100 books like Younger Next Year

By Christopher Crowley, Henry S. Lodge,

Here are 100 books that Younger Next Year fans have personally recommended if you like Younger Next Year. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Book cover of Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones

Mindy Vail Author Of The MindShift Effect: Where Change Management is Redefined and Leadership is Refined

From my list on being authentic and empowered.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m Mindy Vail, and with over 25 years in education and change management, Iā€™ve spent my career as a leadership consultant and keynote speaker. My passion for the book list Iā€™ve put together comes from my work in guiding individuals and organizations through transformation and my dedication to helping others find their joy. Each book reflects my commitment to embracing change, nurturing leadership, and unlocking potential. My insights come from hands-on experience and a deep understanding of psychology, leadership, and personal growth, and I believe we are all ever-evolving in our journeys.

Mindy's book list on being authentic and empowered

Mindy Vail Why did Mindy love this book?

This one resonates with me because James Clearā€™s insights on the power of small, consistent changes align seamlessly with my approach to personal and professional growth. The bookā€™s emphasis on how tiny adjustments can lead to significant, lasting transformation struck a powerful chord.

Clearā€™s focus on habit formation and mindset shifts reinforced my belief that incremental progress and intentional practices are essential for achieving meaningful change. Reading Atomic Habits inspires me to fully embrace the idea that even minor adjustments in behavior and thinking can have a profound impact on overall success and personal development. This has helped me in almost every aspect of my life.


By James Clear,

Why should I read it?

25 authors picked Atomic Habits as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The #1 New York Times bestseller. Over 4 million copies sold!

Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results

No matter your goals, Atomic Habits offers a proven framework for improving--every day. James Clear, one of the world's leading experts on habit formation, reveals practical strategies that will teach you exactly how to form good habits, break bad ones, and master the tiny behaviors that lead to remarkable results.

If you're having trouble changing your habits, the problem isn't you. The problem is your system. Bad habits repeat themselves again and again not because you don't want to change, but because you have theā€¦


Book cover of Decisive: How to Make Better Choices in Life and Work

Michael D. Watkins Author Of The Six Disciplines of Strategic Thinking: Leading Your Organization Into the Future

From my list on books for aspiring strategic thinkers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have devoted my career to helping leaders navigate challenging transitions into new roles, build their teams, and transform their organizations. Strategic thinking is a key foundation of my work as an executive coach and advisor at Genesis Advisers and a professor at the IMD Business School. Whether executives are taking new roles or driving large-scale transformations, they must be able to rapidly analyze the context, craft good visions and strategies, and mobilize people to realize them. I try to equip the leaders I work with with the mental frameworks, tools, and skillsets to adapt and succeed in the first 90 days and beyond.

Michael's book list on books for aspiring strategic thinkers

Michael D. Watkins Why did Michael love this book?

This book helped me understand more about the causes of bad decisions and how to overcome them, which was important for the work I was doing on structured team problem-solving.

I especially liked the focus on framing problems well, which contributed to the recent Harvard Business Review article I wrote with a colleague on approaches to reframing problems. I also gained more insight into common decision traps and how to avoid them, which was helpful in my work with leaders taking on challenging new roles. 

By Chip Heath, Dan Heath,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Decisive as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Just making a decision can be hard enough, but how do you begin to judge whether it's the right one? Chip and Dan Heath, authors of #1 New York Times best-seller Switch, show you how to overcome your brain's natural shortcomings.

In Decisive, Chip and Dan Heath draw on decades of psychological research to explain why we so often get it very badly wrong - why our supposedly rational brains are frequently tripped up by powerful biases and wishful thinking. At the same time they demonstrate how relatively easy it is to avoid the pitfalls and find the best answers,ā€¦


Book cover of Happiness Is a Choice You Make: Lessons from a Year Among the Oldest Old

Ed Zinkiewicz Author Of Retire to Play and Purpose: How to have an amazing time going forward

From my list on taking your retirement to a new level.

Why am I passionate about this?

Some retirement choices start out as great adventures but stall. The RV loses its sheen or the cruises begin to look alike. Some retirees actually finish the infamous to-do list or tire of golf. Some people avoid retiring because theyā€™ve heard of those failures! My goal is to help people find meaning and purpose in the activities they undertake in retirement and avoid any pitfalls. The books Iā€™ve chosen here have helped give me a great platform to work from. Iā€™ve discovered that if you can be curious, reach out in empathy, and be determined to keep at the search for joy and meaning, youā€™ll find that retirement adventure of play and purpose.

Ed's book list on taking your retirement to a new level

Ed Zinkiewicz Why did Ed love this book?

