Why am I passionate about this?

Rabbit Hole is about Teddy’s obsession with her sister Angie’s cold-case disappearance. When Angie was alive, she was angry and difficult, but Teddy still misses her. While writing the book, I thought a lot about my relationships with my own sisters and how unique that particular bond is. I love books that capture the at-times-uncomfortable closeness of sisterhood and grapple with its power.


I wrote...

Rabbit Hole

By Kate Brody,

Book cover of Rabbit Hole

What is my book about?

This book is a literary thriller about a young teacher, Teddy Angstrom, who gets sucked into a web of Reddit…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of All My Puny Sorrows

Kate Brody Why did I love this book?

The central conflict at the heart of this book is that one sister, Elf, wants to die, and the other, Yoli, wants her to live. This makes them, as Yoli puts it, “enemies who loved each other.”

A book about suicidal depression doesn’t seem like it would be funny, but this one is. Heartbreaking, hilarious, and perfect in every way. An annual re-read for me.

By Miriam Toews,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked All My Puny Sorrows as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the bestselling author of Women Talking, a "wrenchingly honest, darkly funny novel" (Entertainment Weekly).


Elf and Yoli are sisters. While on the surface Elfrieda's life is enviable (she's a world-renowned pianist, glamorous, wealthy, and happily married) and Yolandi's a mess (she's divorced and broke, with two teenagers growing up too quickly), they are fiercely close-raised in a Mennonite household and sharing the hardship of Elf's desire to end her life. After Elf's latest attempt, Yoli must quickly determine how to keep her family from falling apart while facing a profound question: what do you do for a loved one…


Book cover of All-Night Pharmacy

Kate Brody Why did I love this book?

Madievsky’s brilliant, weird, evocative debut begins with the kind of first line that lets you know you’re in good hands: “Spending time with my sister, Debbie, was like buying acid off a guy you met on the bus.”

Debbie’s disappearance early in the novel forces the narrator to reckon with who she is outside of the sisters’ codependent relationship, and it raises questions about what we owe our more complicated family members.

By Ruth Madievsky,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked All-Night Pharmacy as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

*A NATIONAL BESTSELLER*

Rachel Kushner meets David Lynch in this fever dream of an LA novel about a young woman who commits a drunken act of violence just before her sister vanishes without a trace

On the night of her high school graduation, a young woman follows her older sister Debbie to Salvation, a Los Angeles bar patronized by energy healers, aspiring actors, and all-around misfits. After the two share a bag of unidentified pills, the evening turns into a haze of sensual and risky interactions—nothing unusual for two sisters bound in an incredibly toxic relationship. Our unnamed narrator has…


Book cover of My Sister, the Serial Killer

Kate Brody Why did I love this book?

This novel follows Ayoola, a beautiful murderer, and her put-upon sister, Korede, who helps clean up her crime scenes. Korede is loyal to a fault, willing to help cover up her sister’s crimes, but what makes the relationship feel authentic and lived-in is the way petty resentment boils around minor slights and the perpetual issue of the sisters’ disparate beauty. 7

The book is a slender, efficient, and funny look at the psychology of sisterhood that happens to take the form of a thriller.

By Oyinkan Braithwaite,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked My Sister, the Serial Killer as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Sunday Times bestseller and The Times #1 bestseller

Longlisted for the Booker Prize 2019
Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2019
Winner of the 2019 LA Times Award for Best Crime Thriller
Capital Crime Debut Author of the Year 2019
__________

'A literary sensation'
Guardian

'A bombshell of a book... Sharp, explosive, hilarious'
New York Times

'Glittering and funny... A stiletto slipped between the ribs and through the left ventricle of the heart' Financial Times
__________

When Korede's dinner is interrupted one night by a distress call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows what's expected of her: bleach, rubber…


Book cover of Sense and Sensibility

Kate Brody Why did I love this book?

Austen writes sisters like no one else, and the dynamic between tempestuous Marianne and practical Elinor is the template for so many novels that have followed.

Austen keeps the two sisters from becoming caricatures by making them more alike than different, and the love that anchors their relationship is at the heart of the novel.

