96 books like Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin

By Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin,

Here are 96 books that Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin fans have personally recommended if you like Cecilia Payne-Gaposchkin. 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 Kafka on the Shore

Dennis Danvers Author Of The Soothsayer & the Changeling

From my list on transform how we see ourselves in the world.

Why am I passionate about this?

My first true religion was being a boy alone in the woods and feeling a deep connection to nature in all its aspects. I felt a connection with all life and knew myself to be an animal—and gloried in it. Since then, I've learned how vigorously humans fight our animal nature, estranging us from ourselves and the planet. Each of these books invites us to get over ourselves and connect with all life on Earth. 

Dennis' book list on transform how we see ourselves in the world

Dennis Danvers Why did Dennis love this book?

What a weird and wonderful book. I've read and reread it several times now, and it always casts its spell. I've never been so willing—so eager—to suspend disbelief. It's Murakami's special gift.

The novel creates its own wondrous world out of what seems to be the stuff of this one—a young runaway, Colonel Sanders, alley cats, a beautiful librarian, a seashore painting, a demented old man—but the result is more magical than any fairy kingdom. I was completely carried along by the experience of an understanding beyond sense.

By Haruki Murakami,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked Kafka on the Shore as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"A stunning work of art that bears no comparisons" the New York Observer wrote of Haruki Murakami's masterpiece, The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. In its playful stretching of the limits of the real world, his magnificent new novel, Kafka on the Shore is every bit as bewitching and ambitious. The narrative follows the fortunes of two remarkable characters. Kafka Tamura runs away from home at fifteen, under the shadow of his father's dark prophesy. The aging Nakata, tracker of lost cats, who never recovered from a bizarre childhood affliction, finds his highly simplified life suddenly overturned. Their parallel odysseys - as…


Book cover of The Bone Clocks

Michael Bailey Author Of Sifting the Ashes

From my list on immersing readers through poetic prose.

Why am I passionate about this?

I want to leave behind a body of work capable of transcending time and to write in as many forms as possible. I often blur the lines of genre and experiment with style and structure, known for breaking “rules,” such as with the poetry in the collection, but you can’t break rules until you learn them, and I’m set on breaking as many as I can before taking my last breath. Writing meaningful and lasting poetic prose requires reading meaningful and lasting poetic prose, and the books I have chosen for this list are fine examples of authors whose entire bodies of work will be dissected for years.

Michael's book list on immersing readers through poetic prose

Michael Bailey Why did Michael love this book?

It’s difficult to choose a single book by David Mitchell, since everything he writes is painfully poetic, but The Bone Clocks is a favorite. The title is a derogatory term immortals in the story use for humans flawed with mortality because of natural aging. Six unique first-person perspectives; six timelines spanning past, present, and future. If underlining inspiring passages, in awe of their creation, most of the book would need underlining. Nearly every sentence is breathtaking for readers and writers alike. Mitchell is as literary as they get, but this novel dips into science fiction the way his novel Slade House dips into horror. All his works are connected by threads, including Ghostwritten, his debut that first made me want to become a writer.

By David Mitchell,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Bone Clocks as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The dazzling novel from the bestselling author of CLOUD ATLAS.

Longlisted for the Man Booker Prize 2014

Run away, one drowsy summer's afternoon, with Holly Sykes: wayward teenager, broken-hearted rebel and unwitting pawn in a titanic, hidden conflict.

Over six decades, the consequences of a moment's impulse unfold, drawing an ordinary woman into a world far beyond her imagining. And as life in the near future turns perilous, the pledge she made to a stranger may become the key to her family's survival . . .


Book cover of More Than a Woman

Emma Chapman Author Of First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time

From my list on escape from the darn kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an astrophysicist. I am a mother. I am an author. I am a cleaner of dishes, a cooker of meals. I am a daughter, a friend on the end of the phone, a reader of bedtime stories, and the one who hugs away the tears and kisses it better. But I am also just me. Emma. And the books I read are always to escape or understand the internal fight I have between identities and the feeling that pursuing one is failing all the others. Lift yourself above it all, breathe, and read yourself into a different world.

Emma's book list on escape from the darn kids

Emma Chapman Why did Emma love this book?