I am approaching my 80th birthday. Finding a reason to get up in the morning is challenged by loss. I donā€™t have the strength or endurance I once had. Friends and family are dying too soon and too fast. Some favorite activities have moved out of reach.

John Leland spent a year visiting six octogenarians. Each had their own challenges, comforts, successes, and losses. But, at the end of the day, they were happy. Reading this book is like a glimpse into a future. What will I have at the end of my day? What will you?

The book gives me hope and six ways to look at lifeā€™s twists and turns. As the years stack up, I want my likelihood of happiness to stack up as well.

By John Leland,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Happiness Is a Choice You Make as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A New York Times Bestseller!

An extraordinary look at what it means to grow old and a heartening guide to well-being, Happiness Is a Choice You Make weaves together the stories and wisdom of six New Yorkers who number among the ā€œoldest oldā€ā€•those eighty-five and up.

In 2015, when the award-winning journalist John Leland set out on behalf of The New York Times to meet members of Americaā€™s fastest-growing age group, he anticipated learning of challenges, of loneliness, and of the deterioration of body, mind, and quality of life. But the elders he met took him in an entirely differentā€¦


Book cover of Mind Over Money: Overcoming the Money Disorders That Threaten Our Financial Health

Ed Zinkiewicz Author Of Retire to Play and Purpose: How to have an amazing time going forward

From my list on taking your retirement to a new level.

Why am I passionate about this?

Some retirement choices start out as great adventures but stall. The RV loses its sheen or the cruises begin to look alike. Some retirees actually finish the infamous to-do list or tire of golf. Some people avoid retiring because theyā€™ve heard of those failures! My goal is to help people find meaning and purpose in the activities they undertake in retirement and avoid any pitfalls. The books Iā€™ve chosen here have helped give me a great platform to work from. Iā€™ve discovered that if you can be curious, reach out in empathy, and be determined to keep at the search for joy and meaning, youā€™ll find that retirement adventure of play and purpose.

Ed's book list on taking your retirement to a new level

Ed Zinkiewicz Why did Ed love this book?

Ted Klontz is a personal friend and sometime mentor. Iā€™ve found the words of wisdom he and his son have put in this book very helpful for identifying some common money-spending pitfalls. Do you avoid risk or take too many, underspend, or overspend? 

Many of these behaviors have their roots in our lives at a very early age. What kinds of toys did we play with? How did they compare to the toys our friends had? How did our parents describe the poor in our neighborhood or treat the more well-off?

Uncover some of the causes that molded your treatment of money and earn a new freedom to make better decisions based on more balanced views.

By Brad Klontz, Ted Klontz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Mind Over Money as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Do you overspend? Undersave? Keep secrets about money from a spouse or family member? Are you anxious about dealing with your finances? If so, you are not alone. Let's face itā€“just about all of have complicated, if not downright dysfunctional, relationships with money.

As Drs. Brad and Ted Klontz, a father and son team of pioneers in the emerging field of financial psychology explain, our disordered relationships with money arenā€™t our fault. They donā€™t stem from a lack of knowledge or a failure of will. Instead, they are a product of subconscious beliefs and thought patterns, rooted in our childhoods,ā€¦


Book cover of The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer from the People Who've Lived the Longest

Jo Dunbar Author Of Nature's Remedies for Stress and Fatigue: Recovering from Burnout

From my list on triumphing over stress and long term fatigue.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a medical herbalist for over 25 years, I have long been treating people for chronic fatigue, post-viral fatigue, and, more recently, Long Covid. These days, there is so much stress to consider too, and I have recognized that stress has a major effect on the health of our bodies and also our life experience. One of my great interests in life is the wisdom of Nature, spirituality, and metaphysics. I love to combine medical science with spirituality, metaphysics, and Nature to contribute to helping people to feel their best through the wisdom of nature.  

Jo's book list on triumphing over stress and long term fatigue

Jo Dunbar Why did Jo love this book?

This was a fascinating read. I love traveling, especially to places where the Western world has had less impact, so this book appealed to me. Having traveled widely, adventurer and expedition leader Dan Buettner set out to discover the areas of the world where people lived longer and more healthily than our average modern human being. 

On a map of the world, he circled five ā€œlongevity hotspotā€ areas in blue, which became known as The Blue Zones. While chronic disease is becoming increasingly common in the developed world, these Blue Zones communities experience low rates of chronic disease and live in good health, easily into their 90ā€™s and even over 100 years. He says that genetics only accounts for about 20ā€“30% of our longevity and ability to live well. The rest is determined by our lifestyle and our diet.

