Love All the Pretty Horses? Readers share 100 books like All the Pretty Horses...

By Cormac McCarthy,

Here are 100 books that All the Pretty Horses fans have personally recommended if you like All the Pretty Horses. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Anxious People

Jinny Alexander Author Of Claude, Gord, Alice, and Maud

From my list on an unusual take on traditional cozy mystery.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve always adored mysteries. My dad has the entire collection of Agatha Christie books, but even before I read those, I worked through his ancient original hardbacks of Enid Blyton's Famous Five books and the less well-known Malcolm Saville Lone Pine series. I love getting totally engrossed in a series, so I really get to BE the main characterā€“I am one of four siblings, and when I wasnā€™t too busy reading, we were the Famous Five. I was George. I think I still am, to be perfectly honestā€“she was fiery, passionate, loved her dog, and wanted to serve justice and out the bad guys. What a role model!

Jinny's book list on an unusual take on traditional cozy mystery

Jinny Alexander Why did Jinny love this book?

Is this a cozy mystery? Iā€™m saying yes, but honestly, itā€™s so good Iā€™d squeeze it into any genre just so I can talk about it. It has a crime, a small community, a couple of bumbling policemen, a locked room, a bunch of people trying, amateurishly, to solve a crime, and a lot of ā€˜keep the reader guessingā€™ elements.

So far, so cozy. It also has a lot of anxious people and explores their unhappy and complicated lives in a hilarious, satirical tone. It is also just a little bit sad, as well as funny and happy, so, all right, it probably isnā€™t really a cozy mystery, but itā€™s been one of the best listens on my audiobook library so far this yearā€“Iā€™ve already listened to it twice in 2024, and itā€™s only July.

By Fredrik Backman,

Why should I read it?

18 authors picked Anxious People as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The funny, touching and unpredictable No. 1 New York Times bestseller, now a major Netflix TV series

'A brilliant and comforting read' MATT HAIG
'Funny, compassionate and wise. An absolute joy' A.J. PEARCE
'A surefooted insight into the absurdity, beauty and ache of life' GUARDIAN
'I laughed, I sobbed, I recommended it to literally everyone I know' BUZZFEED
'Captures the messy essence of being human' WASHINGTON POST

From the 18 million copy internationally bestselling author of A Man Called Ove
_______

It's New Year's Eve and House Tricks estate agents are hosting an open viewing in an up-market apartment whenā€¦


Book cover of Dog Soldiers

Stan Parish Author Of Love and Theft

From my list on thrillers with beautiful, unforgettable violence.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write thrillers full-time these days, but for many years, I was a writer and editor at publications that take reporting and fact-checking seriously. I still strive for accuracy in my novelsā€”which always involve violence. As a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, the mechanics and psychology of close-quarters combat are things I think about daily. This is not to say that you need to rob banks to write a heist scene. And while technical knowledge is helpful, thereā€™s no substitute for close noticing of what happens to our bodies and minds in extreme situations. Here are some books (and one screenplay) which do that incredibly well. 

Stan's book list on thrillers with beautiful, unforgettable violence

Stan Parish Why did Stan love this book?

This is the book that made me want to be a novelist. I stole it off my dadā€™s shelf when I was 11ā€”way too young to be reading about the seedy, violent, sex-fueled underbelly of 1970s counterculture. Itā€™s the story of the an American journalist covering the war in Vietnam who gets the bright idea to smuggle heroin to California. I read it at least once a year, and it gets better every time.

Near the end of the book, an ex-Marine named Ray Hicks flees into the desert with the heroin on his back, gut-shot and bleeding out. The scene, masterfully intercut with hallucinations and memories from Hicksā€™s childhood, was clearly the inspiration for Frank Semyonā€™s death in Season Two of True Detective. My advice? Read this book instead. 

By Robert Stone,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Dog Soldiers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In Saigon during the last stages of the Vietnam War, a small-time journalist named John Converse thinks he'll find action - and profit - by getting involved in a big-time drug deal. But back in the States, things go horribly wrong. His courier disappears, probably with his wife, and a corrupt Fed wants Converse to find him the drugs, or else.

