Write a short story about someone in the self-help aisle of a bookstore. What book do they pick up?

Posted in Short Story on Oct 26, 2022

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✍️ 90 stories

“Anxiety Disorder and You” by Juliana March

Submitted to Contest #25

Jane March was a junior at Denver High when she saw a therapist for the very first time. She walked into the small building with high hopes that the woman she was seeing could help ease her stress. The SAT's were in a couple of months and she was worried non-stop. She wanted to go to an Ivy League school like Brown, Harvard, or Yale. Jane walked past a large painting of a beach done in pointillism by Georges Seurat. Jane loved to look at paintings and decide which styles they were. She walked up to the front desk where a woman with a s...

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“How to Be Human” by Eva Leppard

Submitted to Contest #25

“Just this one thanks”. Collie smiled expansively and widely as she handed the book to the man behind the counter. She saw him recoil a little from her expression, then stifle a giggle, and she realised that she had already made a mistake. Damn it. Quickly casting her eyes over his aura she felt a momentary flush of satisfaction. Brown. Good. Served him right.Although given she was the only one in the bookshop on this rainy morning, having him collected by the Seekers or having a nervous breakdown would be awfully inconvenient, now she came ...

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“The exaggerated process of buying a self-help book ” by Aaliyah Shanks

Submitted to Contest #25

It’s been hard on my own. I knew the real world wouldn’t be easy but I never imagined it to be this difficult. The even harder fact of it all was that I had nobody to guide me. Going to college had always seemed to be a decade away. Now here I was, enrolled in classes to become something big. I didn’t know what to do. It was like I was moving with the direction of the wind and the rain. My soul begged for the solution to all of my problems. I would look for it anywhere and everywhere. On Friday, just as I walked into class, I overheard...

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“Watchful Eyes” by Sage Henry

Submitted to Contest #25

Her fingers skimmed across the titles, gently, as if her fingertips could pull the stories through their spines. As if the right book would call out to her, pull her in. She might be able to find comfort in the words. Or perhaps she would only drown in the letters. They would surround her, summoning thoughts from inside her as if she was the one to contain the info they so desperately sought. She twisted around the corner, winding her way through the aisles. She knew exactly where she was going, but she didn’t need them to know. The peering ...

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“When Dragons Need Self-Help Books” by A. L. Tippett

Submitted to Contest #25

Damn it. The tracker had followed her into the bookstore. Unfortunately, dragons gave off a particular scent that was easily identified by those who hunted them, even when they were in their human form. Sybil scurried down one of the many aisles of the brightly lit store, trying to avoid drawing attention to herself. If she could just blend in with the humans that perused the shelves for long enough to mingle their scents together, she might be lucky enough to slip away. The good thing was that trackers were not allowed to reveal them...

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“The Joy and Magic of Decluttering” by Amanda Gauvin

Submitted to Contest #25

It was a Friday evening near the beginning of my summer vacation from teaching. I had decided I was going to spend what was left of my summer decluttering my life. It had been about three months since I broke up with my ex. I had another two months off from work, with no particular plans. And I was on a mission. I needed to put on my adulting hat and get my apartment in shape before I could bring any new guy into my life. If I wanted to find someone that actually acted like an adult, I would need to find a way to present myself as one too. A...

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“Oh Sherlock Where Art Thou?” by George Davis

Submitted to Contest #25

Oh Sherlock, Where Art Thou?—George E Davis Jenkins’ Bookstore on Main Street in Bickford, Maine is a place where Sidney McDonald spends much of his time. He is, to state a too familiar phrase, a voracious reader of mystery novels; especially the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. “Morning, Sidney,” Rose Devons, the clerk said. “Morning, Rose, how’ve you been?” “Since yesterday when you were in here, Sidney? I’m fine.” Sidney knew the self-service aisle ...

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“Help Yourself” by Bayleigh Hunziger

Submitted to Contest #25

Never in my life had I tasted a sandwich as magnificent as this one. The bookstore I was wandering through was promoting a new restaurant across town, and I, the lucky 50th customer, received a free sandwich of my choice. As I was wandering the aisles, I found a book that caught my eye, Self Help for Those Who Can’t Help Themselves. Normally, I skipped over this section just because I didn’t think I needed help, but this one seemed to draw me to it. I reached out to pick it up and read the inside flap. So absorbed was I that...

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“Out of Place” by Ellie K

Submitted to Contest #25

I rub my eyes, a bleak attempt at waking myself up enough to do my job. Too bad I left my coffee at home this morning. I stayed up until midnight last night, knowing full well that I would have to come to work today. Call it a poor decision, but I'm not about to miss New Year's for a few extra hours of sleep. I barely avoid pricking my finger on my name-tag as I pin it to my shirt. I look in the desk mirror the manager keeps at the customer service station. I straighten the pin, making sure the gold, metal-embossed "Veronica" is perfectly al...

