I hate how self-help books by charlatans have come to dominate bookstores. At least the YA novel craze that Harry Potter started were actual novels.

I would gladly take ten thousand fold YA novels that actually get people reading and talking about to each other (for better or worse) over self-help stuff.

I am in general pro-self-help (so long it's the desire is genuine not this weird modern self-optimization for capital shit), but self-help doesn't really get people talking or connecting. At least people (especially regular people) talked about Twilight, and Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, all them books. People were reading and talking to each other in-person and online about it. Self-help there is no discussion to be had. Sure there is the implementation of the practices and habits or whatever, but there is really no communication to be had, you just do the stuff. At least with YA you can ask someone "what did you think about XYZ", self-help is just do or do not.

It's as bad as "famous" rightwingers and sitting politicians. My only reprieve is hearing linkedin dudebros complain that those books are too long, repetitive, or say nothing useful. At least those YA novels are fun!

Waiting for the second edition (or 10 years still in print) weeds out 90%+ of the self-help chaff.

If Einstein and DaVincci were alive today, we wouldn't know it. All the books would be about Oppenheimer and Lorenzo de' Medici.

Owners and administrators are the ones that can afford to access the endless PR budgets necessary to inflate their profiles. You'll never actually hear about the Tesla/Apple lead engineers much less the grad student doing the advanced mathematics or material sciences that make these products possible.

If I wrote a self help book, it would say, don’t pay for self help books when you can instead read famous amazing books for free instead.

His natural hairline is probably closer to Homer Simpson.

Hair plugs are really good these days if you're rich enough.