Dog Soldiers is a frightening, powerful, intense novel that perfectly captures the underground mood of the United States in the 1970s, when amateur drug dealers and hippies encountered the violent world of cops on the make and professional killers.ā€¦


Book cover of True Grit

Sabrina Reeves Author Of Little Crosses

From my list on a fierce female protagonist.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in Boston and New York and currently live in Montreal. I have worked primarily in writing performance texts and plays. I founded the performance company Bluemouth Inc., with whom I have written and staged over a dozen works. In 2018, I completed an MFA in Creative Writing at Concordia University, where I was awarded the Dean of Arts and Sciences Award for Excellence in Creative Writing. As for my expertise in compiling this list, I am the daughter of a strong force-of-nature woman who fought for what she had and taught her kids they can get through anything as long as they have humor, music, and books.

Sabrina's book list on a fierce female protagonist

Sabrina Reeves Why did Sabrina love this book?

Fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross has got grit.

This book was recommended to me by my firefighter brother, who often reads what I call ā€œhe-manā€ books. The titles always have words like mutiny, bullets, gangsters, firestorm, etc. So, when he suggested I read this book, I had my reservations. (In fairness, the books he recommends consistently end up on my list of all-time favoritesā€“I guess thatā€™s what I get for pre-judging!) In any case, over the years, I have learned the one thing we both love in a protagonistā€“and now I have a name for itā€“is grit. I canā€™t recommend this book highly enough.

By Charles Portis,

Why should I read it?

16 authors picked True Grit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

There is no knowing what lies in a man's heart. On a trip to buy ponies, Frank Ross is killed by one of his own workers. Tom Chaney shoots him down in the street for a horse, $150 cash, and two Californian gold pieces. Ross's unusually mature and single-minded fourteen-year-old daughter Mattie travels to claim his body, and finds that the authorities are doing nothing to find Chaney. Then she hears of Rooster - a man, she's told, who has grit - and convinces him to join her in a quest into dark, dangerous Indian territory to hunt Chaney downā€¦


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Book cover of The Fornax Assassin

The Fornax Assassin by J.C. Gemmell,

In 2038 a devastating pandemic sweeps across the world. Two decades later, Britain remains the epicenter for the Fornax variant, annexed by a terrified global community.

David Malik is as careful as any man to avoid contact with the virus. But when his sister tests positive as an asymptomatic carrier,ā€¦

Book cover of The Talented Mr. Ripley

Stan Parish Author Of Love and Theft

From my list on thrillers with beautiful, unforgettable violence.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write thrillers full-time these days, but for many years, I was a writer and editor at publications that take reporting and fact-checking seriously. I still strive for accuracy in my novelsā€”which always involve violence. As a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, the mechanics and psychology of close-quarters combat are things I think about daily. This is not to say that you need to rob banks to write a heist scene. And while technical knowledge is helpful, thereā€™s no substitute for close noticing of what happens to our bodies and minds in extreme situations. Here are some books (and one screenplay) which do that incredibly well. 

Stan's book list on thrillers with beautiful, unforgettable violence

Stan Parish Why did Stan love this book?

Highsmith never fails to blow my mind, and this is her best work. The scene in which Tom Ripley (spoiler alert) kills his ā€œfriendā€ Dickie Greenleaf is a masterclass in writing a murder. The two men are in a tiny boat off the Italian coast. We have access to Tomā€™s thoughts right up until the actual killing when his internal monologue cuts out. Iā€™ve always wondered: Does Tomā€™s mind go blank? Does he somehow will it to?

These are the kinds of questions that great writers raiseā€”but donā€™t answer. And the writing is incredible. Hereā€™s my nomination for Best Consecutive Use of the Same Word in Its Adjective and Verb Form: ā€œDickie was on the bottom of the boat, twisted, twisting.ā€ Thatā€™s as good as it gets. 

By Patricia Highsmith,

Why should I read it?

