21 Relaxing Books to Read Before Bed

Here is a safe way to fall asleep easier by utilizing your brain in a way that keeps it interested but doesn’t get it thinking. These are relaxing books to read before bed.

The idea behind this is to get your brain in a state that makes it easier to fall asleep. So to that end, I read books that

• Don’t provide a lot of stimulation
• Promote a relaxing state
• Don’t require lots of problem solving or active thinking
• Help you get into a calm, peaceful state

Here are 21+ relaxing books to read before bed. These books will inspire, motivate, and entertain you as well as help you fall asleep and wake up feeling better.

I love to read at any time but I especially love getting under the covers with a good bedtime story to read is one of my favorite times to read.

However, some books can be almost TOO good and they can activate your nervous system, making it hard to relax or you just keep reading for too long and lose precious sleep.

So, I began to be more intentional about what I read at night to help me get a good night’s sleep. Thee book recommendations are what I consider perfect bedtime books. 

Books really can help you not just sleep better but live better too!

I love reading in bed before I fall asleep. Reading a relaxing book before bed calms my mind and lets me drift gently to sleep. I’m always on the look out for good books to read before bed.

This list is not all inclusive of course! However, it will give you some ideas about what works for me and then you can build your own list that will help you sleep better.

While writing another post, How to Wake Up Happier Every Day, I realized that I had a big list of books that I have read over the past two years.

I realized that a certain kind of book were the best books to read before bed. Good books to read before bed are interesting, but not so interesting that they keep you awake or that stimulate your mind too much.

Calming Books to Help You Sleep Better

As I said, the best books to read before bed are books that are interesting enough that I look forward to them but not so exciting that they rev up my nervous system or keep me awake for hours.

They need to be interesting enough that you can focus on them but not so stimulating that you get caught up in thinking.

As you can tell from the list, I really like self-help books and memoirs. These seem to be the best for helping me fall asleep. A good novel is often hard to put down! So, at night I stick to good-for-me books.

The Best Books to Read Before Bed to Help You Feel Better

Any type of book can work of course but I’ve found that self-improvement books and memoirs work great because they are interesting but are not usually action-packed.

For your convenience in shopping for these books, I’ve included shop-able ad links to some of the books. Read my disclosure policy here.

Self-Improvement Books

Self-improvement books work very well for relaxing books to read before bed. They are the perfect bedtime books because you don’t tend to get too revved up and you get a dose of positive inspiration

10% Happier

I thought this was just a meditation book. My boyfriend was reading it and I wanted to learn more about meditating.

Before the writer of the book gets into meditation, you get an inside look at network news and the men and women that you see on TV. I found that part so interesting.

See 10% Happier here

The Lemonade Life How to Fuel Success, Create Happiness, and Conquer Anything

Here are guidelines for improving your life from right where you are. The author keeps his formula to five simple steps.

Friedman shows us happiness isn’t something to be deferred but should be at the center of our life now. And that is what will help fuel our success and greatness today. 

He teaches that we have more power than we give ourselves credit for and how to take more control of what we want in our life.

Check out the Lemonade Life here

Your Blue Flame Drop the Guilt and Do What Makes You Come Alive

From Amazon:

Every one of us has a blue flame–a special skill, a personal passion, a gift or talent. But when caught up in life’s busyness, it’s too easy to make a habit of suppressing our most joyful contributions to the world.

As Jennifer learned, the secret to a life you love isn’t necessarily jumping the track, quitting your job, or hustling to make your dream your full-time reality. 

Rather, it’s about doing more of what makes you come alive in your actual life. Your Blue Flame is your upbeat playbook to rekindling your energy, sparking those meaningful “first loves” back to life again, and discovering the unique way each one of us can make the world a better, brighter place.

See Your Blue Flame on Amazon

Happier at Home – Gretchen Rubin

This is my favorite of the Gretchen Rubin books. She divides the book into 9 months, each month devoted to a way of finding more happiness in her home.

“So, starting in September (the new January), Rubin dedicated a school year—September through May—to making her home a place of greater simplicity, comfort, and love.”  (Amazon)

Find Happier at Home on Amazon

Braving the Wilderness – Brene Brown

I think you can pick any Brene Brown book and have a great before bed read.

See Braving the Wilderness on Amazon

The Big Leap – Gay Hendricks

This book is a helpful if you find yourself approaching success or happiness and you sabotage yourself. Here’s how to move past your limiting beliefs and find your zone of genius.

See The Big Leap on Amazon

Big Magic – Elizabeth Gilbert

The magic of creation. If you are a creative, this is a must-read!

See Big Magic on Amazon

Science books for lay people

I love books that are science-based but written for lay people. These can be so interesting and a great addition to your nighttime routine. 

The Story of the Human Body Evolution, Health, and Disease

This book starts 3 million years ago or so and takes you on a journey of where humans came from, how we evolved, and the human-like beings that didn’t make it to the modern world.

This is one of my favorite books of 2020. It’s a fascinating look into what our ancient ancestors were like and how they lived, moved, and changed through the centuries.

Here in 2024, I’m on my third reading of this book!

Check out The Story of the Human Body

The Hidden Life of Trees

This is one of my favorite books because it made me see trees in a whole new way. 

See The Hidden Life of Trees

Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

My boyfriend is fascinated that I read a book about a woman who had a pet snail and that a whole book was written about it.

Not only that, but I really enjoyed the book!

The author, had an illness and was confined to bed. A friend gave her a plant that turned out to have a snail living on it.

