An editor friend of mine recommended these books; thought I'd pass it along as they do sound interesting!
The first is a novel called The Idiots Guide to Enlightenment by Anne Cushman, a long time editor at Yoga Journal. The main character is a S. F. yoga teacher in training who writes "Idiots Guides" (like the Dummies books) to stay afloat. She gets an assignment to go to India to write a book about enlightenment. She travels around India and gets hilarious e-mails from her editor in New York ("find out what enlightened people are wearing these days...maybe we can do a tie-in with Vogue or Vanity Fair") I liked the main character so much I found myself reading more and more slowly because I didn't want it to end! It's a wonderful book.
The second book is also a novel—it's called The 19th Wife by David Ebershoff. It is a fictionalized account of the so-called 19th wife of Brigham Young (she was actually the 55th!) This woman sued him for divorce and spoke out against polygamy—and was instrumental in getting polygamy outlawed. The historical story is interwoven with a modern day murder mystery that takes place in a polygamous community in Utah This is one of those rare books that transports you to another place and time. It is beautifully written and I couldn't put it down.
The last book is called Girls Like Us: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon—and the Journey of a Generation by Sheila Weller. It's really juicy and fun.