26 authors picked The Talented Mr. Ripley as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It's here, in the first volume of Patricia Highsmith's five-book Ripley series, that we are introduced to the suave Tom Ripley, a young striver seeking to leave behind his past as an orphan bullied for being a "sissy." Newly arrived in the heady world of Manhattan, Ripley meets a wealthy industrialist who hires him to bring his playboy son, Dickie Greenleaf, back from gallivanting in Italy. Soon Ripley's fascination with Dickie's debonair lifestyle turns obsessive as he finds himself enraged by Dickie's ambivalent affections for Marge, a charming American dilettante, and Ripley begins a deadly game. "Sinister and strangely alluring"ā€¦


Book cover of Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback

Jackie Jarvis Author Of Transform Your Life by Walking: Powerful Messages Walking Camino Pilgrimages

From my list on hiking trails that inspire you to do it yourself.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a passionate long-distance hiker and regularly enjoy local walks close to where I live in Oxfordshire. Over the years, I have walked many long-distance trails, including Camino Pilgrimages. The books I am sharing are those that have inspired my own walking adventures and self-reflection. I am a big believer in the benefits of walking for mind, body, and spirit, and I personally enjoy those benefits daily. My passion for walking and the depth of thinking it can help you attain has found its way into both my personal and business life. Walking to me is life!

Jackie's book list on hiking trails that inspire you to do it yourself

Jackie Jarvis Why did Jackie love this book?

I loved this book because it was as much about the author's inner journey as it was the outer one. I loved both aspects of this book.

I love books that give you almost a window into the soul of the writer. Robyn shares her thoughts and experience so well as she makes her way solo 2,000 miles in the Australian Outback. I loved her bravery. This was an epic trip. As one of the first adventure books I had read, it got me hooked. This was a book that made an impact. 

By Robyn Davidson,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked Tracks as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A revised, reissued fortieth anniversary edition of this prize-winning, bestselling account of one woman's solo journey across 1,700 miles of Australian Outback 'I experienced that sinking feeling you get when you know you have conned yourself into doing something difficult and there's no going back.' So begins Robyn Davidson's perilous journey across 1,700 miles of hostile Australian desert to the sea with only four camels and a dog for company. Enduring sweltering heat, fending off poisonous snakes and lecherous men, chasing her camels when they get skittish and nursing them when they are injured, Davidson emerges as an extraordinarily courageousā€¦


Book cover of Smiley's People

Stan Parish Author Of Love and Theft

From my list on thrillers with beautiful, unforgettable violence.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write thrillers full-time these days, but for many years, I was a writer and editor at publications that take reporting and fact-checking seriously. I still strive for accuracy in my novelsā€”which always involve violence. As a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu black belt, the mechanics and psychology of close-quarters combat are things I think about daily. This is not to say that you need to rob banks to write a heist scene. And while technical knowledge is helpful, thereā€™s no substitute for close noticing of what happens to our bodies and minds in extreme situations. Here are some books (and one screenplay) which do that incredibly well. 

Stan's book list on thrillers with beautiful, unforgettable violence

Stan Parish Why did Stan love this book?

This book taught me that good writers describe the effects of violence, but great writers leave things to the imagination. Early in the novel, retired spymaster George Smiley is summoned to the scene of a murder. The corpse, lying facedown on Hampstead Heath, is one of Smileyā€™s former spiesā€”shot in the face at very close range. But Le CarrĆ©, whose descriptive chops are second to none, never shows us the wound, relying instead on dialogue and reactions to convey the horror.

The constable who rolls the body over instantly throws up. And then thereā€™s this chilling question from a police superintendent: ā€œDid he have a moustache at all, sir? My sergeant fancied a trace of white whisker on the upper jaw.ā€ Less is always more when describing youā€™re the unspeakable. 

By John le CarrƩ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Smiley's People as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the New York Times bestselling author of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy; Our Kind of Traitor; and The Night Manager, now a television series starring Tom Hiddleston.

Tell Max that it concerns the Sandman...

A very junior agent answers Vladimir's call, but it could have been the Chief of the Circus himself. No one at the British Secret Service considers the old spy to be anything except a senile has-been who can't give up the game-until he's shot in the face at point-blank range. Although George Smiley (code name: Max) is officially retired, he's summoned to identify the body nowā€¦


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Book cover of Sufferance

Sufferance by Charles Palliser,

This is a novel about choices. How would you have chosen to act during the Second World War if your country had been invaded and occupied by a brutal enemy determined to isolate and murder a whole community?

