Nonfiction books about spirituality cover a wide variety of topics. If you want to learn more about the different types of spirituality, try any from the list below. This is by no means a complete list and is instead a sampling of the newer books on spirituality that have hit the shelves in the last year. As of this writing, all of these titles are owned by the Davenport Public Library. Descriptions are provided by the publishers.

David Bowie and the search for life, death and God by Peter Ormerod

How David Bowie’s search for meaning inspired him to write the music that defined a generation.

In this wide-ranging biography, Peter Ormerod explores the quest for spirituality that powered David Bowie’s creativity from his earliest recordings to his death-defying final album. Bowie’s genre-expanding, era-crossing genius had an extraordinary impact on popular culture but his life-long search for spiritual truth and enlightenment has been overlooked.

From Bowie’s first musical encounters as a choirboy, this book traces his spiritual obsessions over the years. As a young musician at the start of his career, he was enraptured by Tibetan Buddhism. It was the first step in a spiritual journey that would generate his most profound lyrics and music. From the Kabbalah-influenced tracks of Station to Station to Ziggy Stardust’s messiah complex and the profound affinity between Heroes and Christian thought, Ormerod sheds new light on the spiritual traditions behind Bowie’s genius.

Taking Bowie’s spiritual explorations and faith seriously, Ormerod shows us how this quest for meaning propelled him through his darkest moments and biggest successes, lending his music a timelessness and depth that has spoken to so many people across the world. Whether experiencing a dark night of the soul in LA during his occult phase or reciting the Lord’s prayer in front of thousands of concertgoers, Bowie was always searching for that universal truth that lies beyond everyday reality. – Bloomsbury Continuum

DIY spirituality : chart your own sacred path by Faith Freed ; art by Doriana Del Pilar Cruz

Create a spiritual practice that feels authentic and joyful. DIY Spirituality is a vibrant, approachable guide that helps you connect with self, nature, and the divine—on your own terms.

Written by licensed psychotherapist and spiritual guide Faith Freed, this book introduces the playful yet profound Divine Disco Ball framework to explore four dimensions of spiritual connection: Infinite Source (the divine), Infinite Self (spirit), Incarnate Self (body and mind), and Incarnate Source (nature). With colorful illustrations, daily practices, and step-by-step exercises, it provides everything you need to build a meaningful, sustainable spiritual path. – The Collective Book Studio

Dreamifesting : harnessing the power of your dreams to create the life you desire by Kelly Sullivan Walden

Turn your dream life into reality—through the power of your dreams!

It’s time to wake up to the life of your dreams.

Dreamifesting is a revolutionary approach to manifesting that goes beyond visualizations and affirmations to unlock the hidden power of the subconscious mind that can turn dreams into reality.

Through decades of research, dream expert and author Kelly Sullivan Walden noticed that when you pay attention to the wisdom and guidance of your nighttime dreams, you bridge the gap between the conscious and unconscious to create a whole-brained, whole-soul experience.

Combining the motivational manifestation techniques and metaphysical spirituality with straightforward instructions, Dreamifesting offers a 12-week program to teach readers how to steer the dreaming mind to do the heavy lifting of realizing their dream life.

Using this revolutionary method, readers will learn to:

• Program their subconscious mind to accept, as natural, the target of their desires.
• Bridge the power of their dreams into the practical reality of their daily lives.
• Turn deep-seated, limiting beliefs into limitless possibilities.
• Harness the power of the subconscious, dreaming mind to reveal resources previously undetected by their conscious mind.

Discover your authentic, soulful desires and create a life inspired by your wildest dreams, filled with the passion and purpose to become the best version of yourself. – St. Martin’s Essentials

Eight million ways to happiness : wisdom for inspiration and healing from the heart of Japan by Hiroko Yoda

Everyone’s in the pursuit of happiness, but few know how to attain it. Millions around the world have turned to Japan for advice on finding their Ikigai, or summoning The Courage to Be Disliked. Japan’s spiritual traditions hide in plain sight, forming the basis of so much of what we love about the country’s culture. Without Japan’s spiritual sustenance, Jiro wouldn’t dream of sushi; Hayao Miyazaki’s films wouldn’t spirit us away; and Marie Kondo wouldn’t spark joy.

