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For June 2012 I read Every Day a Friday: How to Be Happier 7 Days a Weekby Joel Osteen.
I have been struggling with depression for a few years and have found that his books help me have a more positive outlook on life. They are written for those who share a religious faith in God and Jesus Christ.
There are scriptures throughout the book.
My one complaint about the book is the redundancy of stories and lessons from his other books. There are several stories that have been repeated. If you haven't read his other books it doesn't matter. Or if you are like me and probably need to keep re-enforcing what you have learned in the past, it is acceptable.
There are many new thought provoking stories in the book, some of which had me in tears. Joel Osteen's humor and personality come through strongly, so it is a pleasant and smooth read.
I read a library copy of this book, but I am considering purchasing it so that I can re-read it often.

Though it's certainly not for me, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed your book of the month and that you found it personally helpful. ;) I'm not at all surprised to hear about a redundancy issue, however; these kinds of books seem mostly about imparting the author's personal philosophy to the reader, so it makes sense that a lot will get repeated. New books should show evolution of ideas, of course, but that core philosophy is probably always going to be there and always going to be referenced. It'd be interesting to read those kinds of books in their publication order to study how a person's philosophical ideas shift over time.

On the other hand, with televangelist books, I highly doubt that they actually write most of the books. I feel it's much more likely that they dictate and give speeches, and a whole separate entity is hired to piece it into a coherent narrative. I suspect most of these kinds of books are more along the lines of "ghostwritten under a celebrity's name" pieces cobbled together from the author's other output--speeches, sermons, and whatnot.

As an eclectic reader, I do read inspirational/spiritual books from time to time. My grandmother (may she rest in peace) loved Joel Osteen for his persistent positive focus as a preacher. I personally was not in tune with his style, but appreciate a more direct approach. For example, my girlfriend reads a lot of Joyce Meyer. I dig her "say it like it is," delivery ... even on the rare occasions I don't agree with her. C.S. Lewis by far remains the most prominent spiritual writer and I feel connected with how his mind works when I read him. Still, when into this genre, nothing beats going straight to the source (IMHO).

I'm reading Mossflower by Brian Jaques.

Grace wrote: "I'm reading Mossflower by Brian Jaques."

Wrong thread, Grace. Try here. ;)