Thatā€™s the situation facing an ordinary family man with two children, aā€¦

Book cover of The Sportswriter

Sid Garza-Hillman Author Of Six Truths: Live by These Truths and Be Happy. Don't, and You Won't.

From my list on fiction books that are secretly philosophy books.

Why am I passionate about this?

This list is specifically ā€œsecretā€ philosophy books. There were plenty of novels (Victor Hugo, Milan Kundera, Robert Pirsig) that I love, but they donā€™t hide the fact that theyā€™re significantly philosophy books. My degree is in philosophy (BA, UCLA), with a special interest in ethics, ethical questions. I still really love the marriage of fiction and philosophy especially when itā€™s done subtly and beautifully. I am the author of three books: Approaching the Natural, Raising Healthy Parents. and Six Truths. I hold a BA in Philosophy from UCLA, am a public speaker, podcaster (What Sid Thinks Podcast), certified nutritionist & running coach, Oxygen Advantage breathing instructor, and founder of Small Steppers

Sid's book list on fiction books that are secretly philosophy books

Sid Garza-Hillman Why did Sid love this book?

Iā€™m not a sports fan. My good friend, Ryan Harty (author of one of my favorite short story compilations: ā€œBring me your saddest Arizonaā€) recommended this book to me many years ago. Iā€™m not a sports fan but he assured me it had very little if anything to do with sports. He was right about that! I gave it a shot and was immediately transported into the narrative. Itā€™s still in my top 5 all-time favorite book list. Fordā€™s ability to communicate existential crises in deeper but simple ways is so, so good. Frank Bascombe, the protagonist is detached in a way that is both beautiful and unsettling.

By Richard Ford,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

As a sportswriter, Frank Bascombe makes his living studying people--men, mostly--who live entirely within themselves. This is a condition that Frank himself aspires to. But at thirty-eight, he suffers from incurable dreaminess, occasional pounding of the heart, and the not-too-distant losses of a career, a son, and a marriage. In the course of the Easter week in which Ford's moving novel transpires, Bascombe will end up losing the remnants of his familiar life, though with his spirits soaring.


Book cover of Moonglow

Sid Garza-Hillman Author Of Six Truths: Live by These Truths and Be Happy. Don't, and You Won't.

From my list on fiction books that are secretly philosophy books.

Why am I passionate about this?

This list is specifically ā€œsecretā€ philosophy books. There were plenty of novels (Victor Hugo, Milan Kundera, Robert Pirsig) that I love, but they donā€™t hide the fact that theyā€™re significantly philosophy books. My degree is in philosophy (BA, UCLA), with a special interest in ethics, ethical questions. I still really love the marriage of fiction and philosophy especially when itā€™s done subtly and beautifully. I am the author of three books: Approaching the Natural, Raising Healthy Parents. and Six Truths. I hold a BA in Philosophy from UCLA, am a public speaker, podcaster (What Sid Thinks Podcast), certified nutritionist & running coach, Oxygen Advantage breathing instructor, and founder of Small Steppers

Sid's book list on fiction books that are secretly philosophy books

Sid Garza-Hillman Why did Sid love this book?

This is a memoir of sorts, but a fiction book nevertheless. Again, the philosophy of life is shown through the dying grandfather. The book highlights the sometimes blurry lines between right and wrong, but also standing up for what is right, questions of personal sacrifice for the common good, and more.

By Michael Chabon,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * A Telegraph Book of the Year * A New York Times Notable Book of the Year * A Washington Post Book of the Year * A Wall Street Journal Book of the Year * A Slate Book of the Year

'Probably Chabon's greatest, a piece of sustained writing that will be hard to see outdone in 2017' The Times

'Entirely sure footed, propulsive, the work of a master at his very best. The brilliance of Moonglow stands as a strident defence of the form itself, a bravura demonstration of the endless mutability and versatilityā€¦


Book cover of The Darling

Sid Garza-Hillman Author Of Six Truths: Live by These Truths and Be Happy. Don't, and You Won't.

From my list on fiction books that are secretly philosophy books.

Why am I passionate about this?

