One book I'd really recommend is the new one by Kathleen Norris, called 'Acedia & Me'. In this book I learned about a concept that she feels is as seriously and negatively influencing our lives today as it has throughout the ages. She shows how 'acedia'--known as "spiritual sloth"--goes way beyond that definition as a sometimes subtle yet pervasive force that prevents us from living out the potential of our lives and fully experiencing and appreciating God's gifts. She uses Biblical, scholarly, and religious texts and personal examples to describe this affliction. These discussions are interspersed with the autobiographical story about caring for her husband through episodes of major depression and finally, death from cancer. Some might feel that this detracts from the rest of the book, but I guess I found it to be a very personal and human element. It's kind of a book within a book, and her story is a moving tribute to the pact "for better or worse." I've loaned this book to several friends who in turn purchased their own copies.

Another quick mention is Eric Weiner's 'The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World'. I heard this author several times on NPR and was happy :) I read his book. It's at once informative, insightful, irreverent, empathetic. Part travelogue, part philosophy. It was a reminder not to take happiness and basic contentment for granted, and that there are different ways of going about it than the way our society often points us toward.