r/selfimprovement · 2020

Most-mentioned books in r/selfimprovement during 2020

This page ranks books by exact tracked mentions in r/selfimprovement within the published source unit for 2020. Counts come from the reconciled subreddit-by-month matrix; a source unit may be a bounded sample.

Books ranked

Tracked mentions in 2020

Sort by upvotes = sum of comment scores on recognized mentions

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Dale Carnegie

A 1936 salesman's manual argues you'll get further remembering someone's name and asking about their day than by being right.

9 in 2020

The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck

Mark Manson

Mark Manson's case that choosing what to care about is the only self-help move that actually matters.

8 in 2020

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Stephen R. Covey

Before you fix your calendar, this book makes you write a personal mission statement about what you're scheduling around in the first place.

4 in 2020

The Power of Now

Eckhart Tolle

A man on the verge of suicide has a single night that ends the self he thought he was and leaves behind a guide to living without it.

4 in 2020

12 Rules for Life

Jordan B. Peterson

Twelve numbered rules, starting with standing up straight and ending with petting any cat you meet on the street.

2 in 2020

Atomic Habits

James Clear

James Clear argues that habits built two minutes at a time compound, over a year, into a completely different person.

2 in 2020

Meditations

Marcus Aurelius

A Roman emperor writes himself private notes on how to stop losing his temper, never expecting anyone else to read them, and two thousand years later everyone has.

2 in 2020

Can't Hurt Me

David Goggins

A Navy SEAL turned ultra-runner narrates his own worst years first, then explains how he used them as training.

1 in 2020

Ego Is the Enemy

Ryan Holiday

Ryan Holiday's case for subordinating ego to craft draws 41 Reddit mentions, most from r/Stoicism, where the book is treated as a gateway to the primary sources.

1 in 2020

#10

Man's Search for Meaning

Viktor E. Frankl

A psychiatrist survives three concentration camps and concludes the ones who lived weren't the strongest, they were the ones who still had a reason to.

1 in 2020

#11

No More Mr. Nice Guy

Robert A. Glover

A therapist diagnoses the Nice Guy syndrome — covert contracts, approval-seeking, hidden resentment — and explains why it makes men worse partners and worse people.

1 in 2020

#12

So Good They Can't Ignore You

Cal Newport

Cal Newport argues that career advice to 'follow your passion' is actively bad, and that skills, not passion, make work fulfilling.

1 in 2020

#13

The Compound Effect

Darren Hardy

Darren Hardy's argument that small consistent choices compound into large results — and that most people underestimate that gap until it's too late to ignore.

1 in 2020

#14

The Willpower Instinct

Kelly McGonigal

A Stanford psychologist teaches the science course on self-control that most willpower advice skips entirely.

1 in 2020

#15

Tiny Habits

BJ Fogg

A Stanford behavior scientist argues that the smallest version of a habit — not willpower — is the one that actually sticks.

1 in 2020