r/selfimprovement · 2021

Most-mentioned books in r/selfimprovement during 2021

This page ranks books by exact tracked mentions in r/selfimprovement within the published source unit for 2021. Counts come from the reconciled subreddit-by-month matrix; a source unit may be a bounded sample.

Books ranked

Tracked mentions in 2021

Sort by upvotes = sum of comment scores on recognized mentions

Atomic Habits

James Clear

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

10 in 2021

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.

9 in 2021

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 2021

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.

8 in 2021

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.

7 in 2021

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.

6 in 2021

Mindset

Carol S. Dweck

A Stanford psychologist argues that believing your abilities can grow is itself the ability that determines whether they do.

5 in 2021

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.

4 in 2021

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.

3 in 2021

#10

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 2021

#11

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.

2 in 2021

#12

The Obstacle Is the Way

Ryan Holiday

A former marketing exec turns Marcus Aurelius' private notebook into a playbook for whatever just went wrong in your week.

2 in 2021

#13

Eat That Frog!

Brian Tracy

Brian Tracy's 21-chapter argument that you should do the worst task on your list first, every morning, without negotiating with yourself.

1 in 2021

#14

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 2021

#15

Feeling Good

David D. Burns

David Burns hands depressed readers a list of ten named thinking errors and a worksheet to catch themselves making one.

1 in 2021

#16

Outliers

Malcolm Gladwell

Gladwell argues that talent alone never explains success, it's the birth month, the zip code, and the ten thousand hours nobody sees.

1 in 2021