In her book Eight Million Ways to Happiness, Hiroko Yoda offers the culmination of her decade-long odyssey into the spiritual heart of her homeland. Readers follow Hiroko as she trains as a Shinto shrine-dancer, partakes in Buddhist funeral rituals, ascends holy mountains with Shugendo ascetics, and meets one of Japan’s last living itako, a traditional mystic. Her stories—personal, cultural, and historical—offer life lessons for readers of any background.

Hiroko awakens readers to the idea of a traditional spiritual flexibility that seamlessly coexists with the modern secular world, fortifying us through life’s inevitable ups and downs. We are all subject to forces beyond our control, but we are also part of a bigger natural system that can strengthen us—if we learn how to reconnect with it. – Tiny Reparations Books

The Five Blessings of IFA: Reclaiming Black Futures Through Afro-Indigenous Spirituality by Gabrielle Felder

A fierce and inspirational guide to Black resistance, resilience, and healing, using the principles of Afro-Indigenous spiritual practices

Understanding where you came from is crucial to understand where you are going.

The Five Blessings of Ifá explores how Black communities across the diaspora draw strength from ancestral wisdom, family, community care, and mutual aid, using the principles of Ifá—a West African spiritual tradition—as a guiding framework. Gabrielle Felder provides a blueprint for living a more fulfilled and abundant life through the blessings of Aiku (longevity), Aje (wealth), Aya and Oko (relationships), Omo (children), and Isegun (victory over negative forces), providing practical examples of how Black folks have built resilience and learned to thrive in the face of oppression.

Longevity exists in ancestral traditions that we cultivate over generations, which Felder explores through practices of traditional herbalism as well as contemporary sustainability and food sovereignty movements.

Wealth, in Felder’s interpretation, has to do with the richness created by community, including cultural traditions of food, dance, and music that connect seemingly disparate African diasporic cultures.

Partnership, traditionally understood in Ifá as husband and wife, is reconsidered by Felder to include a wide variety of relationship structures, including familial bonds and queer families.

To explore the blessing of children, Felder dives into the important history of doulas and midwives in Black communities, and their crucial role in combatting the high maternal mortality rate among Black women in the US.

Finally, Felder draws out the meanings of the blessing of victory through a wide range of examples of Black autonomy: slave rebellions; the rejection of Euro-centric beauty standards; mutual aid practices among Black revolutionary groups; and the contemporary Black witch movement.

As a collective, Black folks have managed to usher in the five blessings of Ifá into our lives despite all odds. This book is a love letter to those who have come before us, and a guide to the possibilities that lie in our collective future. – North Atlantic Books

The Italian soul : how to savor the full joys of life by Judith Valente

Take a pilgrimage of the heart, a journey toward change that will allow you to approach life with a more contemplative stance and recreate a sense of la dolce vita—the sweet life—wherever you may be.

In The Italian Soul, Judith Valente shares personal stories and insights into the Italian way of life that she experienced as she strolled the streets of this charming country. Focusing on the attitudes, traditions, and practices that make the people of Italy role models for experiencing delight amid the demands and distractions of ordinary living, she observed how they

• have a deep appreciation for quality and aesthetics,
• value taking the time to savor the little moments in life,
• show a strong sense of community and make room for leisure and personal care, and
• honor their dead and have a deep respect for tradition.

Additionally, it explores the contemplative practices and attitudes that seem to come naturally to a people who have made an art of living and working joyfully. A cross between a travel dispatch and a spirituality guide for seekers who eschew traditional religious practices but yearn for ways to bring more balance, sanity, and a greater sense of the transcendent into their daily lives. The Italian Soul is a book that will change the way you look at life. – Red Wheel / Weiser

Karmic relief : harnessing the laws of cause and effect for a joyful, meaningful life by Philip Goldberg

“Karma” is in our vocabulary, but do we really know what it means?

