What Good Are Self-Help Books If You Can’t Share?

If you’re one of those women who reads every self-help book, who gravitates toward the self-discovery section of the bookstore after a crisis or seeks spirituality in a paperback, the Women Who Read Too Much Group may be your calling.

Named after “Women Who Love Too Much,” a popular book on relationship addiction, the 6-month-old book club uses self-development books as a means to talk about life, love, spirituality and other topics. The small group meets on the first Sunday of each month at Harmony Works, an Earth-friendly boutique in the Riviera Village section of Redondo Beach that sells Earth-sensitive art and gifts along with mindful books.

“I was going to read the books no matter what,” said Robbin Randolph, an attendee at last month’s event and co-founder of the group with store owner Royce Morales. “The group provides an opportunity to talk to women who have read the same books and who have similar interests.”

Each month the group gathers at the store, where Randolph leads women in a discussion on whatever book they selected the previous month. In the past they’ve picked apart “Simple Abundance,” “Be the Person You Want to Find” and “The Ten Commandments of Self-Esteem.”

At a recent meeting, the women were talking about the seven chakras when a newcomer showed up. Debra Mejia introduced herself and explained why she dropped in on that hazy Sunday afternoon.

“I love to read. I always drift toward the library any time there’s trouble,” said the Redondo Beach accountant. “I wait for a book to call out to me.”

Mejia’s not alone. All the women here can relate and have deep, personal stories about why they love to read self-development books.

“There’s so much truth in these,” said Bernadette Cooper, 46.

Any morsel that can help these women reinvent themselves or improve their lives is what they seek from the pages of these books. Kristi Baldwin, 31, shared a book she hoped the group would read next. “Goddess in Every Woman” uses mythology, she explained, to help women learn more about themselves.

The women were intrigued but opted, instead, to tackle the book later in the summer. For now, they wanted something low-key, so they picked David Richo’s “How to Be an Adult.”

Even women who read too much have to grow up sometime.

The Women Who Read Too Much Group meets today, and on the first Sunday of every month, from 1 to 3 p.m. at Harmony Works, 1705 S. Catalina Ave., Redondo Beach. (310) 791-7104.