In this wonderful book, he discusses the lifestyles and choices madeā€¦

By Dan Buettner,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Blue Zones as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A long, healthy life is no accident. It begins with good genes, but it also depends on good habits. If you adopt the right lifestyle, experts say, chances are you may live up to a decade longer. Buettner has led teams of researchers across the globe--from Costa Rica to Sardinia, Italy, to Okinawa, Japan and beyond--to uncover the secrets of Blue Zones. He found that the recipe for longevity is deeply intertwined with community, lifestyle, and spirituality. People live longer and healthier by embracing a few simple but powerful habits, and by creating the right community around themselves. In Theā€¦


Book cover of Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity

John B. Arden Author Of Rewire Your Brain 2.0: Five Healthy Factors to a Better Life

From my list on life-style health.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have lectured in 30 countries and all US States. Previously, I was the Director of Training in Mental Health for Kaiser Permanente in the Northern California region. In this capacity, I oversaw training programs in 24 medical centers where over 150 postdoctoral residents and interns are trained each year, the largest mental health training program in the US.  I am the author of 15 books (translated into over 20 languages). The second edition of my book, Rewire Your Brain 2.0, came out last year. My book, Mind-Brain-Gene: Toward the Integration of Psychotherapy, encompasses the fields of psychoneuroimmunology, Epigenetics, Neuroscience, Nutritional Neuroscience, and psychotherapy research.    

John's book list on life-style health

John B. Arden Why did John love this book?

I found this book to not only provide the current science of longevity but also lay out concrete guidelines and recommendations.

The first part of the book offers up-to-date science on metabolism, immune function, and neuroscience. He then moves on to contrast conventional assumptions about these topics with recent discoveries. The later part of the book features beliefs that he once held that are now understood as inaccurate.

Throughout the book, he uses himself as an example of someone who thought he knew about health and longevity and how he has recently discovered that some of his efforts were not helpful.   

By Peter Attia, Bill Gifford,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Outlive as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is the ultimate manual for longevity.

For all its successes, mainstream medicine has failed to make much progress against the diseases of ageing that kill most people: heart disease, cancer, Alzheimer's disease, and type 2 diabetes. Too often, it intervenes with treatments too late, prolonging lifespan at the expense of quality of life. Dr Peter Attia, the world's top longevity expert, believes we must replace this outdated framework with a personalised, proactive strategy for longevity.

This isn't 'biohacking,' it's science: a well-founded strategic approach to extending lifespan while improving our physical, cognitive and emotional health, making each decade betterā€¦


Book cover of Lifespan: Why We Age--And Why We Don't Have to

William W. Li Author Of Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself

From my list on to help you eat to beat disease.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a physician, scientist, and food as medicine researcher who has spent three decades studying how the body defends itself against disease to protect health. A major focus of this has been on how your body responds to what you feed it. I'm an internationally renowned physician, scientist and author of the New York Times bestseller Eat to Beat Disease: The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself. My work has led to the development of more than 30 new medical treatments and impacts care for more than 70 diseases. My TED Talk, ā€œCan We Eat to Starve Cancer?ā€ has garnered more than 11 million views. 

William's book list on to help you eat to beat disease

William W. Li Why did William love this book?

Iā€™m fascinated by the idea of longevity and if, like me, you want to learn what science is showing us it takes to live longer and better, you have to read this book by a scientist who is doing the research and making the discoveries that will lengthen lifespan.

By David Sinclair,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Lifespan as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this paradigm-shifting book from acclaimed Harvard Medical School doctor and one of TIME magazine's 100 most influential people on earth, Dr. David Sinclair reveals that everything we think we know about ageing is wrong, and shares the surprising, scientifically-proven methods that can help readers live younger, longer.

For decades, the medical community has looked to a variety of reasons for why we age, and the consensus is that no one dies of old age; they die of age-related diseases. That's because ageing is not a disease - it is inevitable.
But what if everything you think you know aboutā€¦


Book cover of Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well

Navaz Habib Author Of Upgrade Your Vagus Nerve: Control Inflammation, Boost Immune Response, and Improve Heart Rate Variability with New Science-Backed Therapies

From my list on upgrading your health and vitality.

Why am I passionate about this?

I personally have struggled with weight, blood sugar, and blood pressure challenges while I was in my teens and twenties. It was through functional medicine and many of the strategies I share in my book that I was able to create a positive shift in my own health and support the health of my clients. In my education and subsequent research, the Vagus nerve always stuck out to me as a unique and underrepresented component of the health journey. My curiosity regarding human anatomy and physiology led me to this important and missing answer: enabling our bodies to enter a healing state and initiate the recovery of our health.