This list is specifically ā€œsecretā€ philosophy books. There were plenty of novels (Victor Hugo, Milan Kundera, Robert Pirsig) that I love, but they donā€™t hide the fact that theyā€™re significantly philosophy books. My degree is in philosophy (BA, UCLA), with a special interest in ethics, ethical questions. I still really love the marriage of fiction and philosophy especially when itā€™s done subtly and beautifully. I am the author of three books: Approaching the Natural, Raising Healthy Parents. and Six Truths. I hold a BA in Philosophy from UCLA, am a public speaker, podcaster (What Sid Thinks Podcast), certified nutritionist & running coach, Oxygen Advantage breathing instructor, and founder of Small Steppers

Sid's book list on fiction books that are secretly philosophy books

Sid Garza-Hillman Why did Sid love this book?

At times a difficult (but great) read, The Darling tackles some big ethical and political subjects. Banks addresses the power of speech (and silence), the separation of emotions from choice, and the sometimes necessity of compartmentalizing traumatic experiences in order to survive. I found the protagonistā€™s voice compellingly detached with just the right amount of compassion and engagement (similar, in fact to Frankā€™s voice in The Sportswriter).

(Side note, Banksā€™ Rule of the Bone almost made this list as wellā€¦)

By Russell Banks,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Hannah Musgrave has always been on the run: from her adoring parents, her many lovers, even from herself. As a young woman, she dropped out of her privileged Boston world to work for the terrorist group the Weathermen. Her activities put Hannah on the FBI's most wanted list forcing her to flee to Liberia in West Africa. There she marries an ambitious, young politician and settles down to being a wife and mother. Liberia, in the meantime, is a country waiting to explode. A century of American exploitation has created a corrupt elite and a fragile military state where theā€¦


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Book cover of The Curiosity Cycle: Preparing Your Child for the Ongoing Technological Explosion

The Curiosity Cycle by Jonathan Mugan,

The Curiosity Cycle is a book for parents and educators who want to teach their children to be active explorers of the world. Learning through curiosity leads to adaptive thinking because your child is continually trying to improve his or her understanding of the world, and new facts and ideasā€¦

Book cover of Skinny Legs and All

Lynda Allen Author Of Grace Reflected

From my list on life-changing world-rocking books.

Why am I passionate about this?

I think of myself as a listener and life in progress. As a poet and author, Iā€™m always listening to the words that move through my heart. Iā€™m also a spiritual seeker, always looking for the Divine in the world around me and almost always surprised by the ways it shows up when Iā€™m paying attention. Yet, thereā€™s another part of me that is a Jersey girl through and through, looking for humor or irreverence in the face of lifeā€™s challenges. All these aspects come together in an unusual harmony, creating an openness to being changed by the things that come into my life. Hence, a list of life-changing books.

Lynda's book list on life-changing world-rocking books

Lynda Allen Why did Lynda love this book?

What a world-rocking, mind-blowing journey reading Skinny Legs and All was! I read it in my twenties, and it truly was life-changing. It is imaginative and thought-provoking. It expanded my perspective on life and what might be happening right in front of my eyes that Iā€™m missing with my limited imagination.

Itā€™s wickedly funny and irreverent and yet addresses difficult issues that are relevant today, such as the conflict between Israel and Palestine. The storytelling is so unique, Iā€™ve never read another book like it. Itā€™s a book that leaves me envying someone elseā€™s first read of it.

It also served as a source of inspiration for me as an author many years later. There was a scene in the movie Finding Forrester, where a young writer (Rob Brown) is facing writerā€™s block. His instructor (Sean Connery) suggests he start typing the content of a book he loves word forā€¦

By Tom Robbins,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An Arab and a Jew open a restaurant together across the street from the United Nations....

It sounds like the beginning of an ethnic joke, but it's the axis around which this gutsy, fun-loving, and alarmingly provocative novel spins, in which a bean can philosophizes, a dessert spoon mystifies, a young waitress takes on the New York art world, and a rowdy redneck welder discovers the lost god of Palestine-while the illusions that obscure humanity's view of the true universe fall away, one by one, like Salome's veils.

Skinny Legs and All deals with today's most sensitive issues: race, politics,ā€¦


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