Older Adults

Celebrate the wisdom and freedom that comes with age! Try one of these books about older-than-average people.

Updated May 18, 2026
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Milwaukie Ledding Library
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Older Adults

Celebrate the wisdom and freedom that comes with age! Try one of these books about older-than-average people.

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Agatha Christie's Marple : expert on wickedness
Aldridge, Mark (College teacher)
Paper Book
A new investigation from Dr Mark Aldridge, exploring a lifetime of Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple. Winner of the 2025 H.R.F Keating Award for the best 2024 biography or critical book related to crime fiction. In Agatha Christie's Marple: Expert on Wickedness,...
Angle of repose
Stegner, Wallace
Paper Book
Stegner’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of personal, historical, and geographic discovery   Confined to a wheelchair, retired historian Lyman Ward sets out to write his grandparents' remarkable story, chronicling their days spent carving civilization into the surface of...
The book of Charlie : wisdom from the remarkable American life of a 109-year-old man
Von Drehle, David
Paper Book
One of our nation's most prominent writers discovers the truth about how to live a long and happy life from the centenarian next door in this "original and highly readable account of a splendid American life" (The Wall Street Journal). When a veteran Washington journalist...
Breaking free : women of spirit at midlife and beyond
Sewell, Marilyn.
Paper Book
In twenty-seven personal and daring essays, some of our finest women writers examine the second half of their lives. They grapple with what age and life have taught them, contemplate their experiences, and reflect on where they have arrived. These are writers who get down and dirty, who have looked...
Britt-Marie was here : a novel
Backman, Fredrik
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling author of A Man Called Ove, My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry, and Anxious People captivates readers with this "warm and satisfying" (People) story "about a woman rediscovering herself after a personal crisis...fans...
Brooke Shields is not allowed to get old : thoughts on aging as a woman
Shields, Brooke
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER From generational icon Brooke Shields comes an intimate and empowering exploration of aging that flips the script on the idea of what it means for a woman to grow older Brooke Shields has spent a lifetime in the public eye....
Detective Aunty
Jalaluddin, Uzma.
Paper Book
A GLOBE AND MAIL TOP 100 BOOK OF THE YEAR When her grown daughter is suspected of murder, a charming and tenacious widow digs into the case to unmask the real killer in this twisty, page-turning whodunit--the first book in a cozy new detective series from the acclaimed...
Excuse me while I disappear : tales of midlife mayhem
Notaro, Laurie
Paper Book
A laugh-out-loud spin on the realities, perks, opportunities, and inevitable courses of midlife. Laurie Notaro has proved everyone wrong: she didn't end up in rehab, prison, or cremated at a tender age. She just went gray. At past fifty, every hair's root is a symbol of knowledge...
Grandma Gatewood's walk : the inspiring story of the woman who saved the Appalachian Trail
Montgomery, Ben.
Paper Book
Winner of the 2014 National Outdoor Book Awards for History/Biography Emma Gatewood told her family she was going on a walk and left her small Ohio hometown with a change of clothes and less than two hundred dollars. The next anybody heard from her, this genteel, farm-reared, 67-year-old great...
The lady in the van : and other stories
Bennett, Alan
Paper Book
Now a major motion picture starring Maggie Smith, Alan Bennett's famous and heartwarming story "The Lady in the Van," and more of Bennett's classic short-form work Alan Bennett has long been one of the world's most revered humorists. From his acclaimed story collection Smut...
The lonely hearts book club
Gilmore, Lucy (Romance fiction writer)
Paper Book
A young librarian and an old curmudgeon forge the unlikeliest of friendships in this charming, feel-good novel about one misfit book club and the lives (and loves) it changed along the way. Sloane Parker lives a small, contained life as a librarian in her small, contained town. She never...
Making the Best of What's Left : When We're Too Old to Get the Chairs Reupholstered
Viorst, Judith
Paper Book
From the bestselling author Judith Viorst comes a witty and poignant exploration of the joys and sorrows of life's twilight years--one that leaves us laughing, pondering, and grateful for the moments we have left. In a career that has spanned more than fifty years, Judith Viorst...
A man called Ove
Backman, Fredrik
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestseller Meet Ove. Heâe(tm)s a curmudgeon âe" the kind of man who points at people he dislikes. He has staunch principlesâes strict routinesâes and a short fuse. People call him âeoethe bitter neighbor from hell.âe? But behind the cranky exterior there is a story and a sadness. So...
Mrs. Plansky's revenge
Quinn, Spencer
Paper Book
Mrs. Plansky's Revenge is bestselling author Spencer Quinn's first novel in a new series since the meteoric launch of Chet and Bernie--introducing the irresistible and unforgettable Mrs. Plansky, in a story perfect for book clubs and commercial fiction readers. Mrs....
Mrs. Pollifax unveiled
Gilman, Dorothy
Paper Book
As her fans already know, the intrepid CIA agent Emily Pollifax is an irrestible mix of Jane Marple and James Bond. But not even the CIA has much faith that Mrs. Pollifax can successfully pull off her latest mission. Seven weeks ago, a young American woman, Amanda Pym, faced down hijackers on...
The murder at the vicarage
Christie, Agatha
Paper Book
