I've read a lot of self-help books actually, around the ballpark of 30-40 and it appears to me that they all say the same with lots of words, things that could be said in a blog post. Not to mention, some of the things don't apply to most people anyway. Hence my disagreement with the genre.
Yeah, you're right about the one life we live. At least, this is the only life we are getting anyway, and trying to make the best of it is a no-brainer.
A book a month is a fine goal. What kind of books do you like?
Have you read Kafka's Metamorphosis? or, Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray?