Children typically like to read books with protagonists a couple years older than they are. This hopefully teaches them something about what life will be like as they grow older. I have been a typical reader most of my life, until one day I noticed that the heroines had gotten stuck somewhere under forty, while I kept counting. With that knowledge, I decided to challenge myself to read 50 books in a year that explored themes of interest to older people, and hopefully featured older heroes and heroines.

I made a few rules to help me select books. The protagonists needed to be 40+ years old. Non-fiction needed to be written by older people but it was ok if they wrote of their childhood. I avoided ones about terminal illness, divorce and running away from their problems. Rather I was looking for people that reinvented themselves, learned to start over within the confines of their lives and were examples of how to live well.

It actually took me about 15 months to read fifty books. I tried a lot of books and abandoned the ones that veered from my criteria. Some of the books I liked and some weren’t so helpful. I found that older people have a lot of wisdom but apply it gently. And they can be just as beautiful and brave as younger heroines, but often perform more humbly and quietly. This list includes fiction and non-fiction, heavy and fluffy topics. They are listed roughly in the order I read them. A few I had read years ago. And Eva suggested a couple of them too. Enjoy!

Long Live the Queen by Bryan Kaslowski. 2020 The author tells about Queen Elizabeth’s rules for living, along with interesting anecdotes. If you want to live well, do what the Queen does. If only I had somebody to wake me on time with a cup of tea every morning.

Emily, Alone by Stewart O’Nan. 2011 Excellent character and time of life study. I think it might be a very realistic description of old age. Certainly raised my awareness.

Crossing To Safety by Wallace Stegner. 1987 The story of two couples and their relationship ups and downs. This sounds boring or wrong but it’s neither.

Hannah Coulter by Wendell Berry. 2005 With themes of farming, family and change, a story of a strong woman, facing the challenges life handed her with courage.

Miss Tonks Turns to Crime by M. C. Beaton. 2016 A fluffy story where aristocrats get into ridiculous scrapes. Good if you’ve been reading too much non-fiction or literary fiction.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout. 2008 Olive isn’t very likable, and reading the book was an exercise in trying to understand her.

The Water Keeper by Charles Martin. 2020 Dramatic story shows how love heals all.

Breathing Lessons by Anne Tyler. 2005 A story of a marriage dealing with unfulfilled dreams. I liked it after I was done.

The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning by Margareta Magnusson. 2018 Cheerful and unsentimental advice about putting things in order while you still can. Margareta was in her 80’s when she wrote this.

Miss Buncle’s Book by D. E. Stevenson. 1934 Miss Buncle writes a book about her neighbors. There are the characters in the book, along with the characters in the book she is writing. A bit confusing but I was able to keep it straight (mostly) so you probably can too.

A Complaint Free World by Will Bower. 2007 How to notice when you complain (you’ll be surprised how often it is!) and then how to stop complaining and all the benefits it will bring you.

Biblical Minimalism by Cheryl Smith. 2020 Focused on minimalism as a way to be free to go where God leads you. Lots of scripture but easy to read with many thoughtful ideas about how to live life in service.

Decluttering at the Speed of Life by Dana White. 2018 This just might be the decluttering book that gets you decluttered.

Love the Home You Have by Melissa Michaels. 2015 Seeing your home through the lens of contentment and resourcefulness. It’s good to dream and to face real life, then work to bring the two closer to each other.

The Traveler’s Gift by Andy Andrews. 2012 A parable about what really matters when we get to the end of life. And it’s sequel: The Final Summit. A fable about saving the world.

News of the World by Paulette Jiles. 2017 A historical story on the American frontier. The main character, Captain Kidd, 71, is returning a girl who was kidnapped by Indians to her family. I really enjoyed this book.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry by Rachel Joyce. 2013 A story about a very ordinary man and his nagging wife that kept me turning the pages to see how it would all turn out. There was a debt he needed to pay and he started out walking. On the way he meets people that help and hinder his objective. Great job writing this book!

168 Hours by Laura Vanderkam. 2011 You can do a lot of things if you don’t waste time.

The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien. 1988 Frodo searches for the owner of a ring, while struggling not to fall to its temptations. This one was so good on audio. It’s an epic book so settle in for the long haul.

Half Broke Horses by Jeanette Walls. 2010 A true-life story about a hard-scrabble life. Based on the author’s grandmother’s memories. This book will encourage tolerance of those that had a hard life.

Quartet in Autumn by Barbara Pym. 1977 With themes of aging and loneliness, this book was slow. The characters were very believable, but I found it hard to connect with any of them. Nothing wrong with it and you might like it!

