What books does Veeky Forums read?

It would have been a bunch of faggots just as it is today

Unfortnately I get bored of non fiction pretty fast. Any tips ?

Kill yourself
That should help

>looking for self improvement books
Self improvement books are a trap. It's just a cycle of feeling good but not getting anywhere. Instead you should focus on reading something practical. Something that will teach you about fitness and nutrition or personal finance. You really only need to read one self improvement book and it's HTWF&IE. If you know what that abbreviation is you're close to making it.

Thanks, user.

>Something that will teach you about fitness and nutrition or personal finance

So basically self improvement books.

HtWF&IP^

Any book not corrupted by modernistic, hedonistic beliefs is good. That is reading the untranslated philosophies from before 1920s or so.

The Inner Game of Tennis is a good ass book that's less about tennis and more about competition and perforance. My friend got it for me for my birthday.

I like to read about fighting, history, science and cooking.

Very vaguely put. Self improvement books are books that tell you common sense messages in ways to motivate you. i. e. I imagine OP's book is something like "you don't need talent you need hard work and here is how you do it - practice the same thing over and over again". A gross generalization. You don't need to read that book. You need to read technical information that will help you grow, not make you feel good.

Common sense isn't a thing

Just because you don't have it, doesn't mean we all don't.

If I don't have it then it's not something all people have therefore it's not worth counting on in the context of teaching people things

This, and for fitness books I unironically recommend starting with rippetoes books. They really do prevent you from wasting time in the gym.

I phrased that incorrectly. Just because you don't have common sense doesn't mean that other people don't. It's called common sense because in a general population it would be common. Meaning that you're the unlucky few that does not have enough common sense to learn something by either reading about it specifically or practicing, but instead chooses to read a book about learning rather than putting the effort to improve the skill directly.

Dude I'm 19 never had a job and I know the abbreviation. Knowing it is not being close to making it, you almost gave me hope

In a nutshell self improvement books are basically. "Wow, I knew that doing these things would benefit me greatly but it's good to finally see it put into words."

That's cool dude, but I was just fucking around as the book is popular as fuck. However, I am skeptical that HTWF&IP will hardly get you anywhere, other than offering you a boost in confidence or motivation. After all one still needs to take action and when it comes to self improvement it's a lot easier to stall by reading self improvement books and thinking you're getting somewhere, instead you're just re-reading the same bull shit over and over again without refining any skills. kek

I just read blood meridian. I really liked it.

You phrased that even worse, I don't even know what you're talking about anymore

My point is there is no such a thing as common sense because not everyone hss the same experiences or opportunities therefore not everyone know the same things. Just because a book doesn't help you specifically doesn't mean it won't help someone else so just do you and don't dismiss other people

It's difficult to argue against common sense. After all, everyone knows that if you want to be healthy you must eat right and go to the gym. If you want to learn about a specific topic you read about it. If you want to get good at something you practice it. You and I both know that fire is hot. So to say there is no such thing as common sense is dead wrong.

But I'm going to extend the olive branch here. Yes we know that we must eat healthy and work out to be healthy, but specifically a person may not have common sense as to what is healthy or what is considered a good work out. Furthermore, when it comes to learning a person may not know what to read - even though it's common sense that reading will make you smarter.

So in the context of self improvement books I guess it isn't common sense not to read them and work on your skills instead. But it sure is a waste of time.

All the hate for self-improvement on fit is retarded.

Keep on reading OP. You'll make it.

To elaborate

People here assume we are into self-improvement and do nothing to implement it into real life. They assume we do not have hobbies/study/work where we can test and apply the stuff we learn from these books.

Re-reading this atm.
I generally never do this, but I read it for the first time when I was just a kid and I felt like I missed a lot of it. I was right too, shit gets awfully complicated later on.

Yes because it's a lot better to read a book that tells you to eat right and exercise, rather than to read a book about proper nutrition and hypertrophy.

What incredible self improvement techniques have you implemented into your life?

>After all, everyone knows that if you want to be healthy you must eat right and go to the gym

Thing is tho, not everyone knows that
There's a lot of misinformation
Lots of people have no idea what healthy actually is
Lots of people think going to the gym can actually injury you
My mom for instance was afraid of going to the gym because she thought it would strain her joints
I'm telling you dude, it might seen like plainest thing in the world to you but it's almost guaranteed that someone else out there is confused about it

If you didn't know you needed to eat healthy and exercise how would you know you needed to learn about nutrition and hypertrophy?

Have you ever read Frederic Brown's short stories? Or other sf short stories?

>There's a lot of misinformation
Self improvement books do not specifically reduce misinformation. Anyone can be a dick and write something general or specific that is misinformation whether ignorantly or on purpose. They do not know what healthy is, but they are aware of the concept of health and should seek out specific books that will inform them about it. i.e. how nutrition works or a book on exercise. Not a book that tells them they have to do things to benefit.

