Self-realization book series in reading order

by Ally Condie

Rhonda Byrne is an Australian television writer and producer who turned to self-help publishing with The Secret (2006), a book built on the law of attraction. Byrne followed it with The Secret Gratitude Book (2007), The Secret Daily Teachings (2008), The Power (2009), The Magic (2012) and Hero (2013). Ten titles are catalogued in all, through to Countdown to Riches: 21 Days of Wealth-Attracting Habits (2025). Self-realisation, New Thought, positive thinking and happiness carry the subject tags.

Melody Carlson, born March 2, 1956 in San Francisco, is an American author of more than 250 books for women, teens and children, including the Diary of a Teenage Girl series. The catalogue lists 298 books from 1995, when Contemplative Bible Reading and How to Start a Quality Childcare Business in Your Home appeared, to All Booked Up (2026). Series include Carter House Girls, On The Runway, TrueColors, 86 Bloomberg Place, Secret Life of Samantha McGregor, Beary Patch Bears and Fruit Troops. Subjects include Christian life, high schools, friendship, Bible stories and stories in rhyme. Carlson grew up in Springfield, Oregon, attended Lane Community College and lives in Sisters, Oregon.

Across 194 catalogued books, Danielle Steel writes contemporary romance and family drama: love stories, marriages, widowhood and the turns that reshape a life. The run starts with Going Home (1973) and continues through Celebration, with 24 Hours scheduled for 2027. Steel's catalogue also holds children's picture books, short stories and non-fiction beside the standalone novels that make up most of it.

Jennifer Weiner

32 books• 6 series

Jennifer Weiner is an American novelist, television producer and journalist, born on March 28, 1970, and based in Philadelphia. The catalogue has 32 Weiner books from 2002 to 2025, beginning with Good in Bed and In Her Shoes (both 2002). In Her Shoes was filmed with Cameron Diaz, Toni Collette and Shirley MacLaine. Female friendship, sisters, motherhood and single women run through the subjects. Weiner also writes the Cannie Shapiro and Littlest Bigfoot series, and The Griffin Sisters' Greatest Hits (2025) is the newest title.

Margaret Atwood

89 books• 8 series

Margaret Atwood, born November 18, 1939, is a Canadian novelist, poet, literary critic and inventor. The Handmaid's Tale, a dystopian novel from 1985, is the best-known Atwood work. Atwood's output includes 18 poetry books, 18 novels, 11 non-fiction books, nine short fiction collections, eight children's books and two graphic novels. The catalogue opens with The Circle Game (1964) and runs to Book of Lives (2025), with The Edible Woman (1969) and Surfacing (1972) along the way. Series include MaddAddam, Handmaid's Tale and Angel Catbird. Awards include two Booker Prizes, the Arthur C. Clarke Award, the Franz Kafka Prize and the Order of Canada.

Three novels make up Donna Tartt's catalogue: The Secret History (1992), The Little Friend (2002) and The Goldfinch (2013). College students, classicists, teacher-student relationships, murder and friendship are the subjects attached to the work. The books are long, at a median of 624 pages. No new Tartt title has appeared since 2013.

Phaedra Patrick writes contemporary fiction about ordinary people changing course, widowers and the people around them included. The Curious Charms of Arthur Pepper (2016) opens the catalogue, followed by Rise & Shine, Benedict Stone (2017), The Library of Lost and Found (2019), The Secrets of Love Story Bridge (2020) and The Messy Lives of Book People (2022). Self-realisation and humour run through them. Eight titles are catalogued, reaching The Time Hop Coffee Shop in 2025.

Roland Merullo

32 books• 2 series

Roland Merullo, born in 1953, is an American writer of novels, essays and memoir. 32 catalogued books span 1991 to 2026, opening with Leaving Losapas and reaching The Eight Visits. Breakfast with Buddha (2007) and the Revere Beach Trilogy are the best-known work, beside In Revere, In Those Days (2002), A Little Love Story (2005) and the memoir Revere Beach Elegy (2002). Italian American families, golf, Buddhism and self-realisation recur as subjects, and Merullo's books have been translated into eleven languages.

Ally Condie

19 books• 6 series

Ally Condie writes young adult and middle grade fiction. The Matched trilogy is the best known work: Matched (2010) reached No.1 on the New York Times list and stayed on it for over a year, with Crossed (2011) and Reached (2012) following as bestsellers, and all three appear in more than 30 languages. Matched was named to YALSA's 2011 Teens' Top Ten and to Publishers Weekly's best children's books of 2010. Condie also wrote the standalone Atlantia (2014) and the middle grade novel Summerlost (2016). Nineteen books are catalogued, starting with Yearbook (2006) and reaching The Girls Trip in 2026.

Frank Delaney

30 books• 3 series

Frank Delaney was an Irish novelist, journalist and broadcaster. His novel Ireland became a New York Times bestseller and named the series it belongs to, and Simple Courage: A True Story of Peril on the Sea is one of his non-fiction books. The catalogue holds 30 titles, from James Joyce's Odyssey in 1981 to Undead in 2013, taking in The Celts (1986), A Walk In The Dark Ages (1988) and Legends of the Celts (1989). Irish history, literary landmarks and travel run through the work.

Mike Gayle

22 books

Mike Gayle writes humorous fiction about relationships. Twenty-two books are catalogued from My Legendary Girlfriend (1998) to Hope Street (2025), including Mr. Commitment (1999), Turning Thirty (2001), Dinner for Two (2002), Brand New Friend (2005), Wish You Were Here (2007) and The To-Do List (2008). Man-woman relationships, marriage, friendship, fatherhood, self-realization and journalists are the recurring subjects. The median book runs 336 pages, and Gayle is still publishing.

Jay Shetty writes self-help drawn from monastic practice. Two books are catalogued: Think Like a Monk: Train Your Mind for Peace and Purpose Every Day (2020) and 8 Rules of Love: How to Find It, Keep It, and Let It Go (2023). Self-realisation, conduct of life, Hinduism and religious life are the recorded subjects. Nothing has been added since 2023.