Every year from all the books we review on this website, we choose the Best Spiritual Books. In addition to 50 adult books, we include 20 Best Spiritual Children's Books.
These are the titles that have most impressed and inspired us during the year. Since we only review books that we want to recommend to you for your spiritual journey, this selection actually represents the best of the best. Through diverse approaches, drawing upon the wisdom and practices of the world's religions and spiritual paths, these books explore the quest for meaning and purpose, wholeness and healing, commitment and community, contemplation and activism.
We congratulate the authors and publishers of these exceptional contributions to today's spiritual renaissance. Click on the title link to read the full review.
Aflame by Pico Iyer
Using silence to restore wonder and attention.
Age Like a Yogi by Victoria Moran
A wholistic view of beauty as we age.
All in This Together by Jack Kornfield
A great Buddhist teacher's best teaching stories.
The Aramaic Jesus Book of Days by Neil Douglas-Klotz
Daily readings using the language Jesus spoke to open new understandings.
Bird School by Adam Nicolson
An extended meditation on the birds that are just outside the window.
A Change of Habit by Sister Monica Clare
A memoir that reminds us it’s never too late.
The Correspondent by Virginia Evans
A novel about living with vitality.
The Daily Buddhist by Pema Sherpa, Brendan Barca
A short selection of Buddhist wisdom for each day of the year.
Divine Radiance in Human Evolution by Diarmuid O’Murchu
A scientific reinterpretation of the meaning of being human.
The Fifth Season by Mark Nepo
Encouragement to be fully alive and awake during the final years of our life.
Finding Your Walden by Jen Tota McGivney
The relevance for today of the gregarious hermit activist of 19th century Concord.
Following the Prophet by Salih Sayilgan
A portrait of the Prophet Muhammad and how he lives in the hearts of believers.
From Self-Care to We-Care by Jordan Quaglia
A contemplative psychologist's scientific advice for avoiding burnout.
The Gift of Animals by Alison Hawthorne Deming (editor), Robin Wall Kimmerer (foreword)
Poems of human-animal kinship.
Give Me a Word by Christine Valters Paintner
Practices to cultivate holy listening.
Godstruck by Kelsey Osgood
A fresh look at the appeal of religious conversion.
Hiking Zen by Phap Xa, Phap Luu
Two Zen monks chronicle hiking mindfulness on the Appalachian Trail.
I Had A Good Teacher by Les Kaye
Reminders of the difference a good teacher can make.
Insane for the Light by Ronald Rolheiser
One of the best Catholic writers with wisdom for mellowing souls.
The Invisible Sun by Attar, Sholeh Wolpe (editor)
Rediscovering Rumi’s great teacher.
The Islamic Mary by Younus Y. Mirza
A Muslim perspective on the Virgin Mary, the most honored woman of the Qur’an.
The Jewish Way to a Good Life by Shira Stutman
Jewish wisdom offered for people of all backgrounds.
Karmic Relief by Philip Goldberg
What karma is and how to use it for happiness.
Little Alleluias by Mary Oliver
Reverence and wonder in the everyday moments and things of life.
The Lost Mary by James D. Tabor
A book that locates Mary as matriarch of the Jesus movement.
Lyrical Dharma by Born I
Rapping Buddhist wisdom.
Mindfulness in the Garden by Zachiah Murray
Making your everyday movements and intentions in the garden Zen-like.
Miracles and Wonder by Elaine Pagels
The life of Jesus, with attention given to gnostic gospel texts.
My Legs Were Praying by Or N. Rose, Dov Peretz Elkins
The inspiring life of a Jewish interfaith pioneer.
No One Left Alone by Liz Walker
How communities can help heal wounded people.
On the Hippie Trail by Rick Steves
The travel TV personality's spiritual-seeker roots.
Ordinary Time by Annie B. Jones
A memoir in counter-cultural praise of stability.
Practicing Safe Zen by Julie Seido Nelson
The beauty of Zen practice when free of abuse.
Praying with Icons, Third Revised Edition by Jim Forest
A guide to icons with an emphasis on the beauty of Christianity.