Old Friends by Tracy Kidder. 2008 This entire book takes place in a nursing home. I think there will be a time and place to finish it, but I had to move on this time. It’s a thick, slow moving book, just like I would imagine life in a nursing home. The characters were likeable.

Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin. 2019 Good advice that we all probably know but seem to forget. A little overwhelming, which isn’t what the author was trying to do, which is sad. I like The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin better but she was quite a bit younger when she wrote that.

The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax by Dorothy Gilmar.2014 A little old lady getting into scrapes while solving mysteries. Loved this fluffy book. (There’s a whole series of them.)

Meet Me At the Museum by Anne Youngson. 2018 Letters between an older married lady and the curator at a museum. I enjoyed this book although a few places made me fear she would give up her family for a myth. This book explores grief and loneliness.

My Life’s History by Grandma Moses. 1952 Loved this! Grandma Moses lived a full life in the first half of the 20th century, then started painting folk art at age 78. “Life is what we make it, always has been, always will.”

The Deal of a Lifetime by Fredrick Backman. 2017 A retelling of a Scrooge-ish story; I wasn’t sure I understood it. You can read it in an hour and get back with me what it meant to you. I haven’t read many Backman books, but I hope to read more.

House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Classic written in 1851. A story of greed and compromise, with love woven throughout. There is a slow climb to disaster for some characters and the reward of love for others.

The Brilliant Life of Eudora Honeysett by Annie Lyons. 2020 An old lady wants to finish life on her terms, but a new neighbor shows her a better way. I loved this book. My only disappointment was nobody mentioned Jesus to Eudora.

Life with Father / Life with Mother by Clarence Day. 1944/1949 Funny stories from a son’s perspective of his parents live and love.

The Slow Down Diet by Marc David, 2005. An eight week program to learn to eat for pleasure, energy and weight loss.

The Year of Pleasures by Elizabeth Berg, 2005. Recently widowed, Betta Nolan pursues a dream she had planned to share with her husband before he died, and now must do alone.

The Lighted Heart by Elizabeth Yates, 1960. Memoir of the last few years of Elizabeth’s and her husband’s marriage, when his sight was failing. Tender and bittersweet.

The Daily Walk Bible by Walk Through the Bible Ministries, 2013. New International Version designed to be read through in one year, with short overviews and insights for each day.

Parables of a Country Parson by William E. Barton, 1998. Heartwarming stories of Christian life.

Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand by Helen Simonson, 2011. Travel to the English countryside to meet Major Ernest Pettigrew, retired widower, proper and opinionated. Will he risk happiness by pursuing a friendship with Mrs. Jasmina Ali, widow, foreigner, and lover of literature?

A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle, 1989. Travel to the French countryside with Peter, his wife and two dogs. A witty and heartwarming account of Americans living in France.

Living On Less and Liking it More by Maxine Hancock, 1976. Defining needs and wants, this book helps you see how you can use your resources to help others.

A Man Called Ove by Fredrick Backman, 2015. Behind Ove’s cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. You’ll feel a new sympathy for the curmudgeons in your life.

Out to Pasture, Over the Hill, Older but Wilder, three books by Effie Leland Wilder, 2002. Follow Hattie McNair and her fellow residents at the Fair Acres Retirement Home as they age with grace, humility and humor. Effie was 85 when she wrote these stories. (Eva suggested these.)

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. 2009 Henry Lee searches through the basement of a hotel that’s been boarded up for years, trying to find his past, with surprising results. The story visits his childhood as a Japanese American during World War 11.

Keep Your Love On by Danny Silk. 2013 Teaches skills for making relationships work. Any relationship, whether marriage, children, friend or boss.

The Five Love Languages by Gary Chapman. 1992 This is a classic tool for understanding others and their perceptions of love.

Having Our Say: The Delaney Sisters’ First 100 Years and On My Own at 107 co-written by Sarah Delaney and Amy Hill Hearth. 1993 A bracing reminder that life is a rare gift and must be savored in the living.

A Distant Landscape by Patrick A. Hanes. 2015 Memories of a childhood in the 50’s, finding the Mennonite faith as an adult, Pacific Northwest logging and more.

Homesteading: A Montana Family Album by Pearcy Wollaston. 1997 In 1972, Pearcy Wollaston, nearing the age of 70, wrote this book about his childhood years.

In the comments, please share the titles of books you have read that could add to this list. Thanks!

Read this next:

My Reading Life: A Book Journal

The Life-Giving Table

Keep Your Love On