what's up with "self-help" books?

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self-help books have been around lately but i don't really get them. i know they're supposed to help but isn't calling it self-help defeats its purpose? i'm not anti self-help books whatsoever but i've tried reading one of those books but more or less, what's written there are things that you already know. one more thing, if they are called self-help books, and it's purpose is to make you help yourself (which means no other person can help but you alone), then in the end you don't even need help in the first place. am i making a point here? :) what do you think about them?