Walk into your local bookstore - if you can find one - or browse the lists at Amazon, Book Depository or Booktopia and you'll find hundreds if not thousands of "self help" books. And the vast majority give the same advice; identify your problem and follow a series of steps to overcome the challenge. Melbourne-based clinician, coach and mentor Philip Owens says that approach is flawed and it inspired him to write a different book - one that lets you decide on the journey by creating the space you need.

When you’re on a quest for self-improvement, there are countless books, apps, methods, etc., out there that promise to “fix” you, or help you become the best you you can be. Bullet journals, meditation apps, yoga studios, books promising to help you “get your shit together” — there’s no shortage of products, services and experiences to buy in our culture.

If I learned one thing from reading The Satanic Bible by Anton Szandor LaVey, it’s that LaVey liked to fuck, but I also learned a lot of other life lessons, and they are surprisingly practical and actually pretty positive.

Many wonder how to talk to someone who is going through a loss, how best to be supportive, and how to properly offer condolences. But when grief hits you, it isn’t only painful, it’s extremely difficult to navigate through a range of new emotions.

From its title, The Gifts of Imperfection sounds like a book for perfectionists. And it is, but also so much more. The titular gifts are courage, compassion and connection. If you're ready for some deep digging on the way to having more of those qualities in your life, read on.

Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends & Influence People is one of the best selling self-help books of all time. The book has influenced a wide range of people over the years, from Warren Buffett to Charles Manson. Those two people, Buffet and Manson, really express the weirdness that is Carnegie's book in the modern era. Let's dig into it.