I'm sorry. I've been operating under the wrong assumptions. The thought of braindead fucking morons never crossed my mind as I live very far away from them. Your question is logical, but now ask yourself how stupid does one have to be that they must be told: "You must act in a way that benefits you." rather than the process of "You know what benefits you, so here are specific instructions about how to do it." -I can see now how self improvement books would help people living in the gutter.

>The thought of braindead fucking morons never crossed my mind as I live very far away from them

You're on the internet, how can you not have seen them?

...

>Self improvement books are a trap. It's just a cycle of feeling good but not getting anywhere. Instead you should focus on reading something practical. Something that will teach you about fitness and nutrition or personal finance.
But user... That is what self help books are. They are books like "basic introduction to personal finance", "guide to nutrition and health", "cookbook for diabetics", "Fitness and exercise for old men" etc

You find the specific topic that you want to improve on and then you go and get the relevant information on it.

>You really only need to read one self improvement book and it's HTWF&IE. If you know what that abbreviation is you're close to making it.
Here you are implying that everyone has problems with getting to know people and socializing. Why do you do that? Why do you generalize all self improvement books and say they are a trap and then in the next sentence you recommend a self improvement book?

Your post is low quality and you should think your posts more trough before you post.

You can find basic introductions with a quick google search and find specific books from then on. No excuses.

The second part of my post, as I stated above, was a joke based on the popularity of the book.

>You can find basic introductions with a quick google search

Or you can find it all in one place in a fucking book
Why is this so hard to accept

>You can find basic introductions with a quick google search and find specific books from then on.
Specific books on whatever subject that you wish to learn, aka self help books.

All you're going to do is read a self-improvement book in hopes for a short cut. Once the books tells you "you need to save money" you're gonna go online and look for a book on saving money. Do you see how you can efficiently skip a step simply by going online and looking up books on personal finance rather than having to read a book that tells you to practice personal finance?

Specific books would be labeled under their specific genres i.e. nutrition, finance, math, fitness. Saying any of the previous books are self help is a cop out by using a gross generalization. The books on nutrition and finance will obviously benefit you, but they keep their own genres.

Once the book tells you you need to save money it is going to elaborate on how you do that
That's the point of it

Any book on teaching yourself how to X can be called self improvement

No, it's going to motivate you to save money by patting you on the back, it isn't going to help you create a budget.

Yes it will

Well then we've been arguing for no reason at all. Simply because we never discussed the definition of a self help book. Go to any book store and you'll find the self help section filled with motivational bull shit about how you're living in the present so you might as well act now. Or how to take a big short cut in life so that you can reach personal growth and well being and all of this other mumbo bull shit. That's what the self help genre encompasses. Books in general are beneficial to you, but you're out of the genre when you discuss finance and books on nutrition. Do you see where the confusion lies?

I can prove my point easily.

google.com/#q=self improvement books

That's what you get when you look up self improvement books. A bunch of bullshit like "The Secret" If you think about big gains they will come to you. etc. It's just a bunch of books that offer people short cuts so that they will buy it and never receive any technical knowledge.

I loved spice and wolf. I read till volume... 6 i think? dont spoil or ill kill you

None of his, many of Asimov and Philip K. Dick though

that's cool bro.

Anyway here's a list of books that will actually help you grow and teach you valuable technical information. If you guys actually finish one of these I would be impressed.

buffettsbooks.com/books-by-warren-buffett.html#sthash.Z7DkHole.dpbs

"How to Eat Well for a Better You" would be self-help where "The Principles and Practice of Nutritional Support" wouldn't

Not my pic, sadly

I would imagine that the former would recommend specific food to eat, whereas the latter would inform people about carbs, protein, calories etc. and the effect on the body so that they may create their own diets. That's my bias.

>If you guys actually finish one of these I would be impressed.

>a bunch of pop-investment books
>a bunch of pop-bios
>a bunch of pop-sci books
>atlas shrugged
>catcher in the rye

come one mate these are hardly esoteric academic tomes

then again I forget i'm on Veeky Forums and not Veeky Forums

Flow is a good book

Not exactly self improvement but very interesting

What if the content of the book was exactly the same?

(anyways, i guess i used a shitty categorization but i would consider second book to be self help as well. But i see your point.) Btw, i'd read that book if it was real. Anyone have any good books on nutrition?

Yeah it's a lot easier to dismiss books when they go over your head so that you feel better about yourself.

So all you have to do is put "pop" in front of something and the implication is that they're bad?

