Meditation books that do not read like homework

What the research says, before the books

The largest careful review, published in JAMA Internal Medicine in 2014, pooled 47 randomised trials with 3,515 people. It found moderate evidence that mindfulness meditation programs eased anxiety, depression and pain, by small to moderate amounts, and only low evidence for stress and quality of life. It found no evidence that meditation worked better than other active treatments such as medication, exercise or talking therapies, and little or no evidence of effects on sleep, attention, mood, eating or weight.

So the fair summary is: a regular practice can take the edge off, roughly as much as other good habits do. It is not a cure, and it is not a replacement for treatment. If a book promises to fix your sleep, your focus and your weight in a month, read it with that in mind. This is general information only; if anxiety or low mood is getting in the way of your life, see your GP.

The seven

1. 10% Happier, Dan Harris

An American TV news presenter had a panic attack on air, went looking for answers, and ended up, reluctantly, meditating. It is a memoir first and an argument second, funny and sceptical, written for people who roll their eyes at the word "spiritual". He reads it himself. The title is the "Yes, but" built in.

2. Wherever You Go, There You Are, Jon Kabat-Zinn

Kabat-Zinn started the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in 1979, the program behind much of the research above. This 1994 book is his short, gentle guide to practice in everyday life: short chapters, each with a suggestion to try. Brisbane's Libby catalogue lends it.

3. Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan, Mark Williams and Danny Penman

A practical course built on mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, which Williams helped develop to stop people sliding back into depression; he later founded the University of Oxford's mindfulness centre. It gives you one week at a time with set practices, which is exactly what most beginners lack. If you like structure, start here.

4. The Miracle of Mindfulness, Thich Nhat Hanh

A short book by the Vietnamese Zen teacher, written in 1975 as a long letter to a fellow worker in Vietnam. It is about bringing attention into ordinary tasks: washing up, walking, drinking tea. It is the gentlest book here and among the shortest to hear.

5. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind, Shunryu Suzuki

Talks on sitting meditation by the founder of the San Francisco Zen Center, edited into a book in 1970. More about attitude than technique, and best for someone who already sits a little.

6. Still, Together, Manoj Dias

A 2021 book from meditation teacher Manoj Dias, published by the Melbourne-based Hardie Grant. In the publisher's words, it walks through the core teachings of Buddhist meditation and applies them to the feeling of being disconnected despite constant contact. He reads the audiobook himself, about three and a half hours.

7. Waking Up, Sam Harris

For the sceptic who wants the argument. A neuroscientist's case that meditation shows you something true about the mind, without any religious belief. Harder going than 10% Happier, and more rewarding if you like ideas.

How to keep going once you start

• Pick a time, not a mood. Same place, same time, even five minutes.
• Use the audiobook as a teacher, the practice as homework. Hear a chapter, then sit.
• Try a group. Many Australian libraries, community centres and Buddhist centres run free or low-cost sessions.

Common questions