Sometimes reading a good book is the best way to get some good insights and perspectives on the emotional, personal, financial and spiritual journey that we women are embarking on past the age of 60. It’s fun and enriching to hear the words of authors who are sharing this same experience with us.

If you check out the Sixty and Me Pinterest page, there are a variety of books that I’ve pinned there that look interesting and might be of particular value for women over 60.

Here is a selection of 10 inspiring books for women over 60:

Smart Women Don’t Retire – They Break Free, by Gail Rentsch

Smart Women Don’t Retire – They Break Free, by Gail Rentsch discusses an important career transition that many women over 60 are going to make – the move from full-time work to something new and different, whether that means “retirement” in the traditional sense, or part-time work, or volunteer work, or self-employment and creative pursuits, or some combination of all of the above. This book offers some good ideas and insights on how to make your new life work for you after your career of full-time work has ended.

Yoga for Age 60+, by Meena Vad

One of the most popular fitness activities for women over 60 is yoga, which exercises the body, focuses the mind and renews the spirit. Yoga for Age 60+, by Meena Vad offers tips and guidance for how to practice yoga safely in your own home.

Tales of Graceful Aging from the Planet Denial, by Nicole Hollander

Tales of Graceful Aging from the Planet Denial, by Nicole Hollander asks, “If sixty is the new fifty, when do I get to be thirty again?” Author Nicole Hollander explores the irony and self-deprecation of getting older, with suggestions on whether to accept senior citizen discounts, navigating female obsessions, and how to make your fifties and sixties your most creative years.

Fifty is the New Fifty, by Suzanne Levine

Fifty is the New Fifty, by Suzanne Levine offers ten concise, humorous lessons about realities of what life at our age is really all about, and encouragement to women to invent the life that they want for themselves – while avoiding the biggest risks and pitfalls along the way.

Suddenly Sixty, by Judith Viorst

Judith Viorst has written a book of poems called Suddenly Sixty about the “Shocks of Later Life.” The poems’ titles include “It’s Harder to Be Frisky Over Sixty,” “A Wedding Sonnet for the Next Generation,” and “Being a Grandparent is the Best Revenge.”

Younger Next Year for Women by Chris Crowley and Henry S. Lodge

Co-written by Dr. Henry Lodge and his patient, the 73-year-old Chris Crowley, Younger Next Year for Women is book of hopeful advice and a guide to aging without fear. The book offers practical advice on how to avoid 70% of the problems of aging and 50% of the serious illness and injury. Getting older doesn’t have to lead to inevitable decline – it’s possible to stay vital and continue getting lots of pleasure from life.

The Happiness Project, by Gretchen Rubin

Would you like to be happier? The author of The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin, set out on a yearlong project to deliberately try to be happier, by having more fun, feeling more organized, and taking a methodical approach to being more content. This book shows you how it’s done.

Better Than I Ever Expected – Straight Talk About Sex After Sixty, by Joan Price

It’s hard to find good information about sex after age 60, but this book makes an effort to start the conversation. The author offers advice and encouragement for how women and men can enjoy their sexuality and have the best sex of their lives, even after age sixty.

A Life After Sixty, by Maria Mezari

The author of A Life After Sixty is a woman named Maria Mezari who came to America from Greece, struggled to provide for her son as a single mother, and now that she is sixty, has written a book about her journey of fulfilling her dreams and goals.

I Feel Bad About My Neck, by Nora Ephron

This memoir by Nora Ephron (acclaimed screenwriter of “Sleepless in Seattle,” “You’ve Got Mail” and many other movies) is a humorous and poignant collection of essays about the lessons she learned from life after 60, everything from how to choose the right hairstyle to how to cope with the death of good friends. Sadly, this was one of Nora Ephron’s last published works, as she died in 2012 at the age of 71.

What do you think about these books on our list? Have you read any of them? What did you think? Or can you recommend any other good books that our community of women over 60 might enjoy?

Why not get inspired to write your own memoirs? Watch my interview with professional writer, Ben Gran, for some surprising ideas.