The best self-help books, according to hackers
22 self-help books were recommended on Hacker News between November 2025 and November 2026. We rank them by how many separate people recommend each one, and 2 earn the Hacker Approved badge.
Top picks
The two most recommended self-help books with the badge. Each figure is 5 people. RecommendsCriticizes One comment
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie
67 recommend, 25 criticize, 73% approval
Ranked 1 of 22 by recommenders
Teaches genuine care and honesty
People recommend it as practical advice for making friends and handling social situations, especially for shy readers. Critics say the title and tone sound manipulative.
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Life-changing, frequently referenced personal impact
Recommended as a practical guide to changing habits, with ideas that have changed some readers' lives. Critics say it assumes too much about how habits get internalized.
We may earn a commission. It never changes the order.
We may earn a commission. It never changes the order.
All 22 self-help books, ranked
Select a column heading to sort. Approval share is recommenders out of everyone who gave an opinion; the tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs. Months counts the months, out of 13, in which someone recommended it.
| Rank | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How to Win Friends and Influence Peopleby Dale Carnegie | 67 | 25 | 73% | 11 | — | Approved |
| 2 | Atomic Habitsby James Clear | 20 | 2 | 91% | 11 | — | Approved |
| 3 | The Easy Way to Stop Smokingby Allen Carr | 9 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 4 | Feeling Goodby David D. Burns | 8 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 4 | The Art of Money Gettingby P. T. Barnum and John Woods | 8 | 6 | 57% | 1 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | The Power of Nowby Eckhart Tolle | 7 | 1 | 88% | 6 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | The 4-Hour Workweekby Timothy Ferriss | 7 | 14 | 33% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 6 | How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Bigby Scott Adams and Joshua Lisec | 7 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 9 | The Now Habitby Neil Fiore | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 9 | The Gameby Neil Strauss | 5 | 5 | 50% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 9 | Tiny Habitsby B. J. Fogg | 5 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 9 | Fair Playby Eve Rodsky | 5 | 1 | 83% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 13 | The Happiness Trapby Russ Harris | 4 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
| Tied 13 | What Color Is Your Parachute?by Richard Nelson Bolles | 4 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 13 | The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peopleby Stephen R. Covey | 4 | 2 | 67% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Nonviolent Communicationby Marshall B. Rosenberg and Deepak Chopra and Magiarí Díaz Díaz and Alan Rafael Seid Llamas and Rosenberg | 3 | 2 | 60% | 4 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Refuse to Chooseby Barbara Sher | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | The War of Artby Steven Pressfield | 3 | 1 | 75% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | How to Liveby Derek Sivers | 3 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ckby Mark Manson | 3 | 2 | 60% | 3 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Feeling Goodby David D. Burns | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
| Tied 16 | Talking to 35 Strangers at the Gymby Mark Divine | 3 | 2 | 60% | 1 | — | — |
How we rank
Rank is the number of separate people who recommend a product in a Hacker News comment over the past year. Someone who praises the same self-help book in five threads counts once.
The badge goes to self-help books that at least 10 people recommend, with recommenders outnumbering critics at least 2 to 1, recommended in at least 4 of the 13 months.
Rankings are never for sale. We may earn a commission when you buy through our links. It never changes the order.