The books I read in my twenties are NOT the same kind of books I read in my thirties or forties. Gosh, my 50s flew by. So here is a list of my top 100, favorite books now that I'm in my 60s. Many of these books I have read two or three times, so they are highly recommended!

Keep in mind, I am not a Christian, nor am I an Atheist. With that said, my most favorite writers fall on both sides of this equation. From Christopher Hitchens to G.K. Chesterton, with Søren Kierkegaard somewhere in the middle? Reference politics, current events and history, I much prefer the conservative point of view to the vapid left-wing screeds so prevalent in our education system today. There are many incredible history writers out there who do not hate the United States or our history. From Victor Davis Hanson, Amity Shlaes, Lawrence Wright, Paul Johnson, Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, Milton Friedman, Thomas Sowell, Adam Smith, to Friedrich Hayek, I buy and read their books.

As for biographies, I won't waste my time on a "celebrity" but I will spend hours reading about someone who has made a significant contribution to history and society, be it good or bad.

The classics, you may ask yourself what do I mean by the classics. Well, there are the incredible ancient classics like Aristotle, Socrates and Plato. But there are also the great classics of fine literature of the 1800s and the early 1900s, especially the British and Russian authors of that time. I love both and I highly recommend readers of all ages to discover them.

Let's just say, I'm a conservative, philosophical agnostic who loves to read philosophy, politics, current events, history, biographies, the classics and last but most certainly not least, science fiction and espionage.

Science fiction and espionage? Well, we all read for different reasons, sometimes for information, sometimes for insight into the human condition and sometimes to escape. When I want to escape, I love to lose myself in a great science fiction book. From Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, Robert Heinlein, George Orwell, Philip K. Dick, Stanislaw Lem, John Haldeman, to John Scalzi and Octavia Butler - just a few of my most favorite sci-fi authors. When I want to read a book that places emphasis on the "good" and the "bad" guys and lots of action, I read espionage. Who hasn't read John le Carré, Tom Clancy, Robert Ludlum, Vince Flynn, David Baldacci or Daniel Silva It is so easy to lose yourself in any of these writer's books.

I just won't waste my time or hard-earned money on popular self-help books, young adult books, vampire/zoombie pulp fiction, or books on political correctness and left-wing intolerance.

Life is just too short to waste what precious little time we have!
1

by
4.20 avg rating — 5,362,932 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
2

by
4.14 avg rating — 353,797 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
3

by
4.28 avg rating — 1,058,024 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
4

by
4.25 avg rating — 709,293 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
5

by
4.29 avg rating — 21 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
6

by
4.33 avg rating — 91,329 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
7

by
3.96 avg rating — 94,361 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
8

by
3.86 avg rating — 138,629 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
9

by
4.10 avg rating — 921,079 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
10

by
3.97 avg rating — 193,757 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
11

by
3.95 avg rating — 559,346 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
12

by
3.87 avg rating — 935,331 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
13

by
3.89 avg rating — 200,296 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
14

by
3.98 avg rating — 124,081 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
3.99 avg rating — 2,052,767 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
15

by
4.57 avg rating — 233,019 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
17

by
4.11 avg rating — 788,636 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
18

by
3.71 avg rating — 370,848 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
19

by
4.28 avg rating — 413,156 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
20

by
4.23 avg rating — 67,270 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
21

by
4.38 avg rating — 1,350,449 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
22

by
4.03 avg rating — 1,365,541 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
23

by
4.14 avg rating — 341,942 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
24

by
4.21 avg rating — 213,557 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
25

by
3.97 avg rating — 51,257 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
26

by
4.15 avg rating — 3,408,606 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
27

by
4.18 avg rating — 334,026 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
28

by
4.20 avg rating — 92,397 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
29

by
4.26 avg rating — 101,290 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
30

by
4.02 avg rating — 309,537 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
31

by
4.31 avg rating — 1,252,185 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
32

by
4.18 avg rating — 83,891 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
33

by
3.92 avg rating — 325,472 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
34

by
4.31 avg rating — 1,936,019 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
35

by
3.67 avg rating — 28,567 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
4.37 avg rating — 858,750 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
36

by
4.40 avg rating — 157,649 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
3.89 avg rating — 28,711 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
38

by
4.24 avg rating — 61,813 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
4.12 avg rating — 33,450 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
3.67 avg rating — 7,231,491 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
40

by
4.15 avg rating — 21,103 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
43

by
4.07 avg rating — 860,674 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
44

by
3.82 avg rating — 14,578 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
45

by
4.01 avg rating — 57,905 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
46

by
4.12 avg rating — 58,398 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
47

by
4.29 avg rating — 96,607 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
48

by
3.97 avg rating — 105,072 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
49

by
4.31 avg rating — 31,282 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
50

by
4.10 avg rating — 3,105 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
51

by
4.22 avg rating — 146,884 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
52

by
4.28 avg rating — 198,598 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
4.26 avg rating — 215,441 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
53

by
4.15 avg rating — 655,443 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
55

by
4.17 avg rating — 89,933 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
56

by
3.80 avg rating — 84,786 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
57

by
4.11 avg rating — 115,861 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
58

by
4.63 avg rating — 285 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
59

by
4.27 avg rating — 36,330 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
4.44 avg rating — 137,741 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
4.24 avg rating — 72,629 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
60

by
4.06 avg rating — 23,893 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
63

by
4.34 avg rating — 85,566 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
64

by
4.01 avg rating — 68,161 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
65

by
4.23 avg rating — 9,216 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
66

by
4.23 avg rating — 221,409 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
67

by
3.91 avg rating — 47,673 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
68

by
4.13 avg rating — 6,144 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 9 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
69

by
4.33 avg rating — 58 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
4.20 avg rating — 9,893 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
71

by
4.09 avg rating — 131 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
3.87 avg rating — 2,486 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
4.25 avg rating — 100,402 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
73

by
4.03 avg rating — 129,247 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
76

by
4.14 avg rating — 179,196 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
4.27 avg rating — 4,853 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
4.17 avg rating — 220,965 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
77

by
3.88 avg rating — 6,490 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
80

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 11 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
4.34 avg rating — 5,019 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
81

by
3.56 avg rating — 8,251 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
83

by
3.88 avg rating — 122,987 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
84

by
3.90 avg rating — 28,204 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
4.11 avg rating — 3,004 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
3.89 avg rating — 30,529 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
85

by
3.62 avg rating — 2,108,691 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
88

by
3.76 avg rating — 5,936 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
3.77 avg rating — 60 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
89

by
3.97 avg rating — 4,587 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
3.83 avg rating — 888 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
91

by
3.97 avg rating — 38,586 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating
Rate this book
Clear rating
93

by
4.23 avg rating — 2,687 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
95

by
4.03 avg rating — 456 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
96

by
3.73 avg rating — 1,512 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
3.90 avg rating — 2,239 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
97

by
4.44 avg rating — 202 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
99

by
3.36 avg rating — 1,150 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
100

by
3.94 avg rating — 48 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
197 books · 28 voters · list created September 23rd, 2016 by Phyllis (votes) .
18 likes · 
Lists are re-scored approximately every 5 minutes.


Phyllis 914 books
6 friends
~☆~Autumn 8066 books
145 friends
Sarah 1873 books
129 friends
Lewk 9 books
0 friends
Jeff 4828 books
8 friends
Lmarie 2622 books
5 friends
Peter 116 books
27 friends

More voters…


Comments Showing 1-1 of 1 (1 new)

dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Donne (last edited Sep 17, 2024 08:54AM) (new)

Donne "Life is just too short to waste what precious little time we have!"

My exact sentiments!!! I also feel that life is too short to waste on reading crappy books. It's why I have no problem, at all, of DNFing a book that I am not enjoying because it's boring me to sleep or triggering me in some way. It's why I no longer read hard-core horror (loved it in my teens to 30's)

Like you, I have now reached 60, but my tastes haven't changed all that much. I've always enjoyed crime thrillers, murder mysteries, urban fantasy, sci-fi, as well as some romance. The only change is the frequency that I read them. When I was younger, I read a lot of urban fantasy, paranormal and romance, and while I still read those genres, the frequency isn't as much. These days, I read a lot of crime thrillers, which I've always read, just more so these days.

For me, reading is an escape and a form of relaxation for me. If a story is not fulfilling one of those acts, then it doesn't bode well for me continuing the book. Enough said.


back to top