Motivation Books: Where To Start?

I have been reading motivation books for more than 12 years. I have a feeling that motivation books have been on my bookshelf since my adolescence and the first topic I really wanted to get an inspiration for was relationship. Later on I found the books on personal development and personal growth among those which were of the most interest to me.
I reread my books every now and then, it helps me refresh the information I gained from them before and even learn something new.
It can take you a few months or even years to understand some ideas presented in a book, this happens because certain things, truths and facts might not have applied to your life in the past but they do now or will do later. So if you know that a motivation book is a good one, keep it and turn to it for advice again.
Another wise thing to do is making notes while reading a motivation book. Thus you will always be able to find the most important to you thoughts and ideas and while writing them down you will also memorise them better.
Today one can find thousands of motivation and self help books but not all books are worth reading. One should not just take a book from a store shelf only because it seems to be ok and it is definitely not wise to buy anything on line if you do not know much about the book and author, even though you may be tempted after watching a nice presentation video.
Ask someone you know what motivation books they read and what they would recommend; read reviews in magazines and newspapers. Another piece of advice I would like to give is take a book, read the preface and read the first and the last page of it. Usually it gives me a pretty good idea whether a book is worth buying or not.
A very important thing to remember when dealing with self help and motivation books is that if a person is going through something more then common stress, he or she should address a doctor and not try to cure the problem with help of any books. Self help books are good if you need advice and motivation to fulfil your aspirations or improve your skills but they will not be able to get rid of a real problem like depression, for instance.
Of course the main question is whether these motivation and self help books really work. Well, plain reading will hardly change your life for better. But applying the material and knowledge from the textbook to real life can teach us. One should not be expecting "magic results" by simply reading. It is impossible to read a few tips and live happily ever after, one must act and be persistent. Knowing how to choose, read and use the book is the only way to make it work for you in real life. No book can do the job of achieving something, a motivation book can only direct you but the journey must be taken by you.
If your goal is to develop self confidence, uncover your potential and talents, check my tips on reading best self help books.