversational style that makes it easy to read and follow.
Specifications:
- Author: Dale Carnegie
- Pages: 304 pages
- Publication date: 1936
Pros:
✅ Building relationships
✅ Conversational style writing
✅ Improves speaking skills
Price: RM44.88
*Prices may vary at the time of purchase
5. The Four Agreements
The Four Agreements discusses the self-limiting behaviours that we tend to do in our lives that hinder us from experiencing happiness and satisfaction. This book talks about the four agreements that are based on Toltec ancient wisdom which you can practice daily. It goes into depth on why these agreements are important and it is easy to remember.
Specifications:
- Author: Don Miguel Ruiz
- Pages: 160 pages
- Publication date: 1997
Pros:
✅ Discusses self-limiting behaviours
✅ Four agreements
✅ Simple to follow
Price: RM50.51
*Prices may vary at the time of purchase
6. The Courage to be Disliked
The Courage To Be Disliked is a profound and insightful self help book that goes through the concept of self care and decluttering the mind. The format of this book is unique compared to other self help books as it is written in the form of a dialogue between a young man and a philosopher. The book uses psychological theories from Alfred Adler that will help you become the person you want to be.
Specifications:
- Author: Ichiro Kishimi, Fumitake Koga
- Pages: 288 pages
- Publication date: 2013
Pros:
✅ Dialogue format
✅ Uses psychological theories from Alfred Adler
✅ Discusses self care and self forgiveness
Price: RM150.01
*Prices may vary at the time of purchase
7. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying takes cleaning up clutter to a whole different level. Marie Kondo aims to teach us to appreciate the simple things in life and to question if the things we have spark joy in our lives. She mentions the KonMari method which utilises a distinct way of decluttering your space through a category by category system.
Specifications:
- Author: Marie Kondo
- Pages: 256 pages
- Publication date: 2010
Pros:
✅ Decluttering your space
✅ Uses the KonMari method
✅ Motivates you to tidy up
Price: RM64.36
*Prices may vary at the time of purchase
8. Big Magic
Big Magic is written by author Elizabeth Gilbert who happened to write the famous novel, Eat Pray Love. In her book, Big Magic, Elizabeth discusses the topic of creativity and how we should be creatively living our lives. This book challenges us to be curious while facing down what we fear most.
Specifications:
- Author: Elizabeth Gilbert
- Pages: 288 pages
- Publication date: 2015
Pros:
✅ Discusses creativity
✅ Challenges us to be live creatively
✅ Uses real life stories
Price: RM39.96
*Prices may vary at the time of purchase
9. The Secret
The Secret is a popular self help book that was also released as a movie back in 2006 due to its major influence. This self help book talks about the law of attraction and how it can be practised in your everyday life whether it is in your business or personal life. This self help book aims to help readers to remain positive and get rid of self-doubt when wanting to achieve your goals.
Specifications:
- Author: Rhonda Byrne
- Pages: 224 pages
- Publication date: 2006
Pros:
✅ Law of attraction
✅ Positivity
✅ Reduce self doubt
Price: RM72.67
*Prices may vary at the time of purchase
10. Who Moved My Cheese?
Who Moved My Cheese? talks about four characters that live in a maze and are looking for cheese to nourish themselves and to satisfy their needs. This book contains a lot of metaphors, with the cheese being a metaphor for what you want in your life. As you read this unique self help book, you follow the journey of these four characters while learning life lessons along the way.
Specifications:
- Author: Dr Spencer Johnson
- Pages: 96 pages
- Publication date: 2015
Pros:
✅ Unique writing format
✅ Uses metaphors
✅ Short read
Price: RM38.92
*Prices may vary at the time of purchase
Disclosure: This list was compiled by the team at My Weekend Plan after extensive research and shared opinions to suggest helpful recommendations for the public. The sequence of brands is in no particular order so if you have any other great suggestions too, please email us support@myweekendplan.asia. For more information, kindly refer to our copyright, privacy & disclosure policy.
