If the dawn of the new year has created a burning desire to make lengthy lists of resolutions, perhaps a little self-help reading might be a useful tool for getting that new waistline, money in your pocket or even a new attitude to kick off 2008.

However, there is a near gluttony of self-help, diet, exercise and financial planning guides illuminating the bookshelves, so this week we will take a look at some of the most popular titles for your New Year’s resolutions.

You on a Diet

Michael R. Roisen and Mehmet C. Oz

$25 (359 pages)

As part of the “You” series, the infamous TV doctors Dr. Oz and Roisen offer up the new “You on a Diet” as a layperson’s guide to the medical aspects of health and dieting. Although this is written by overexposed tele-docs often seen on Oprah, this is actually a very useful diet reference without a personality-driven diet ideology. The book is quite amusing, filled with cartoon illustrations, factoids and a humorous take on the myths, misnomers and urban legends of diet and exercise.

The book focuses on biological and physiological information about the body systems that have to do with fat storage and organ function, and how a diet affects the functions of a body. It offers light medical reference with a great deal of myth-busting and, of course, plenty of well-drawn diagrams. No raw eggs and kelp shakes to get your body in shape or an overbearing drill sergeant exercise plan; this is a common sense guide that offers real information that could personalize a diet plan to your body.

Both entertaining and informational, this is a great diet reference guide meant for those who are a bit out of shape and serious about getting healthy. A highly recommended read for the new year’s resolution diet, but as even Dr. Oz would say, consult your physician if you are experiencing serious health concerns or are in need of a life-changing diet plan, this is just a general book for the generally overweight American public.

The Money Book for the Young, Fabulous and Broke

Suze Orman

$24.95 (390 pages)

Financial guru, best selling author and regular TV personality, Suze Orman writes a financial guide for the young and penniless. Known for her charismatic charm and endless use of aphorisms and financial empowerment, this is one of many of Orman’s dozens of books on making money. Although Orman’s style of thinking rich, motivational double-speak and abstract financial visualization can put a smile on any skeptic’s face, this is actually a somewhat useful book for personal finance.

For most people of the plastic money generation, especially those just out of college, saddled with student loans and living on Top Ramen, personal finance is more than a greeting card adage. Orman attempts to address some of these real concerns in practical advice: She tackles credit card scores, student debt, making big purchases, stock market 101 and even the seeds of a savings plan for retirement. She is able to offer basic, easy-to-comprehend information on a broad spectrum of financial plagues to young working people in a question-and-answer, easy-to-read fashion.

Of course, if you can’t stomach the Orman motivational gravy and the sometimes-hollow explanations, then simply skim to the chapters on your most current financial burden and use the rest of the book as a reference for light advice about getting your finances in gear.

The Secret

Rhonda Byrne

$23.95 (198 pages)

The power of positive thinking, the laws of attraction and being grateful for every breath — does that sound just a little windy? This self-affirmation-packed novel is one of the best-selling self-help books of the last year and even a full-length film. Perhaps my negative thinking has gotten the better of this review, but I couldn’t imagine a more brand-name marketed piece of bathroom literature.

Spiritual self-help demi-guru Rhonda Byrne has a long list of “expert” authorities on the subjects of health, fitness, spirituality and a gamete of New Age profits to reaffirm her one and only point throughout the entirety of this book. Positive thinking attracts everything good while negative thoughts dispel your wishes: Worry about cancer and you will get it; rich people are rich because they want to be — unlike the rest of the population. There’s a complete lack of evidence of this process at work, beyond the regular infomercial-style testimonies. She has the gall to actually use Buddha, Emerson and Einstein as examples of the secret of positive thinking.

However, for someone totally unfamiliar with any self-help, psychological or spiritual tools, the book gives very basic and synthesized aphorisms about living a more positive life by thinking about the things you want and being grateful for what skills you already possess. When all is said and done, the amusement factor is by far the best aspect of the book, and humor, as we know, is the most positive form of thinking.