Now with a beautiful new series look, Agatha Christie's first mystery to feature the beloved investigator Miss Marple--as a dead body in a clergyman's study proves to the indomitable sleuth that no place, holy or otherwise, is a sanctuary from homicide. Miss Marple encounters a compelling...
My Grandfather, the Master Detective
Konishi, Masateru
Paper Book
A Japanese The Thursday Murder Club, taking healing fiction for a mystery-filled spin with this bestseller that has sold more than 200,000 copies in Japan. He's not your average Grandpa. As a lover of classic crime stories, it's no surprise that...
News of the world
Jiles, Paulette
Paper Book
A New York Times Bestselling AuthorA #1 LibraryReads Pick2016 National Book Award FinalistIn the wake of the Civil War, a seventy-year-old retired army captain does live readings to paying audiences hungry for news of the world. He is offered a $50 gold piece to deliver a young orphan, raised by...
The old man
Perry, Thomas
Paper Book
A finalist for the Barry Award for Best Thriller Edgar Award-winning author Thomas Perry writes thrillers that move "almost faster than a speeding bullet" (Wall Street Journal). The Old Man is his latest whip-smart standalone novel. To all appearances, Dan...
The old man and the sea
Hemingway, Ernest
Paper Book
Ernest Hemingway's most beloved and popular novel--now in a gorgeous new package designed for the modern reader. The last novel Ernest Hemingway saw published, The Old Man and the Sea has proved itself to be one of the most enduring works of American fiction. It is the...
Our souls at night
Haruf, Kent.
Paper Book
A spare yet eloquent, bittersweet yet inspiring story of a man and a woman who, in advanced age, come together to wrestle with the events of their lives and their hopes for the imminent future. In the familiar setting of Holt, Colorado, home to all of Kent Haruf's inimitable...
Remarkably bright creatures : a novel
Van Pelt, Shelby
Paper Book
AN INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Now a Netflix Film A Read With Jenna Today Show Book Club Pick! NAMED A BEST BOOK OF SUMMER by: Chicago Tribune * The View * Southern Living * USA Today "Remarkably Bright Creatures [is] an...
Roctogenarians : late in life debuts, comebacks, and triumphs
Rocca, Mo
Paper Book
From beloved CBS Sunday Morning correspondent Mo Rocca, author of New York Times bestseller Mobituaries, comes an inspiring collection of stories that celebrates the triumphs of people who made their biggest marks late in life. Eighty has been the new sixty...
The second fifty : answers to the 7 big questions of midlife and beyond
Whitman, Debra B.
Paper Book
As she approached her fiftieth birthday, Debra Whitman, a globally recognized expert on aging, wanted to delve deeper into why so many Americans struggled to live well as they aged. And she began to wonder what was in store for her own second fifty. Suddenly, the questions she'd been studying for...
The sowing season : a novel
Powner, Katie
Paper Book
After he's forced to sell the family farm he's labored on his whole life, 63-year-old Gerrit Laninga doesn't know what to do with himself. He sacrificed everything for the land--his time, his health, his family--with nothing to show for it but bitterness, regret, and two grown children who want...
The spy coast : a thriller
Gerritsen, Tess
Paper Book
A retired CIA operative in small-town Maine tackles the ghosts of her past in this fresh take on the spy thriller from New York Times bestselling author Tess Gerritsen. Former spy Maggie Bird came to the seaside village of Purity, Maine, eager to put the past behind her after...
Still life with bread crumbs : a novel
Quindlen, Anna.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A "marvelous romantic comedy" (The New York Times Book Review) from Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anna Quindlen "[A] wise tale about second chances, starting over, and going after what is most important in life."--Minneapolis...
The Thursday murder club
Osman, Richard
Paper Book
Now a Netflix Film The first installment in the beloved and New York Times bestselling series from Richard Osman, also author of We Solve Murders Four septuagenarians with a few tricks up their sleeves A female cop with her first...
Two old women : an Alaska legend of betrayal, courage and survival
Wallis, Velma
Paper Book
Based on an Athabascan Indian legend passed along for many generations from mothers to daughters of the upper Yukon River Valley in Alaska, this is the suspenseful, shocking, ultimately inspirational tale of two old women abandoned by their tribe during a brutal winter famine. Though these...
The unlikely pilgrimage of Harold Fry : a novel
Joyce, Rachel.
Paper Book
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * LONGLISTED FOR THE MAN BOOKER PRIZE * NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE WASHINGTON POST Meet Harold Fry, recently retired. He lives in a small English village with his wife, Maureen, who seems irritated by almost everything...
Vera Wong's unsolicited advice for murderers
Sutanto, Jesse Q.
Paper Book
A USA Today bestseller Edgar Award Winner for Best Original Paperback Audie Award Winner for Mystery Libby Award Winner for Best Mystery A lonely shopkeeper takes it upon herself to solve a murder in the most peculiar way in this captivating mystery by...
We solve murders
Osman, Richard
Paper Book
INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! "Madcap fun, with an entertaining new cast of characters and Osman's trademark wit. Delightful!" --Shari Lapena From the #1 bestselling author of The Thursday Murder Club Series A brand new mystery. An...
What makes Olga run? : the mystery of the 90-something track star, and what she can teach us about living longer, happier lives
Grierson, Bruce
Paper Book
FINALIST 2014 - City of Vancouver Book Award Part science book, part journey into the untapped potential of the human spirit, this is the remarkable story of a 94-year-old track and field champion (not retired).      Olga Kotelko is most...
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