A new year invariably brings thoughts of change, of self-improvement, of new beginnings. So it is with Cosimo: as we celebrate our new blog, I’ve been taking a look throughout January at our library’s worth of books, current and classic, on topics of self-help, personal development, and refreshening the mind, body, and spirit. I’ll start wrapping up with a quick rundown of modern titles to motivate you toward your fresh start in 2007. (Check back in a few days for a brief look at classic titles of the genre.)

Walking the Point: Male Initiation and the Vietnam Experience, by Daryl S. Paulson: military service as call to adventure, initiation, and return home with a new identity as a hero, a veteran

The Perfect Horoscope: Following the Astrological Guidelines Established by Edgar Cayce, by John Willner: why today’s horoscopes are faulty, and why these “perfect horoscopes” match personas with awesome precision and provide greatly enhanced forecasting capabilities

River of a Thousand Tales, by Rao Kolluru: a journey to the East and to the West, outward and inward, and beyond, unveiling mind and matter, nature and nurture, mindfulness and meditation, the individual and the universal

Flowers That Heal: Nutrition, Aromatherapy, Flower Essences & Other Secrets of the Fairies, by Judy Griffin: “Judy’s book… is wonderful, the mythology, the humor, the recipes… The mind of Judy Griffin is fertile, spiritual, beautiful…” –Francine Morrison, MD

Looking for God in All the Wrong Places, by Marie Jones: a spiritual field guide that uses humor, insight, and experience to examine the people, places, and things we often mistake for our Higher Power

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