Every month I pick three books worth your time, and they all have to earn a spot on the shelf here: they’ve got to be selling well right now, and they’ve got to have something real to offer folks over 50.
This month’s three line up with the things we talk about most on this site: staying strong, staying connected to people, and understanding the body we’ve got. One will get you moving, one will help you feel less alone, and one will make you laugh while it teaches you something.
1. The Forever Strong Playbook by Dr. Gabrielle Lyon
Dr. Gabrielle Lyon’s first book, Forever Strong, made a lot of folks rethink muscle. Her big idea is that muscle isn’t just about looks. It’s what keeps your metabolism, your balance and your independence going as you age. This new one, which came out in January and has been a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, takes that idea and turns it into a plan you can actually follow.
It’s a six-week program. You get more than 100 exercises you can do at the gym or at home, over 60 recipes, and plain advice on sleep, recovery and stress. The plans scale, so whether you’ve never lifted a thing or you’ve been at it for years, there’s a starting point for you.
Why I picked it: I work out four days a week, and if there’s one thing I’d tell anybody over 50, it’s that strength training matters more now, not less. Most books tell you why. This one tells you what to do on Monday morning. If you liked my post on building muscle after 60, this is the next step.
Great for: men and women who want a simple, week-by-week plan to get stronger without guessing.
Find The Forever Strong Playbook here →
2. Vibe: The Secrets of Strong Connections in a Lonely World by Adam Grant
Adam Grant is an organizational psychologist at Wharton and one of the best-known writers on how people work and get along. Vibe came out October 13 and jumped right onto the New York Times, USA Today and independent bookstore bestseller lists. It’s all about the science of friendship, companionship and love, and how to build bonds that are faster, stronger and longer-lasting.
A few of his points surprised me. You don’t have to have a lot in common with somebody to get close to them. Chemistry doesn’t always show up right away. And getting close doesn’t always take years. He backs it up with research and some good stories, from astronauts to a rock band.
Why I picked it: Loneliness isn’t just a bad feeling. In 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy put out a whole advisory on it, and he compared the health risk of being cut off from people to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day. After 50, friend circles tend to shrink with retirement, moves and loss. I wrote about that in how to make new friends after 50, and I reckon this book is the perfect companion to it.
Great for: anybody who’s feeling a little more alone than they’d like, or who wants to get closer to the people already in their life.
3. Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy by Mary Roach
Mary Roach, the author of Stiff, has a gift for making science funny. In this one she looks at how medicine repairs and replaces the parts of us that wear out. She spends time in a burn unit, travels with cataract surgeons, talks with amputees and people living with ostomies, and visits researchers trying to grow new tissue and even 3D-print it. It was an instant New York Times bestseller and landed on a pile of best-of-the-year lists, and the new paperback came out September 1.
Why I picked it: After 50, replacement parts stop being a joke. Most of us know somebody with a new knee or hip, a pacemaker, or new lenses after cataract surgery, and some of us are that somebody. This book takes something that can feel a little scary and makes it fascinating. You’ll come away amazed at what your body can do and how far medicine has come.
Great for: folks who are curious about how the body works, like a good laugh, or have a surgery coming up and want to feel less nervous about it.
How I pick these books
Popular isn’t enough. I check the current bestseller lists to see what folks are actually buying, then I only keep the ones that have something useful to say about health, strength, connection or getting older well. And they have to be books I’d hand to a friend on the porch without thinking twice.
What are y’all reading this month?
Tell me in the comments. You never know who’ll find their next favorite book because of you.
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About the Author
Tom Green writes Well After 50. He’s just a regular, laid-back 64-year-old who keeps things simple. He shares what he learns about skincare, fitness and getting older, and what’s working for him. He’s also the author of A Practical Guide to Getting Older Without Giving Up on Yourself.
Tom isn’t a doctor. He reads up on the research and passes along what’s useful, plain and simple.
What do you think? Have a tip, question, or personal experience to share? We’d love to hear from you. After 50, there’s always something new to discover—and your thoughts might help someone else, too!