Queer and Christian by Brandan Robertson
A guide to being proudly, knowledgeably queer and Christian.
Read the Bible Like a Mystic by Carl McColman
A book to convince contemplatives to try the Bible again.
Seeing into the Life of Things by Rodger Kamenetz
Living in ways that heal afflictive emotions.
The Soul Also Keeps the Score by Robert W. McChesney
Shows how a Christian spirituality classic is made for those suffering from trauma.
Tassajara Stories by David Chadwick
Memories of Zen’s initial epicenter in the United States.
The Tears of Things by Richard Rohr
Encouraging Christians to become wise, loving prophets today.
There is No Other by Ram Dass
One of our late, great spiritual teachers on unity and wholeness.
Thomas Berry by Kathleen Deignan, editor
A book for contemplating the sacredness of Earth and the cosmos.
We Should All Be Birds by Brian Buckbee, Carol Ann Fitzgerald
The healing power of a relationship with an injured pigeon.
Why I Remain a Gay Catholic by Paul F. Morrissey
Courageous memoir of an openly gay, celibate, Roman Catholic priest.
Wisdom of the Earth, Wisdom of the Body by Jennifer Raye
Healing yourself with earth-based practice.
Women Who Wear Only Themselves by Arundhathi Subramaniam
Portraits of four contemporary eastern female mystics.
Writing Creativity and Soul by Sue Monk Kidd
Tools and practices for developing one’s creativity.
Your Unconscious Is Showing by Courtney Tracy
How to better understand what’s inside you.
Zen at the End of Religion by James Ishmael Ford
Zen as the answer for the Spiritual But Not Religious.
Zen Mind Jewish Mind by Rami Shapiro
Cultivating a spacious, open, and generous mind.
Are You a Friend of Dorothy? by Kyle Lukoff
A lively, fascinating, and true story of LGBTQ solidarity.
Big Enough by Regina Linke
An exquisitely illustrated tale of a boy whose confidence grows through his encounter with an ox.
The Boy Who Lost His Spark by Maggie O'Farrell
A child's quest to integrate life's enchantment with his dawning maturity.
The Couch in the Yard by Kate Hoefler
A wondrous reminder of the people and "junk" we love to the moon and back.
The Gift of Eid by Shifa Saltagi Safadi
A Muslim spin on The Gift of the Magi, showing that love is what we most need.
Girls on the Rise by Amanda Gorman
A soul rallying cry for girls and their allies.
I Got You by Derrick Barnes
A reminder that love and nurturing get passed down as surely as clothing and toys do.
Island Storm by Brian Floca
Lyrical beauty and drama as two children explore their boundaries of risk with a big storm's approach.
The Keeper of Stories by Caroline Kusin Pritchard
How thousands of volunteers saved 170,000 rare and sacred books from fire damage.
Late Today by Jungyoon Huh, Aerin Park (translator)
A story about a kitten lost in rush-hour traffic that leaves us with much to ponder.
The Library in the Woods by Calvin Alexander Ramsey
How a library can open new worlds, even amid the realities of the mid-20th-century segregated South.
Living Bridges by Sandhya Acharya
A fictional tale based on the real-life wonder of bridges woven from tree roots.
Love Stays Strong by Paula Schneider
Love as a steady anchor amid the changes cancer brings to a family.
North for the Winter by Bobby Podesta
A graphic novel about a bereaved girl who finds herself amid adventures with a flying reindeer.
The One and Only Rumi by Rabiah York
A radiant story of how Rumi's experience as a young refugee helped shape his teachings.
Paloma Flies Away by Maria J. Guarda
The hopeful story of a child who flees her homeland to escape a dictator and later gets to return.
Thread by Thread by Alice Brière-Haquet, Sarah Ardizzone (Translator)
Encouragement to rebuild thread by thread when everything has unraveled.
While We Wait by Bee Johnson
A young family's errand day with time to enjoy being present.
Wiggling Words by Kate Rolfe
How to harness imagination and grit to help with reading difficulties.
Zonia's Rain Forest by Juana Martinez Neal
A tender introduction to the Amazon rain forest's beauty and its call for help.