The 5 Best LSAT Prep Books And Self Study Resources
The Truth About How to Study for the LSAT
Starting your LSAT journey can be both exciting and overwhelming. From tutors to prep courses, you may be faced with a plethora of options when it comes to figuring out how to study for the LSAT.
I’m a tutor, and I routinely turn down students who ask to start their LSAT journey with me.
Why would I turn down business? Because it’s my job to look out for a student’s best interest, and the fact is that there are better, more affordable options out there for students who are looking to learn the fundamentals.
Before you hire a tutor, you should max out your own potential with self-studying. Tutors are great once you’ve hit a wall with self-studying, and have no idea how to improve further. Until then, there are so many excellent, affordable self study options out there. Use them until you hit a wall, and then start looking for tutors.
If you’re wondering how to study for the LSAT on your own, LSAT prep books can be a great place to start. And if you ask me, the products below are the best LSAT prep books and video courses currently on the market.
**All of my recommendations are my own, and all endorsements are made without outside influence. That said, I may receive a small affiliate fee from booksellers for purchases made through the links on my site.
The Best LSAT Prep Books: The LSAT Trainer (for Starting Your LSAT Journey)
The LSAT Trainer by Mike Kim is, as it says in its title, a great guide for the self-motivated student. This is one of the best LSAT Prep Books for anyone seeking to get an introduction to the LSAT.
Admittedly, the book doesn’t explain every nitty gritty LSAT detail. What it does well, however, is give students a solid conceptual understanding of what they need to accomplish, without bogging down the language with details or steps that are impossible to remember. It will for sure teach you how to study for the LSAT, as it offers plenty of bonus resources like study schedules and questions organized by type.
The Best LSAT Prep Books: The Loophole for an Intro to Logical Reasoning
The Loophole by Ellen Cassidy
This is one of the best LSAT prep books according to Reddit (as of 2022): The Loophole by Ellen Cassidy. Reddit loves The Loophole, and so do I. Years of methodical research led to this book, which I’d argue is the most comprehensive approach you’ll ever find for Logical Reasoning problems.
In The Loophole, Ellen breaks down how to read complicated stimuli so nothing will ever confuse you again. It’s not perfect, though. I’ve had students who find that The Loophole, while it explains a lot, struggles to make certain question types easy. However, when it comes to boosting LSAT comprehension this book stands above its peers.
I recommend trying the Loophole if the LSAT Trainer isn’t clicking with you, or if Logical Reasoning overall tends to overwhelm you more than the other sections.
The Best LSAT Prep Books: Deep Work, a Life Changing Book for Study Habits
Deep Work by Cal Newport
If you’re wondering how to study for the LSAT (and beyond), Deep Work by Cal Newport is a must read. It may not be specifically an LSAT prep book, but I personally consider it a life-changer.
The author, Cal Newport, is a Computer Science professor at Georgetown University who has made study habits and skills his life’s work—besides, you know, computer science. Deep Work takes a wealth of research on focus, study, and learning, and turns it into practical advice on how to optimize all three throughout the day.
If you want to avoid being one of those LSAT students who spends 8 hours a day making little progress on their scores, this is the best LSAT prep book for you. (If you do want to be one of those students… well, you might want to reconsider).
Deep Work, and its lessons on structuring the workday, allowed me to excel on the LSAT with only 1-3 study hours per day, a number that for most test-takers will seem weirdly low. I still use its principles today, and encourage my students to do the same. I highly recommend this book, not only for the LSAT, but later for Law School, and whatever else your future holds.
The Best LSAT Prep Books: Powerscore LG Bible for Logic Games
Honestly, this is a half-hearted recommendation, because even though this is the best Logic Games LSAT book out there, it is the best of a bad lot. I do not love the Logic Games books currently on the market, and believe that they miss many crucial lessons that are tested on the modern exams. However, this book has helped enough students that I think it’s worth mentioning. Also, if I didn’t have an LG book on here, you’d be asking me for one :)
Powerscore teaches a complicated system based on identifying “game type.” They teach memorization and pattern recognition, rather than how to build a game from the ground up and respond to twists with knowledge-based improvisation. In my experience, these complicated, memory-based systems work well, but only for past exams, which leads to unwelcome surprises on test day. Often I hear from Powerscore students who repeatedly scored -0 on LG in practice and didn’t even finish the fourth game on test day.
That said, if you absolutely needed a Logic Games book at this moment, I’d suggest the Powerscore LSAT Logic Games Bible. The internet loves it, and plenty of students have reported success with its methods—and ultimately, despite what I think, the scoreboard is what matters.
Books Not Your Thing? 7 Sage and LSAT Demon are the Best Video Courses
Don’t bother with their competitors. 7sage and LSAT Demon are without a doubt the best LSAT prep online video courses out there. Do students come to me after 7sage, still needing help? Absolutely. Same for the Demon. There’s no such thing as a perfect solution for everyone. Some students will not make progress with either, or they may find that one works better for them than the other.
However, both 7sage and LSAT Demon are good solutions for many students, especially those who are starting their LSAT study journey. Their core curriculums give students a great understanding to build from, and at a really reasonable cost. Both analytics platforms are incredible, though I’d argue that LSAT Demon has the slight advantage when it comes to building drill sets and tracking used tests. I highly recommend both 7sage and LSAT Demon to anyone looking for an affordable self-study video course.
Ready to stop wondering how to study for the LSAT? Take the next step in your LSAT journey: Follow @goldenlsat on Instagram or click here to learn more about how 1:1 tutoring can help guide you (when you’re ready) on your journey to perfect your LSAT score!
**All of my recommendations are my own, and all endorsements are made without outside influence. That said, I may receive a small affiliate fee from booksellers for purchases made through the links on my site.
Keep in mind: self-study resources are typically designed to help the most people possible. That means they’re designed for those who have never seen the LSAT, or those who start with average diagnostic scores (in the 130s-140s). Therefore, the “max score” of self-study resources tends to cap out at 155-160.
If you’re looking for help surpassing these scores, and moving into the top 10%, you will have to push your understanding beyond what mainstream self-study methods have to offer. Many students can push into the 170s via careful self-study. If you think you’d like a guide along the way, take a look at how I can help you.