I first read this as a freshman in college, and I still think about it every time I’m writing sisters. A classic.

By Jane Austen,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Sense and Sensibility as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'The wit of Jane Austen has for partner the perfection of her taste' Virginia Woolf

Jane Austen's subtle and witty novel of secrets and suppression, lies and seduction, brilliantly portrays a world where rigid social convention clashes with the impulses of the heart. It tells the story of two very different sisters who find themselves thrown into an unkind world when their father dies. Marianne, wild and impulsive, falls dangerously in love, while Elinor suffers her own private heartbreak but conceals her true feelings, even from those closest to her.

Edited with an Introduction by ROS BALLASTER


Book cover of The Perfect Other: A Memoir of My Sister

Kate Brody Why did I love this book?

I first encountered Leddy’s work in the New York Times’ Modern Love column. That moving essay about her sister Kait’s disappearance became the basis of her debut The Perfect Other.

In book-length, Leddy has the space to explore not just her own grief but the effect of Kait’s schizophrenia on the family throughout their shared upbringing. The result is a humane look at mental illness and a testament to the bonds of sisterhood, which extend beyond death.

By Kyleigh Leddy,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Perfect Other as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

“Shines a light on the stigma surrounding mental health and schizophrenia. This deeply personal memoir will give readers greater empathy and understanding in supporting those who are oftentimes misunderstood.” —Sheryl Sandberg

As a child, all Kait Leddy had ever wanted was a little sister. When Kyleigh was born, she and Kait were inseparable; Kait would protect her, include her, cuddle, and comfort her. To Kyleigh, her big sister was her whole world.

But as Kait entered adolescence, her personality changed. She began lashing out emotionally and physically and sometimes lost touch with reality, behavior that worsened after a traumatic head…


Don't forget about my book 😀

Rabbit Hole

By Kate Brody,

Book cover of Rabbit Hole

What is my book about?

This book is a literary thriller about a young teacher, Teddy Angstrom, who gets sucked into a web of Reddit conspiracy theories about her own family.

In the wake of her father’s suicide, Teddy takes up the mantle of his investigation into her sister Angie’s cold case disappearance. Soon, her obsession with finding answers threatens her relationship, her career, and her whole life.

You might also like...

Holy Terror

By John R. Dougherty,

Book cover of Holy Terror

John R. Dougherty Author Of Holy Terror

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

I have felt a spiritual call in my life from as early as I can remember having memories as a young child. Being a life-long Christian has always drawn me to try to see God in everything around me, from people I encounter, to creation itself, to songs, to movies, etc. So, reading books which contain Christian allegory – symbols, meanings, underlying Biblical references – is very exciting for me. I enjoy trying to decipher that symbolism and try to understand the undertones that the book’s author is trying to communicate indirectly. I find that to be a personal challenge as I read, but also I find it very inspiring as well!

John's book list on Christian action books allegorical references

What is my book about?

None of them knew what was coming, and none of them will ever be the same again...

Detective Jelani is a tough, veteran cop. His younger partner, Detective Madigan, is brash and confident. But they were not prepared to become embroiled in a series of cosmic events they could never have dreamt of. As has been the case since the beginning of time, God and His heavenly host are facing off with Satan and his hellish host.

Caught in the middle is Thumos, a warrior angel, "quickened" by God for one thing: battle. But Thumos has become a disgruntled warrior…

Holy Terror

By John R. Dougherty,

What is this book about?

None of them knew what was coming, and none of them will ever be the same again...

Detective Jelani is a tough, veteran cop, who earned his stripes in the rough-and-tumble streets of St. Louis before relocating to Miami.  His younger partner, Detective Madigan, is brash and confident.  But they were not prepared to become embroiled in a series of cosmic events they could never have dreamt of.  In a world where the angels of heaven and the angels of hell bring their ageless battle to Earth, how will these men and their families overcome such insurmountable challenges?

As has…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in sisters, Nigeria, and satire?

Sisters 201 books
Nigeria 66 books
Satire 155 books