Reading...this post.
As for the 70's hippy self-help books? I kinda enjoyed Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and I've read it a few times now. I didn't see any "ideals" in the book, just a philosophical treatise on a variation of "The Good". But I think all philosphy is a load of horseshit. The world is a heap of shit and we all dig until we find what layer of shit suites us. Either way, life is pain and lonliness, then death.
Carlos Castenada's books are the dumbest piles of crap I've ever wasted my time reading. Go rub some lizards on your head. You know he made that crap up, don't you. Quit looking for answers, there are NONE.
Another piece of garbage is the Way of the Peaceful Warrior. The reason I loathe this book is b/c after I read it I was like, "yeah," "totally," "this book DID change my life." Then I woke up the next day, did the mundane crap that is life, and sold the book at the used bookstore.
Other garbage: 10 habits of highly succesful people. What color is your parachute. The joy of Sex. The joy of cooking.
I've stopped reading books with any actual ideals, and read open ended, unanswerable human truths. Check out "The Invisible Man" by ellison. I just re-read that one.
Other than that, I'd say the best books out there are childrens' books. The thick-ass stock paper w/tactile or olfactory aids are the best ones. Those books contain the only truths in life.
"Any idiot can face a crisis. It's this day to day living that wears me out." -Anton Checkov (sp?)