Navaz's book list on upgrading your health and vitality

Navaz Habib Why did Navaz love this book?

From this book, I learned how important muscle tissue is to overall health. It was quite eye-opening to learn about the effects of poor muscle quality on our longevity and healthspan.

I really appreciated the practical aspects of this book, which helped me come up with a strategic plan for myself and my clients to improve their muscle health for their overall health!

By Gabrielle Lyon,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Forever Strong as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

Learn how to reboot your metabolism, build strength, and extend your life with this accessible new book that demonstrates the importance of muscle for health and longevity from the founder of the Institute for Muscle-Centric Medicine (R).

After years of watching patients cycle through her practice, Dr Gabrielle Lyon noticed a pattern. While her patients struggled with a wide range of conditions, they all suffered from the same core problem: they had too little muscle rather than too much fat.

When we think about muscle, we tend to think about strength or aesthetics, butā€¦


Book cover of Super Human: The Bulletproof Plan to Age Backward and Maybe Even Live Forever

Robert Pagliarini Author Of Badass Retirement: Shatter the Retirement Myth & Live with More Meaning, Money, and Adventure

From my list on retirement to help you create more meaning.

Why am I passionate about this?

If my early childhood was any indication, I would be the last person you would want to take financial and retirement advice from. Why? Growing up, we never had any money! Every day was a struggle for my single mom of five. At an early age, I knew I didnā€™t want to be poor and struggle for everything. I knew I wanted to enjoy life and experience it to the fullest. Iā€™d watch adventure movies such as Raiders of the Lost Ark and dream of going to exotic countries and on adventures like Indiana Jones. From those early years, Iā€™ve been committed to creating and living the best life possible for myself and my clients.

Robert's book list on retirement to help you create more meaning

Robert Pagliarini Why did Robert love this book?

Too many retirees think that as they age, they must lose their energy and their health. That's crap.

You can upgrade your health as you age. You can gain more energy and vitality with each passing day, week, month, and year. This is a great book to introduce you to thinking about your health and aging differently.

Don't feel like you need to implement everything the author discusses, but use the book to expand your view of aging and what's possible. Your #1 job in retirement is to stay healthy. This book can help.

By Dave Asprey,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Super Human as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From Bulletproof creator and bestselling author Dave Asprey comes a revolutionary approach to anti-aging that will help you up your game at any age.

Dave Asprey suffered countless symptoms of aging as a young man, which sparked a life-long burning desire to grow younger with each birthday. For more than twenty years, he has been on a quest to find innovative, science-backed methods to upgrade human biology and redefine the limits of the mind, body, and spirit. The results speak for themselves. Now in his forties, Dave is smarter, happier, and more fit and successful than ever before.

In Superā€¦


Book cover of Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old

Kat Arney Author Of Rebel Cell: Cancer, Evolution, and the New Science of Life's Oldest Betrayal

From my list on understanding why we havenā€™t cured cancer yet.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve long been fascinated by how life unfolds from a single fertilized egg cell containing just one set of DNA, whether itā€™s a human, mouse, frog, worm, or anything else. While studying for my PhD in the Gurdon Institute in Cambridge, which combines brings together researchers working on development and cancer, and spending twelve years in science communication at Cancer Research UK, the worldā€™s largest cancer research charity, I came to see cancer and development as two sides of the same coin: one process unfolding healthy life as egg becomes embryo, and the other ultimately bringing disease and death as a single cell grows into a deadly tumor. 

Kat's book list on understanding why we havenā€™t cured cancer yet

Kat Arney Why did Kat love this book?

Cancer and ageing are inextricably linked, with the risk of cancer increasing significantly over the age of 60, so Andrewā€™s book about the biology of ageing is very much a companion piece to my own. He digs into the latest scientific research on why and how our cells, tissues, and bodies age, and neatly sifts fact from fiction when it comes to anti-ageing supplements and treatments. His most surprisingly simple piece of advice to help slow the ravages of time? Make sure you clean your teeth!

By Andrew Steele,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Ageless as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A stunner ... If you haven't got this book in your house, I don't know why' Chris Evans

'A startling wake-up call . . . Writing with the vim of a Bill Bryson and the technical knowledge of a scientist, Steele gives us a chance to grasp what's at stake' Independent

'An exhilarating journey . . . Steele is a superb guide' Telegraph

'A fascinating read with almost every page bursting with extraordinary facts . . . Read it now' Mail on Sunday

Ageless is a guide to the biggest issue we all face. Ageing - not cancer, not heartā€¦


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in health, old man, and evolutionary biology?

Health 118 books
Old Man 19 books