Reading List
Authors Like
In 1977, aged 29, after long periods of depression, Ulrich Tölle went through what he later described as an inner transformation one night, prompted by a question: who is the ‘I’ that cannot live with the self? Afterwards, he said, the anxious, mind-made self had dissolved. He gave up his doctoral studies at Cambridge and spent about two years sitting on park benches in Russell Square in London, and he took the first name Eckhart. The Power of Now appeared in 1997, two years after he settled in Vancouver. In the four weeks after Oprah Winfrey chose A New Earth (2005) for her book club in 2008, 3.5 million copies were shipped, and in January 2025 she chose it again, the only book she has picked twice. The ten writers below share his question, what is left when the narrating mind goes quiet, and some of them answer it very differently.
By Lisanne Swart · 10 authors · Spirituality · Presence and mindfulness · Updated October 2026
Quick answer
If you love Eckhart Tolle, start with Jiddu Krishnamurti, whose talks make the same case that thought itself creates fear and a false self. For presence as a daily practice, read Thich Nhat Hanh, and for the instruction in three words, Ram Dass’s Be Here Now (1971). Further down are the medieval mystic usually linked to Tolle’s name and a journalist who comes at the same territory as a sceptic.
10 authors like Eckhart Tolle
Where to start if you loved Eckhart Tolle
If you loved The Power of Now, read Krishnamurti.
Freedom from the Known: the same attention to how thought makes fear, without the consolation.
If you want a daily practice, read Thich Nhat Hanh.
The Miracle of Mindfulness: short, practical and rooted in Zen.
If you want the science, read Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Wherever You Go, There You Are: mindfulness without the metaphysics.
If you want an argument, read Oliver Burkeman.
Four Thousand Weeks: time, limits, and why there is no final calm.
If you want more Eckhart Tolle, read him in order.
The Power of Now (1997) first, then Stillness Speaks (2003) and A New Earth (2005), which carries the ideas from the individual to ego, relationships and society.
Frequently asked questions about authors like Eckhart Tolle
Who writes like Eckhart Tolle?
Jiddu Krishnamurti, Thich Nhat Hanh and Ram Dass are the closest. Krishnamurti shares his focus on how thought creates the self, Thich Nhat Hanh turns presence into a daily practice, and Ram Dass’s Be Here Now (1971) put Tolle’s central instruction into three words decades earlier.
What should I read after The Power of Now?
Tolle’s own A New Earth (2005) is the natural next step. Outside his work, try Krishnamurti’s Freedom from the Known (1969) for the same argument made more austerely, or Thich Nhat Hanh’s The Miracle of Mindfulness (1975) for practice.
Does Eckhart Tolle have a new book?
No new book has been announced. His best-known recent book is still A New Earth (2005), which Oprah Winfrey chose for her book club for a second time in January 2025, the only book she has picked twice.
Is Eckhart Tolle Buddhist?
No. He is not affiliated with any religion, though his teaching draws on Zen Buddhism, Christian mysticism, Sufism and Hinduism. His adopted first name is usually traced to the medieval German mystic Meister Eckhart.
Which Eckhart Tolle book should I read first?
The Power of Now (1997), the book that made his name. Stillness Speaks (2003) is shorter and works as a companion, and A New Earth (2005) applies the ideas to ego, relationships and society.
Is Eckhart Tolle like Alan Watts?
They share a project: explaining Eastern ideas about the self to Western readers in plain English. Watts writes about Zen and Taoism directly, as a scholar and entertainer, while Tolle presents the teaching through his own experience without tying it to one tradition.
Sources
- Eckhart Tolle — Wikipedia
- Jiddu Krishnamurti — Wikipedia
- Pema Chödrön — Wikipedia
- Rupert Spira — Wikipedia
List last reviewed 30 October 2026.
More from the shelf
Reading list
Authors on Non-Duality
The teachers who say the self is not what you think.
Reading list
Eastern Philosophy
Where Tolle’s ideas come from, read at the source.
Reading list
Books About Zen
Sitting still, paying attention, and what follows.
Reading list
Spirituality and Humanity
Books on connection beyond any one religion.
Read next
