Anxious Britons buy three million self-help books in a year

Anxious Britons buy three million self-help books in a year as sales rise 20% as men ‘look for guidance on how to be a man in a post #MeToo world’

• Self-help book sales boom as more than three million books were sold last year
• Self-improvement and popular psychology is one of the fastest-growing genres
• Author Suzy Reading says it is ‘almost like male readers are looking for guidance or reassurance on how to be a man in a post #MeToo world’

Stressed Britons are increasingly resorting to self-help books in a bid to cope with their daily lives.

More than three million of the books were sold last year – an increase of 20 per cent from 2017.

The sales boom means self-improvement and popular psychology is one of the fastest-growing genres in the publishing world. 

Keira O’Brien, of The Bookseller magazine, said a sub-genre of authors were appealing specifically to men. She said it was ‘almost like male readers are looking for guidance or reassurance on how to be a man in a post #MeToo world’ [File photo]

Author Suzy Reading said: ‘Over the past ten years or so, there’s been a shift from psychologists just studying mental illness, and more on to what makes life worth living.

‘At the same time, people are more aware about mental health issues and wellbeing, so these books can help them.’ 

The psychologist and mother of two, whose book The Self-Care Revolution: Smart Habits And Simple Practices To Allow You To Flourish is among the top titles of the year, added: ‘Of course, there’s always room for using a therapist to deal with traumas and conflict.

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‘But it’s good that people can work on things with books. They can help open people’s eyes.’

Keira O’Brien, of The Bookseller magazine, said a sub-genre of authors were appealing specifically to men.

She added: ‘It’s almost like male readers are looking for guidance or reassurance on how to be a man in a post #MeToo world.’

More than three million of the books were sold last year – an increase of 20 per cent from 2017. The sales boom means self-improvement and popular psychology is one of the fastest-growing genres in the publishing world [File photo]

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