You've never even read a page of the intelligent investor and yet here you are flaunting your undeserved ego.

you gotta know greek for that....

try this one you little cuck

Instead of reading about improving yourself why don't you actually get off your ass and do it? You're squandering your life in front of a computer screen.

STOP BEING NEET!

why are you getting so defensive?

I'm not saying they're bad for fucks sake, it's just they're not particularly esoteric or difficult

jesus christ lads take a chill pill

harri potter

>pulitzer prize winner

Fuck off with your pop-books please.

Fuck off or I will use what I learned in The Secret to steal all of your natty gains from you bitch

If theres any CS majors in here, this book is a great fucking read. Even if you're not its great.

I'm already aware of that mate

I wasn't trying to attack the books; I was just saying that one is not worthy of much praise for reading one of them

I am, I'm in the middle of it and enjoying it

I'd say anyone with interest in math, logic, AI, philosophy

> I was just saying that one is not worthy of much praise for reading one of them
You're wrong because you've overestimated people who read self improvement books

Thinking, Fast and Slow is an amazing book. Recommend everyone reads it.

this discussion is peddling off into autistic territory

but why would be impressed for somebody reading an easy book? Does he just have low standards for Veeky Forums?

Good taste. I like having 1 historical book and 1 fiction book I'm working on and pick one based on how I feel that day. Any particular suggestion from Roman times? I was always interested in Roman history.

From These Ashes: The Complete Short SF (Science Fiction) of Fredric Brown amazon.com/dp/1886778183/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_wkmUxb9XHD3SG

Well worth it imo , best short story author I've come across

This book is fucking awesome. You should read it

Damn that shelf is A E S T H E T I C.

nice Pochaco

Is there any fucking book about improving memory skills?

My brain feels like full of Play Doh and my memory essentially vanished some years ago. Doesnt matter how much omega3, sardinen or nuts i put in my diet.

Also, introduction to philosophy covering some of the most important aspects and figures would be cool.

stop drinking and using drugs

you train memory by practicing remembering stuff. also lose weight and stop using prescription drugs

Anything by Adrian Goldsworthy is an interesting read. A fine balance between good scholarship and fluent writing for a layman. I consider his Caesar the best biography I've ever read.

You can also hop on The History of Rome Podcast for a great run-through, and pick your favorite period from there.

I'm currently reading "A History of Private Life: Pagan Rome and Byzantium", which is good, despite the very obvious "frenchness" (Lots of Foucault-style analysis of power structures and sexuality, vaguely Marxist interpretations).

>improving memory skills?

Get into meditation: Mindfulness in Plain English

Start practicing maths and playing logic games: Elevate is a good app for phones

Think of a number in the morning; try to remember it before bed

> introduction to philosophy covering some of the most important aspects and figures would be cool.

The Story of Philosophy - Bryan Magee

>terrible exposition of concepts
>water-thin and borderline incorrect explanation of Godel and Quine
>hamfist some half-assed philosophy of mind thrown in just for shits and giggles
>author goes off on numerous irrelevant tangents
>attracts fedora tipping idiots on the bus
Yeah it's a fucking shit book alright.

That's a very specific example user
>are you that WASP?

Thanks mate, I'll give it a try.
Ever heard of the Hyperion Cantos by Dan Simmons?

you guys should read some Gene Wolfe

>self improvement books
fucking americans I swear

I was only able to get through the first two chapters of "Think Rich & Grow," before running back to crime fiction. The book wasn't bad, but what Hill dictates is essentially everywhere now, and it's up to me to take action. I do recommend the book. Also been reading up on West African history, I do feel too much fiction has crippled my ability to consume non-fiction. I appreciate what I learned so far.

are you a vapire

I haven't heard of either of them but I'll check them out

>fedora: the shelf

currently reading:

>german idealism - beiser
>irrational man - barrett
>odes and epodes - horace
>how the laws of physics lie - cartwright
>history of political theory - sabine (on hiatus tho)
going to be working on some essays on philosophy and foundations of quantum mechanics over the next week
also dip into the oxford handbook of philosophy of physics from time to time

you don't get to have friends

How is it fedora? I've literally got Ikons, Religious texts and whatnot
No, just someone who is a bit autistic.

You want the best self improvement tips you'll ever get?

Get off Veeky Forums for good, it's just a timesink filled with bad info, trolls, memes, spitefulness and you are just here to procrastinate and avoid doing things that really better you as a person. Veeky Forums will do you little good, and that good can be found in a lot more thorough, concentrated and available form on other websites or books. If you do stay on Veeky Forums, you need to realize it's not any better than watching TV in terms of personal development.

Get on my level.

My theory is that the stigma applied to the 'self-help' genre was created by the elite class try and keep plebs from reading them.

The (few) very successful people I know personally all read a shit load of them.