Curated Reading List
8 books: books that quiet the mind and stay useful on a difficult day.
A note from the concierge
Eight highly rated books on sitting still, meeting the present, and keeping a little more peace in ordinary life.
Start with a short practice book if you want something you can use tonight. Return to these; they are written to be lived with, not finished.
The Concierge
8 books
Dalai Lama XIV and Desmond Tutu, 2016
Two old friends, a Buddhist and an Archbishop, spend a week talking about how joy survives adversity, and the practices that keep it from being only a mood.
Consider: What does The Book of Joy suggest faith is for?
Thich Nhat Hanh, 1991
A Zen teacher shows how washing dishes, walking and even a ringing telephone can become mindfulness, if you meet them with an awake breath.
Consider: What does Peace Is Every Step suggest faith is for?
Marcus Aurelius
The private notebooks of a Roman emperor, a practical guide to composure, duty and meeting life as it comes.
Consider: What keeps the people in Meditations going when they might stop?
Pema Chödrön, 1996
A Buddhist teacher on staying present when fear, loss and uncertainty arrive, and on using those moments as the path rather than waiting them out.
Consider: What keeps the people in When Things Fall Apart going when they might stop?
Shunryu Suzuki, 1970
Informal talks on Zen practice from the founder of San Francisco Zen Center: sit, keep a beginner's mind, and let the rest be simple.
Consider: What does Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind suggest faith is for?
Michael A. Singer, 2007
A clear invitation to notice the voice in your head, loosen its hold, and live from the awareness that watches it.
Consider: How does the central figure of The Untethered Soul change who they are, and at what cost?
Eckhart Tolle, 1997
A guide to leaving the mind's commentary behind and meeting the present moment as the only place a life can actually be lived.
Consider: How does the central figure of The Power of Now change who they are, and at what cost?
Jon Kabat-Zinn, 1994
The book that brought mindfulness meditation into ordinary American life: short chapters on sitting, walking and coming back to the moment you are already in.
Consider: Is solitude a comfort or a danger in Wherever You Go, There You Are?
Practical
Read together, these 8 books come to about 53 hours. That is a comfortable month at roughly 13 hours a week.
If you want more
Readers who love this list tend to enjoy the following. Each is chosen for how closely it shares the mood and themes of the books above.
Paulo Coelho, 1988
A young Andalusian shepherd sets out for the Egyptian pyramids in search of treasure, and learns along the way what it means to follow a personal calling. Shares philosophy and thought-provoking with The Power of Now.
Mel Robbins, 2024
A practical guide to releasing control over what other people say and do, and spending that energy on your own choices instead. Shares uplifting and thought-provoking with The Book of Joy.
Robin Wall Kimmerer, 2013
A botanist and member of the Potawatomi Nation weaves scientific knowledge and Indigenous wisdom into essays on our reciprocal relationship with the living world. Shares uplifting and thought-provoking with Peace Is Every Step.