Best mindfulness books: great books on mindfulness and meditation

published 5 January 2022

Meditation hasn’t always had a great rep in the West. For years most saw it either as a sort of hopelessly exotic thing only achievable by monks, or an odd activity best left to hairy hippies.

That’s all changed in the age of self-care and, as you will read, with these best mindfulness books there's never been so much good information out there out there about how to care for your mental health.

Thanks in part to yoga taking over our gyms - meditation is all over the place, along with the broader, more accessible ‘mindfulness’. That involves less sitting down in silence for half an hour while trying not to think, and more a thoughtful, considered approach to one’s mind throughout the day.

Whether you’re just getting into meditation, or are already as mindful as can be, these books are a great way to dig deeper into your practice, help discover new techniques, or see how mindfulness might apply to the rest of your life.

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Best mindfulness books

There are a few books around on the Japanese concept of ikigai, but we're fans of this one by Ken Mogi. Partly because it’s short enough to read and digest in one or two sittings. If you don’t know, ‘ikigai’ is one of those great Japanese words that won’t quite translate right to English, but it essentially boils down to finding purpose and satisfaction in everything you do - from your job to your hobbies and even relationships. You combine what you love, what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what will help you make dollar.

If the name Sam Harris rings a bell, that's because he's become something of a meditation expert. He's even given TED talks about his learnings and has a fantastic app, also called Waking Up. This book charts Sam's journey to "waking up" detailing his experiences and the challenges he's faced along the way in a manner that means you can learn with him. He talks through how he meditates, why he's important and the best bit is he's a little skeptic and spiritual too, which is a good mix if you've been keen to get into meditation but don't like a lot of the woo-woo nonsense that can so often come with it.