I didn't find books to be helpful, but I can relate to regular books not making any sense. The mind just couldn't focus on anything but pain.

I am happy that you found useful tools to support you in a time like this.

I too have read grief books and found them wonderfully helpful

Here's my list of books:

Widow to Widow: Thoughtful, Practical Ideas For Rebuilding Your Life ~ Genevieve Davis Ginsburg
For Widows Only ~ Annie Estlund
When Your Soul Aches ~ Lois Mowday Rabey
Companion Through the Darkness ~ Stephanie Ericsson
I Will Not Be Broken ~ Jerry White
The Tender Scar: Life After the Death of a Spouse ~ Mabry, Richard
Chicken Soup for The Greiving Soul ~ Jack Canfoeld, Mark Victor Hansen & Amy Newmark
Seven Choices ~Finding Daylight After Loss Shatters Your World" by Elizabeth Harper
Reflections of a Grieving Spouse: The Unexpected Journey from Loss to Renewed Hope ~ H. Norman Wright's
Coping with Life After Your Mate Dies ~ Cushenbery, Donald C.
Getting to the Other Side of Grief: Overcoming the Loss of a Spouse ~Zonnebelt-Smeenge, Susan J.
The Light That Never Dies: A Story of Hope in the Shadows of Grief ~ William HendricksA
Grace Disguised: How the Soul Grows through Loss ~ Jerry Sittser
Finding Your Way Through Grief, A Guide for the First Year ~ Marty Tousley
Waking Up Alone, Grief & Healing ~ Julie K Cicero
How to go on Living When Someone you Love Dies, ~ Therese A Rando
Widows Wear Stilettos, A Practical & Emotional Guide for the young widow ~ Carole Brody Fleet

I Wasn't Ready to say Goodbye ~ Brooke Noel & Pamela Blair

Healing After Loss by Martha W Hickman

Loving What Is, Four Questions that Can Change Your Life ~ Byron Katie

From One Widow to Another: Converstations on the New you ~ Miriam Neff

The Grief Club ~ Melody Beattie

A Widow's Story ~ Joyce Carol Oates

The Sisterhood of Widows ~ Mary Francis
Traveling With George: An Out-of-This-World Experience ~ Betty Waldron Portenlanger
Where Do I Go from Here? - Neff, Miriam
From One Widow to Another - Neff, Miriam
Life Lessons Two experts on death & dying teach us about the mysteries of life & living.
by ~ Elisabeth Kubler-Ross & Davis Kessler

(I haven't read them all but I'm working on it.)

The one that helped me and that I recommend highly is: "Seven Choicesn - Finding Daylight After Loss Shatters Your World" by Elizabeth Harper Neeld. It made a HUGE difference for me.

Thank you for sharing the books that helped you. Sharing what works helps someone who needs it here but might not know what to even look for!

It's always a good idea, too, to check with your public library about books on grieving (and anything else!) to see what you can find for free to read. A trained librarian can also help you find books that will help on a number of topics. We also used the public library for DVDs and music CDs - most libraries let you borrow these for free or for very low fees - it can save you some money that way, and those little things do add up. That first year I couldn't watch any regular television - everything seemed to be romance shows which I just couldn't take, or horrific stuff which just gave me panic attacks, so we took out lots of old tv shows and action movies to watch. Helped me and my boys get through some of the tougher times.

Like Debbie, I couldn't focus for long periods on a book during the early months. I stumbled across a book called "Live, Learn and Pass It On" which was all short passages. That helped, too.

Love and Hugs,
Martha

Widow to Widow is an excellent book. It's the only one I bought but it helped me immensely.
Julie

Here's a short book list:
Grieving for a Lost Spouse H. Norman Wright
Loneliness Elizabeth Elliot
A Grace Disguised Gerald Sittser
Hope for an Aching heart Margaret Lyman
Grieving God's Way Margaret Brownlee

Another book is "When Life is Changed Forever" by Rick Taylor