THE SPIRITUAL CHICKS QUESTION EVERYTHING: Learn to Risk, Release, and Soar

Were this book a parody of chicken-soupish inspirational titles, it would be a scream. Unfortunately, it's not a parody. This self-styled girls' guide to spirituality is stuffed with familiar self-help pabulum. We determine our own happiness. "We're all spiritual beings, because we're all Spirit." Spirituality isn't limited to prayer and meditation; even flossing one's teeth can be spiritual. Coyne and Weissman structure the book around 60 questions, such as whether God loves fat people (a reassuring yes); how busy people can make time for being spiritual (since everything is spiritual, one doesn't need to set aside time for spirituality); and whether one need be a vegetarian or keep kosher. (Feel free to, but it won't help you reach nirvana since "we're already there.") Concerning the intriguing possibility of sex after death, the authors teach that since there is no death, the question is moot. Scattered among the 60 questions are first-person musings by Coyne and Weissman. We learn, for example, that anger is Coyne's "portal to enlightenment." It's hard to take these authors seriously—on the first page, they explain that a Mallomar brought them together, and it's downhill from there. The tone is glib and irksome rather than friendly and hip. The best parts of the book are the insightful aphorisms sprinkled throughout, including provocative quotations from Pindar, Swedenborg, C. S. Lewis and Gloria Steinem. On the whole, however, this attempt at Ya-Ya-meets-Deepak falls flat. (Oct.)