“If you do not change your ways, you will join your parents six feet under ground.” Eleven years ago my kind, but tough-love doctor, said this to me. Crying uncontrollably and going through a couple of tissue boxes, I knew painfully and regrettably that she was right. When a trusted medical professional makes such an alarming statement, what options do you face? What path lies before you? My choices seemed clear. Either continue on the road of self-destruction, emotionally overeating, mired in negative self talk and facing serious health problems or make a change! As God, fate or destiny would have it, I decided to change. That date was September 21, 1991, the day of my second birthday. A start of a renewed lease on life! The phoenix of my rebirth. What rose from the dark ashes from this day forward was a new bright perspective on life.

It’s not new, but Working Women, a collection of colourful, quirky portraits of women by artist/musician/letter-writer/feminist Mendelson Joe is a dandy book, and would make a great gift for any occasion you want to mark in 2006.

As Lynne Truss’s popular book Eats, Shoots & Leaves prepares to enjoy a second wave of readership this April thanks to its release in trade paperback, reviewers everywhere are preparing for some extra spellchecking and thesaurus consultations. It’s not that it’s difficult to come up with things to say about this funny, insightful approach to punctuation, but it’s how to say it that is causing the problem. I may have already done the book an injustice in my first sentence; I mean is it “Lynne Truss’s book” or “Lynne Truss’ book”? Luckily for me, and all readers of the bestseller, Truss answers all of those tricky punctuation questions in an understandable, enjoyable way.

Have you ever felt like you knew someone even though you’d never met her before? Are you drawn to visit or live in a place you’ve never seen? Is there an unusual scar or birthmark on your body that’s perplexing? Have you had any fears since early childhood with no explainable source? Do you have a recurring dream that’s so vivid you feel you’re partly there all the time? If you’ve answered yes to any of these questions, then you’ve quite possibly experienced these phenomena in another lifetime.

Money is not a four-letter word

Here’s another reason, in case you needed one, to pencil in plenty of reading time for 2006. Canongate Books has a new series, The Myths, in which famous authors rework ancient stories. And it’s very good news for those of you forced through uninspired teaching of Homer’s Illiad and Odyssey in high school. These are fantastic, accessible tales that never lose their appeal, and which should be more widely-read—and enjoyed—by successive generations.

Do you have what it takes to make a leap of faith – to “cross the bridge?” How deep is your faith in yourself, your loved ones, your life, and in God? Is your faith of a “religious” nature or that of a “spiritual” nature? Are there past hurts and traumas that need healing, and “undones” which need to be resolved? Do you love others and yourself enough, and receive enough love in return? All these questions and more are explored in Grace Cirocco’s phenomenal book, Take the Step: The Bridge Will Be There. If any of these questions strikes a chord within you, then you should read this inspirational and moving book.

For most people, travelling falls somewhere between fun and relaxing, and exhausting and difficult. But for a select few, it’s more than just a physical journey or adventure; for the women in A Woman’s Path, it’s a spiritual pilgrimage. From America to Africa, India to Ireland, Peru to Poland, and across several religions and races, the 32 stories in this book touch on three similar themes: letting go, finding inner peace, and opening up.

It’s 2:14 a.m. I’m awake. Outside. Walking.

Give Cynthia Kersey a month, and she’ll help you reach the goal you’ve always dreamed of achieving. It’s the same promise that any number of similar “change your life in a month” self-help books make. But most assume that the reader already knows what she wants to change. That’s where Unstoppable Women stands out from the rest.

For a writer, I have a fairly limited vocabulary. Almost daily I encounter a word that I’m unfamiliar with and have to look up. This doesn’t bother me much; that’s what dictionaries are for. It’s not strange words that get under my skin; the thing that drives me crazy is when I can’t think of the word at all.

This is a feel-good book for all those mothers and grandmothers out there who have been under-appreciated over the years. Its “simple solutions to complex problems” are both reasonable and laugh-out-loud funny.

After twenty years, how well do you know your friends from college? In fact, how well do we actually know ourselves? Angela Hunt explores this concept in her captivating new novel.

Are you the sort of person who lets old, constricting beliefs dominate your thinking? Are you afraid to live your “big, audacious” dreams? Then you should check out Renate Weiler’s motivational book, Get A GRIP, a book that can help you achieve personal success.