Five Best Self-Improvement Books that AREN’T technically self-improvement books!

Harpo Marx, Rowland Barber, 2017

To be honest, this would top the list of my all-time favourite books, no matter what the topic! The way Harpo lived his life and his attitude to work, play, friendship, and family is so inspiring it changed my life. Just his list of family rules alone is worth the read, but the rest of it is incredible, too. The Marx Brothers worked hard, like really hard, but never lost sight of the fact that life is and always should be fun! This is my most gifted and recommended book of all time.

Jerry Spinelli, 2004

Oh man, this is one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. It didn’t only help me with my writing but also with its message. To stand out isn’t easy, and sometimes, we adjust and sink back into the crowd if only to appease others and not ourselves. But, in the end, we have to be ourselves, trust our uniqueness and our beauty, and run with it. Yes, this puts us out there to be criticised and pulled down, but it also gives us the opportunity to rise to the greatest of heights. Stargirl does that, both the book and the character.

Bruce Lee, 2018

This has recency bias, as I am reading it right now (for about the tenth time!). The book is a collection of Bruce Lee’s philosophies via his essays and general writing, and notes on numerous topics. It is fascinating to read them, from someone most people dismiss as just a karate guy. He had such depth, such wisdom, and such amazing perspective. This book also saved my writing career when I was either going to give up or start writing things I didn’t like just to be published. At the start of one of his essays, Bruce Lee wrote, “I don’t know what I will be writing but just simply writing what wants to be written. If then writing communicates and stirs something within someone, it’s beautiful. If not, well, it can’t be helped.” That was it. I knew that was the advice I had to follow in my writing and my life. And it has been so much fun since!