Meet the must-reads: The 10 best self-help books every girl needs

Ayesha Muttucumaru 20 November 2014
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The 10 best self-help books every girl needs

From how to be more confident and silencing your inner critic to improving low self-esteem  and negative self-image, we could all do with a boost from time to time. Thankfully, we can all take comfort from the fact that we’re not alone due to the wide range of useful, practical and informative self-help books out there to help cultivate the skills we need to make a lasting change.

Whether you’re looking to take better care of yourself, learn how to master positive thinking or change the landscape of your love lives, there’s a guidebook at hand to help. Click through our gallery to see which self-help books you should be bookmarking when it comes to self-improvement and self-motivation.

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Thrive: The Third Metric to Redefining Success and Creating a Happier Life by Arianna Huffington

Stressed? Always glued to your laptop/iPhone/iPad? Struggling to juggle work and family life? Stop and read this book. Arianna Huffington, co-founder and editor of The Huffington Post Media Group, wrote it following her own exhausting, highly stressful experiences.

An amazing antidote to the frenzy of modern life, Huffington urges us that we can be successful without taking the 'Heart Attack Highway to Stress City.' Backed up by science and full of wisdom and guidance for wellbeing  (Huffington considers sleep to be the most powerful route to success and happiness), as well as useful nuggets of information on dealing with our daily hassles on every page, this is a modern Bible that could transform your work and family life.

£16.99, buy online here .

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Mrs Moneypenny's Financial Advice For Independent Women by Heather McGregor

If we're realistic, when it comes to self-help, money is the area in which we need most assistance. Therefore, one Sunday afternoon we decided to get our affairs in order so that we didn't feel quite so alone in the Wild Wild West of interest rates and unfamiliar acronyms. That’s where Mrs Moneypenny's Financial Advice for Independent Women came into the equation and any book that equates banking with Beyoncé-esque can-do spirit is our kind of manual.

The author is an FT columnist and former investment banker - she knows her economic onions. Since reading we've started a pension and shopped around for gas electricity to cut bills by almost 25%. If you've got your head in the sand, we can't recommend this more!

£16.99, buy online here .

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Eat, Nourish, Glow: 10 easy steps for losing weight, looking younger & feeling healthier by Amelia Freer

Changing eating habits from bad to good and modifying the way that we see food can seem near enough impossible after a lifetime of eating the wrong things. However, with Amelia Freer’s words of wisdom at hand to turn your relationship with food around, you can look to makeover the contents of your kitchen cupboards with the knowledge and understanding needed to set you on the right path for good.

A nutritional therapist and Get The Gloss Expert , Amelia uses her wealth of experience to breakdown what we really should be eating and why, providing a comprehensive cookbook that looks at more than simply just expanding our recipe repertoires. Proving that healthy food can indeed be tasty, her chickpea flatbread with roasted tomatoes or pan-fried sea bass with carrot mash is certain to make a believer out of the fussiest of fussy eaters.

£16.99, pre-order your copy here . Available on the 1st of January 2015.

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Pretty Honest: The Straight-Talking Beauty Companion by Sali Hughes

Beauty without the BS , this go-to guide for any beauty fan is a must-read for separating fact from fiction and truth from marketing hoo-hah.

A comprehensive look at all aspects of beauty whether it be acne, skincare, hair removal, bridal beauty or botox, the renowned and respected straight-talking journalist tells it like it is with her trademark wit and humour making it all the more a relatable read. Whether you’re a beauty expert or a beauty novice, this handbook of tips, skills and advice can be counted on for providing the answer to every question you’ve had about anti-ageing, ageing well, makeup and skin no matter your concern or problem.

£22, buy online here .

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Get The Guy: Use the Secrets of the Male Mind to Find, Attract and Keep Your Ideal Man by Matthew Hussey

If your love life  could do with a makeover, this book from leading relationship coach Matthew Hussey is certain to give it just the boost that it needs.

Friendly, confident and funny, think of Matthew as your guardian dating angel who gently pushes you out of the confines of your comfort zone into pastures new to radically change the outlook of your dating landscape. From step 1: finding the guy, step 2: getting the guy to step 3: keeping the guy, all bases are covered for ensuring you get the most out of your day wherever the location, whatever the time. Just the surge in self-confidence you need if you’re more wall flower than wild child, this GTG writer can lay testament to the fact that it really works - three dates over two weeks after a rather barren few months can’t be wrong.

£12.99, buy online here .

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The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

An insight into positive thinking that will seep its way into your subconscious, this self-help book helps to encourage the most negative of us to make a noticeable turnaround.

At the beginning, it’s easy to be cynical - but try to power through. No matter how tempting it is to roll your eyes and say ‘here we go again,’ the simple and empowering messages that run throughout make a lasting impression that you can take into your day to day lives. Providing useful and insightful tips and narratives from people who have experienced ‘The Secret’ and seen its effects first-hand, its message rings true for anyone from the atheist to the theist, the spiritual to the most sceptical.

£14.99, buy online here .

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What Are You Hungry For? The Chopra Solution To Permanent Weight Loss, Well-Being and Lightness Of Soul by Deepak Chopra

A masterclass in eating consciously in order to defeat bad habits and make a change from the inside out, this multi-faceted approach to weight loss  looks at kitchen, mind and stomach to benefit mind and body both in the short and long-term.

Using his medical and Ayurvedic backgrounds to encourage an attitude of positivity, awareness and mindfulness when it comes to healthy living, it skips past the fad diets and unsustainable mindsets to provide a variety of useful tips, recipes and techniques to employ when feeling your most vulnerable and to tip the scales in your favour for good.

£12.99, buy online here .

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The Sleep Book: How To Sleep Well Every Night by Dr Guy Meadows

With insomnia  and sleeplessness affecting more people than ever before, this useful bedtime read provides a refreshingly pill-free alternative for a better night’s sleep.

With pragmatic and practical tips and advice for addressing the real reasons for why you’re sleeping badly, plus the triggers and case studies that will resonate with many fellow sufferers, Dr Meadows  effectively turns your bedtime routine on its head to give it a shot of mindfulness and a hefty dose of acceptance to defeat the nightmare of bad sleep that will hopefully last a lifetime.

£9.99, buy online here .

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The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari by Robin Sharma

Showcasing the struggle that most find to feed both their spiritual and work lives, the storyline will certainly resonate with a lot of people searching for the perfect work life balance. Following the journey of high-profile lawyer Julien Mantle from courtroom to India and the Sages of Sivana, it serves to drive home the message of allowing time to focus on soul and spirit not just for you, but also for the benefit of those around you too.

An intriguing read with a simple but powerful message, it’ll help provide a source of self-empowerment for days when you’re feeling like the weight of the world is on your shoulders and help you look beyond work and stresses and onto the bigger picture.

£9.99, buy online here .

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Chicken Soup For The Soul: Reboot Your Life

The ideal read for those who feel they’re in a rut, this collection of motivating and inspiring stories will provide some much-needed words of comfort when it comes to jobs, work, love and life.

Whether you’re thinking of swapping careers, a new relationship or are just generally in the pursuit of happiness, from the simplest to the biggest changes this book shows that you’re not alone when it comes to feelings of loneliness or unfulfilment and provides a much-needed incentive to make a change.

£12.99, buy online here .