In our weekly look at books, we focus on Waterstones’ Non-Fiction of the Month for May 2025…

Meditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman takes readers on a liberating journey towards a more meaningful life – one that begins not with fantasies of the ideal existence, but with the reality in which we actually find ourselves.

Designed as a four-week retreat of the mind, it offers daily wisdom, solace and inspiration to aid a saner, freer, and more enchantment-filled way of living.

Meditations for Mortals by Oliver BurkemanMeditations for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman

Addressing fundamental questions about how to live, Burkeman proposes a powerful new guiding philosophy of imperfectionism.

How can we embrace our limitations? Or make good decisions when there’s always too much to do?

What if being truly productive means letting things happen, not making them happen?

Reflecting on philosophy, literature, psychology, religion and self-help, Burkeman explores practical tools and shifts in perspective.

The result is a profound yet entertaining crash course in living more fully.

Top Ten Chart with Waterstones of Norfolk Street, in Lynn:

1. James III – Percival Everett

2. The Bastwick Testament – David Blake

3. A Case of Mice and Murder – Sally Smith

4. Precipice – Robert Harris

5. Meditations for Mortals – Oliver Burkeman

6. We Solve Murders – Richard Osman

7. There Are Rivers In The Sky – Elif Shafak

8. The Glassmaker – Tracy Chevalier

9. Butter – Asako Yuzuki

10. Richard Flanagan – Question 7