Because the author was in bed, she began watching the snail. Most of us live way to0 fast to see snails move, much less how they live and what they do through out the day.

This is a gentle peaceful story, yet interesting. Snails have lives and do stuff!

See The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating

Memoirs 

I love a good memoir! I always feel like I am going on a new adventure when I read travel memoirs. 

Confessions of a Middle-Aged Runaway 

An RV Travel Adventure

I have dreams of traveling and seeing more of the country. One summer, I even did a couple of weeks in an RV exploring from Texas, through New Mexico, to Colorado and back again.

This is a story about a woman who bought an RV and by herself, travelled. I know this, RV travel is not easy. RV’s are not just homes on wheels. There are so many systems and things to do.

It was fun to go with the author on her journey of learning a new way of life, connecting with other travelers, and learning more about life in the process.

Check out Confessions of a Middle Age Runaway here

I Will Always Write Back– Martin Ganda

This book was so so so AMAZING. 

It’s the story between a young girl in the US, who becomes penpals with a young boy in Africa. While she is growing up, living a the life of a teenage girl in the US, her penpal and his family battle not just for education but survival.

Eventually, it begins to dawn on her that her friend, does not have the same kind of life. She begins to help him and his family by sending gifts and babysitting money.

Eventually her parents find out and together they find ways to keep Martin in school. On his side, he works just as hard to earn an education and to help his family.

See I Will Always Write Back on Amazon

Untamed–Glennon Doyle

This is the first book I have read by Glennon Doyle. It’s a unique love story. One of the things that is so interesting about Glennon, is the dramatic twists her life has taken. As they happen publicly because she is a popular writer, you go on that humbling journey with her. But there is love, always love.

Get your copy of Untamed here

Solve for Happy – Mo Gawdat

This inspiring story is about a man whose beloved son died unexpectedly. The family decided to honor his memory but also strive to be happy. The book is part their story and part what creates happiness.

Check out Solve for Happy

An Invisible Thread –Laura Shroff

This is the story of a woman with a busy professional life in NYC who befriends a young boy on the street. This story covers their 25-year story. I have to admit, this is one I read through in a weekend. So good!

I absolutely loved this story!

You can check out An Invisible Thread on Amazon

Dying to Be Me – Anita Moorjani

A great book about a near-death experience.

A Walk in the Woods- Bill Bryson

The book is WAY better than the movie! This is my favorite Bill Bryson book–just an ordinary guy walking the Appalachian Trail, with lots of funny moments.

Get your copy of Dying to Be Me on Amazon

Marrow – Elizabeth Lesser

This is the story between two sisters. One who needed a marrow transplant and the other who was the perfect match.

Elizabeth Lesser is a beautiful writer. I feel like a better person just reading her words!

See Marrow on Amazon

Wild: From Lost to Found – Cheryl Strayed

I’ve read this book three time! The last time I read it was right before I went on my first hike. I love books about people doing these long hikes. For the most part they are simply plodding along day after day, yet her inner struggle to complete this walk was engaging.

This is a book I read every couple of years.

Get a copy of Wild: From Lost to Found

AWOL on the Appalachian Trail – William Monk

One of my favorite hiking books. I was constantly highlighting things that inspired me.

You can check out AWOL on the Appalachian Trail on Amazon

The Big Leap – Gay Hendricks

This book is a helpful if you find yourself approaching success or happiness and you sabotage yourself. Here’s how to move past that by identifying your limiting beliefs as well as your zone of genius.

See The Big Leap

Friendships Don’t Just Happen The Guide to Creating a Meaningful Circle of GirlFriends– Shasta Nelson

The importance of different kinds of friendships and how they fit into our lives.

see Friendships Don’t Just Happen

Change Me Prayers – Tosha Silver

So often, we want others to change before we will change how we feel. Short stories accompanied by a prayer asking for help changing ourselves.

This book lives by my bedside. While it started as a nighttime book, I start most days reading one of the prayers.

Check out Change Me Prayers

The Rainbow Comes and Goes – Anderson Cooper and Gloria Vanderbilt

Anderson Cooper and his mother write to each other in this loving story between a famous mother and her famous son.

Gloria Vanderbilt lived the first part of her life in the news. While her story has faded from people’s memories, her son has become famous in his own right.

Between them, they have survived the death of Gloria’s husband/Anderson’s dad and the suicide of his older brother.

See The Rainbow Comes and Goes

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up – Maire Kondo

I read this a few years before you began hearing about Marie Kondo everywhere. I actually still use many of her ideas to this day.

Her gentle writing makes you actually want to tidy things up a bit.

Get started with The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Fiction

My fiction picks tend to be more fantasy and thrillers that aren’t always the best for bedtime. But every once in a while I find a book that is fiction and relaxing. 

A Little Princess – Frances Hodgson Burnett

This in hands-down my favorite kid’s lit book and a timeless classic. It’s by the author of the Secret Garden. It’s a good fairy tale with lots of good lessons.

I’ve probably read this book 20 times over my lifetime. If you love the idea of manifesting or law of attraction, this childhood classic might be a fun read for you.

Check out A Little Princess

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

This is such a fun read! The library is filled with books that tell the story of how life would have turned out if the main character had done something different.

Some lives that she assumed would be better would have been worse. Each book tells a different story of her life based on decisions she might have made.

Find The Midnight Library here

Bedtime Reading to Sleep Better

Books can help you put your worries aside for a bit. Creating rituals at night can help you sleep better and wake up in a better mood the next day. 

For five more books, check out my post, How to Wake Up Happier Every Day.