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“The Path To True Happiness” by Rachael -

Submitted to Contest #25

The smell of books and hand sanitizer fill the library with a sense of comfort, but this does nothing to tame my anxiety. I'm in the self-help aisle, and I'm currently having an internal battle about whether or not I should check out anything. You see, I have depression. It's mind-numbing and leaves you desperate for relief. I don't usually get self-help books. I've never chosen to read a self-help book on my own. They seem useless.My aunt bought me one on "How To Be Confident." Oh, please. Like I'd ever become confident just because a book ...

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“Change is "Always" Easy” by Francis Mitchell

Submitted to Contest #25

It had taken a lot for me to be here this morning, sandwiched between tight, clausterphobic bookshelves. I loved books, but today they felt different. They didn't welcome me today. I had decided I'd pay a visit to Browning's Books last night after my lonely dinner. I didn't have a title in mind - just à very specific genre. I had my mind set on it and I thought it would be easy. Just a normal trip to the bookstore, right? Except I wasn't expecting the absolute whirlwind Lady Life was content on tossing me t...

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“Littered with armchair dreams?” by Lily Lavender

Submitted to Contest #25

Charlotte stared back at the horrific face staring at her from its place on the wall. The unusual white and brown velvet covered the antlers in a marble-like swirl and a muzzle-like face that hang over its mouth and a "bell" of skin which hang from its neck. A moose with big brown fake eyes.Imagine that being your final resting place. On a wall in the villa of a Texan millionaire. William Donnaway. Low oil prices had flatlined the growth in his fortunes, he was buying distressed assets while the nation's biggest banks were getting taxpa...

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“Sam's Resolution” by Mark Trickey

Submitted to Contest #25

Sam never did like New Year's resolutions. It was not that he had nothing to change in his life. Nor was he never motivated enough to carry any resolutions out. It was more the feeling that everyone wanted to know what his resolutions where. Why did it matter to others?, he used to think. These where plans that he was making to improve himself, not them. Of course things changed when Julie came into his life. She...

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“An Awesome Accident” by Elaine Lee

Submitted to Contest #25

Zigzagging through the aisles of a popular local bookstore, a petite woman in a motorized wheelchair zoomed past every section until she crashed into a metal shelf of hardcover books. Suddenly her chair came to a screeching halt as the tower of books tumbled down, burying the 26 lbs. lady with a rare condition known as Osteogenesis Imperfecta (more commonly known as "Brittle Bones"), in the pile of hardcovers. Her tiny body flew off the edge of her seat sending her catapulting amidst the mountain of Neil Pasricha’s “Book of Awesome.” In that...

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“Our Best Date By Laura A. ” by Laura Acuna

Submitted to Contest #25

Our Best Date By Laura A.I was waiting in the living room of my parent’s house. Really, the only reason I was there in the first place was because my apartment had flooded, and my parents thought it would be cheaper and “helpful” if I stayed with them for a couple of days. I wanted to say over at my boyfriend’s house, but like my parents, he thought it would be a good idea to stay with them instead. Not that I mind, but my parents like to nag me a lot.But as of late, he’s been acting really strange. He’s been cooking more food at home, which...

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Write a short story about someone in the self-help aisle of a bookstore. What book do they pick up?

Submissions are closed

✍️ 90 stories

“Anxiety Disorder and You” by Juliana March

“How to Be Human” by Eva Leppard

“The exaggerated process of buying a self-help book ” by Aaliyah Shanks

“Watchful Eyes” by Sage Henry

“When Dragons Need Self-Help Books” by A. L. Tippett

“The Joy and Magic of Decluttering” by Amanda Gauvin

“Oh Sherlock Where Art Thou?” by George Davis

“Help Yourself” by Bayleigh Hunziger

“Out of Place” by Ellie K

“The Path To True Happiness” by Rachael -

“Change is "Always" Easy” by Francis Mitchell

“Littered with armchair dreams?” by Lily Lavender

“Sam's Resolution” by Mark Trickey

“An Awesome Accident” by Elaine Lee

“Our Best Date By Laura A. ” by Laura Acuna

🌟 Similar prompts

Write a short story about someone writing Valentine's Day wishes.

Write a short story about someone reflecting on their previous year's resolutions.

Write a short story about someone who refuses to write New Year's resolutions.

Write a short story about someone accomplishing one of their resolutions.

Contest #25

Enter our weekly contest!

$50

Prize money

263

Contest entries

0

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

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