Devotionals can be a great addition to our daily reading. Short, succinct – sometimes it may be the only reading we make time for out of our reading stack. Each day’s entry may be a single page, maybe a little more. Sometimes when we are hurried, it can be hard to commit to sit down and read, especially one of our non-fiction books. If we only have five or ten minutes to spare, do we want to even start, just to need to stop in the middle of a chapter?
Devotionals give us manageable bites of information, encouragement, inspiration, or beauty, without the added stress of needing to put a bookmark in the middle of a chapter and feeling disjointed when we pick up our reading later. Each entry is a concise thought and gives us something to chew on for the day.
When I think of devotionals, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this, I tend to picture religious devotionals – each day’s entry may contain a scripture and some commentary related to that day’s reading. Some devotionals work through a particular book of the Bible, others may deal with a particular interest – there are devotionals aimed at busy moms, parents, those in need of encouragement – various devotionals with a foundation of Biblical scripture.
But what about folks who want the devotional aspect – daily, bite-sized entries, but without the religious focus?
The Intellectual Devotion Series
This is the book that introduced me to secular devotionals.
The Intellectual Devotional is described as “365 Daily Lessons from the Seven Fields of Knowledge,” and this devotional has daily entries in History (Monday), Literature (Tuesday), Visual Arts (Wednesday), Science (Thursday), Music (Friday), Philosophy (Saturday), and Religion (Sunday).
This devotional is undated, rather it starts at Week 1 – Monday, Day 1, so you can start whenever you wish. Each entry is packed with interesting facts about that day’s topic, and usually includes a couple of additional facts as footnotes.
To get a feel for what a week looks like, the topics for Week 1 include The Alphabet (History), Ulysses (Literature), Lascaux Cave Paintings (Visual Arts), Cloning (Science), The Basics of Music (Music), Appearance and Reality (Philosophy), and Torah (Religion).
This book, with a broad collection of knowledge, is actually part of a five-book The Intellectual Devotional series.
The other books in the series include:
American History – read it on Kindle
Modern Culture – read in on Kindle
Biographies – read it on Kindle
*the individual books in this series are a little pricey so I’ve included links for the Kindle versions as well.
Intellect or Philosophy Focused
I love this style of devotional – little snippets of intellectual content each day. Some days you may shrug and say, okay, that’s interesting. And some days you may be driven to dive deeper. But in either case, you are expanding your basic knowledge of the world around you, whether in literature, philosophy, or another academic area.
The Daily Stoic – 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance and the Art of Living.
Daily entries include a quote and contemplation on that day’s topic.
365 daily entries that include short reading selections from various literary classics.
I’ve linked to the Kindle edition because Amazon only has used hardback editions available.
The Harvard Classics in 365 Days
This book has slightly longer daily entries and serve as an introduction to the Harvard Classics.
Selections are drawn from a variety of topics, including History, Poetry, Natural Science, Philosophy, Biography, Prose Fiction, Criticism and the Essay, Education, Political Science, Drama, Voyages and Travel and Religion.
There is only a Kindle edition available currently, but for $2.99 (current as of 12/2024) this is a STEAL.
Nature or Earth Focused
Earth Prayers – less a devotional and more a collection of prayers and affirmations from around the world, easy to read a single entry a day.
Selections are arranged by topic but include a calendar schedule of reading that can be used.
Life Prayers – from the same author of Earth Prayers, with selections focused on the human experience.
This book contains “richly eclectic collection of poetry, wisdom, prayers, and blessings from thinkers and writers around the world.”
Living Earth Devotional – Earth centered, Pagan aligned devotional, daily affirmations and activities.
This one is unfortunately a little harder to get a copy of – most copies found are used.
The Celtic Spirit – following the Pagan Wheel of the Year, this book has daily entries drawing on Celtic and Druid tradition.
The author includes poetry, myths, rituals, reflections, and visualizations to move through the cycles of the year.
General Encouragement
Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh A compilation of 365 daily contemplations from Vietnamese Buddhist Monk and spiritual leader.
Beyond Belief: Agnostic Musings for 12 Step Life. Alcoholics Anonymous, and other recovery programs often have a spiritual component.
For those who aren’t religious, this book offers daily contemplations for those recovering from addictions.
Organized by season, this is an interfaith collection of blessings, poems and meditations from around the world.
*Note – this book is not entirely secular, as it does include some religious content – notably at Hanukkah and Christmas in the Winter portion of the book.
This is a collection of Buddhist reflections, short dharmic lessons on compassion, wisdom, mindfulness, and joy. One entry to read for every day of the year.
This is a unique devotional, with each daily entry incorporating one or more quotes that are connected by some shared idea.
The entries are “not centered on a god or religion, but on a mindset: humanism as a function of learned history and a coping mechanism for a hectic and unnerving world.”
Books of Positive Affirmations
A Year of Positive Thinking A collection of affirmations and mantras. This is actually part of a series of “A Year of …” titles that include Gratitude, Self-esteem, and Abundance, as well as others. These would do great as a daily devotional.
Bonus – these titles are currently available through Kindle Unlimited so you can read as part of your KU subscription.
365 Quotes to Live Your Life By
This is a collection of quotes spanning modern times to antiquity. This is actually a companion book to the book 7 Thoughts to Live Your Life By: A Guide to the Happy, Peaceful, & Meaningful Life, which lays out 7 key thoughts to live by: focus on what you can control, on the positive, what you can do, on the present, what you need, and what you can give.
Have a suggestion for a secular devotional? I’d love to hear about it!
I am a big fan of slowly chipping away at a book over several months, and a devotional is uniquely designed to fit this model perfectly. I encourage you to consider adding a devotional to your reading stack! And remember, Day 1 can always start tomorrow, so no need to wait until a new year to get started!
Kindle Books are available through general book searches on Amazon’s site, but if you want to take advantage of the Kindle Unlimited subscription plan, you can follow the link to see the plan offerings.
A new program Amazon is offering (currently in Beta) allows book purchases (print or Kindle) to earn Kindle points, which accumulate and can be used toward the purchase of Kindle books.
Also, if you take advantage of Amazon Prime delivery day – where delivery is pushed to a set weekday, rather than the two or three days it normally takes with Prime shipping, you can also earn credits that can be applied to digital purchases, which include Kindle books.
*Post contains Amazon Affiliate links.
*originally posted April 25, 2023 and updated December 2024
Michelle Home Scholar 
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