The word is everywhere—not just in alternative spirituality, and among Hindus and Buddhists, but in news reports, ads, sitcoms, sports columns, and the everyday conversations of people who wouldn’t know the Upanishads from Us Magazine. Stephen Colbert invokes the term on TV and Taylor Swift summons it in song.

This book chronicles the origin and evolution of karmic theory and describes how the concept came to the West. It explains exactly what karma means—and, crucially, what it doesn’t mean—then shows how to apply karmically sound ethical principles to relationships, life decisions, health, death, and all aspects of self-development. “We’re always planting karmic seeds,” writes Philip Goldberg. Our task is to “choose the right seeds and plant them skillfully, in the right way, at the right time, under the right conditions.”

Karma is a profoundly useful idea, and Karmic Relief is a profoundly useful book. It offers a blueprint for building a fulfilling life and a way to reconcile some of life’s most vexing conundrums. – Monkfish Publishing

Mundane magic : a lazy witch’s guide to hacking your brain, building a daily practice, and getting stuff done by Molly Donlan

Are the dust bunnies and clutter in your house getting out of control? Do you put off cleaning your shower curtain or organizing your closet until you can’t ignore the mess anymore? Imagine turning these mundane chores into moments of Magic, where sweeping the floor or folding laundry becomes an act of spiritual connection and enchantment. But how do we bridge the gap between the ordinary and the extraordinary? That’s where Mundane Magic comes in, to help you focus on the intention behind your actions and tap into everyday Magic with simple rituals and mindful moments, like whipping together a coffee spell for abundance or clearing out the stagnant energy under your bed.

Initially a skeptic herself, Molly Donlan’s journey took an unexpected turn when chronic hip pain led her to Reiki and the intersection of science and spirituality. She’s been where you are, overwhelmed by the weight of daily stress and household chores, but by injecting boring tasks with a sense of novelty and fun, she found Magical practices that worked for her and her ADHD brain, rather than against it.

Organized by rooms around the house and divided by the level of difficulty, Mundane Magic shares fun and actionable tips, exercises, spells, and rituals to create micro-moments of Magic and motivation. You can organize your chores around the moon cycles to optimize cleansing and creativity, whip up an easy simmer pot for the motivation to tackle that pile of dirty dishes, or turn a minty shampoo into a spell for mental clarity.

Mundane Magic offers a fun approach and empathetic support for productivity around the house and reclaiming joy and creativity in the process. – Rodale Books

The spirit of Ani : reflections on spirituality, feminism, music, & freedom by Ani De Franco and Lauren Coyle Rosen

THE SPIRIT OF ANI is a captivating journey of intimate reflections with Ani DiFranco, a pathbreaking, highly original artist. In this powerful collaborative work, the legendary folk-rock star and feminist icon is in conversation with author, artist, and cultural anthropologist Lauren Coyle Rosen. In these exchanges, Ani is remarkably open about her creativity, spirituality, personal experiences, and evolving consciousness. She is vulnerable and unapologetic, offering an unprecedented window into her fiercely prolific activities.

Expanding on themes from her best-selling memoir, Ani also offers fascinating reflections on contemporary popular culture—ranging from gender and queer politics, to the music industry in the virtual age, to climate change. The book includes previously unpublished photographs and journal entries, song-birth sheets, paintings, and the lyrics for some of her most treasured songs. The coauthors explore how Ani’s music and art are profoundly tied to her experiences of the interconnectedness of all consciousness and tuning in to receive creative inspiration. Ani’s striking openness produces a book that is both meditative and activating. This is a must-read for anyone intrigued by the dedication, intuition, and vision that drive Ani’s lifelong journey of creating art that not only reflects, but also empowers, transforms, and heals. – Akashic Books