Despite the title, I think that any gender can draw something from this book. It is the sequel to her phenomenally successful book “How to be a woman”, which quite frankly changed my life and made me decide to have children. This new book can be read as a stand-alone and charts Caitlin’s thoughts on her late 30s and 40s. It begins with her usual hilarious and irreverent tone, speaking about the pressures put on you by children, parents, work, best friends, basically everything. It suddenly becomes very serious in a way I didn’t expect though, and the message of balance is one that is important for anyone to read in this way. I rarely say this and mean it but… it made me laugh and it made me cry.

By Caitlin Moran,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked More Than a Woman as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

'Exceptionally brilliant and powerful' Marina Hyde

'This book is a hilarious memoir, a passionate polemic, and a moving manifesto on how to be a decent person and try, in the face of countless stresses, to live a full open-hearted, joyous life' Sunday Times

A decade ago, Caitlin Moran thought she had it all figured out. Her instant bestseller How to Be a Woman was a game-changing take on feminism, the patriarchy, and the general 'hoo-ha' of becoming a woman. Back then, she firmly believed 'the difficult bit' was over, and her forties were going…


Book cover of Activate Your Life: Using Acceptance and Mindfulness to Build a Life That Is Rich, Fulfilling and Fun

Emma Chapman Author Of First Light: Switching on Stars at the Dawn of Time

From my list on escape from the darn kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an astrophysicist. I am a mother. I am an author. I am a cleaner of dishes, a cooker of meals. I am a daughter, a friend on the end of the phone, a reader of bedtime stories, and the one who hugs away the tears and kisses it better. But I am also just me. Emma. And the books I read are always to escape or understand the internal fight I have between identities and the feeling that pursuing one is failing all the others. Lift yourself above it all, breathe, and read yourself into a different world.

Emma's book list on escape from the darn kids

Emma Chapman Why did Emma love this book?

This is the first self-help book I have ever read, and I read it in 2019. I have always been honest about my battle with my mental health, from anxiety to depression. This book was recommended to me by an excellent expert in the field and it changed my view of my relationship with mental health as a battle. It sounds corny putting it into words but when you learn to accept the different parts of your personality and how they help and protect you, then it is easier to say “not right now, I need to make dinner, not crawl into bed”. The analogy that stuck with me was pulling a rope opposed by a character representing anxiety on the other side, and a pit in the middle. You can pull and pull, trying to avoid the pit, or you can… let go of the rope and accept that…

By Joe Oliver, Jon Hill, Eric Morris

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

ACTivate Your Life focuses on helping people to be more open, connected and engaged with their lives, demonstrating how Acceptance Commitment Therapy can be used to tackle a range of problems such as low self-esteem, anxiety, anger and depression, as well as providing skills for life enhancement and self-development.

Readers are encouraged to consider what matters to them and will learn techniques to set life directions based on meaningful values. Readers will also be introduced to mindfulness and learn how to use it in everyday life to connect with their actions, experiences and the people around them. The ACT approach…


Book cover of Zoo in the Sky: A Book of Animal Constellations

Sandra Nickel Author Of The Stuff Between the Stars: How Vera Rubin Discovered Most of the Universe

From my list on children’s books about astronomy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an award-winning children’s book author who writes stories about unexpected friends, women who did the impossible, people who are (almost) forgotten & ideas that seem too complicated until I find the right way to tell them.

Sandra's book list on children’s books about astronomy

Sandra Nickel Why did Sandra love this book?

The Greeks imagined a whole menagerie of animals in the stars, but the constellations can sometimes be difficult to figure out. National Geographic’s Zoo in the Sky changes all that. It lines up the stars with Christina Balit’s vibrant artwork, bringing the Great Bear, the Great Dog and the other animal constellations to life. It’s a gorgeous way to learn and enjoy the stars for both young and old readers alike.

By Jacqueline Mitton, Christina Balit (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Zoo in the Sky as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

This award-winning book capturing the glittering light show of the constellations is now available in paperback. Take an illuminating ride through the starry night sky with National Geographic's Zoo in the Sky! Little Bear and the Great Bear in the Northern Sky; the scaly dragon winding his long tail; the Great Dog chasing the Hare in the Southern Sky; all are beautifully rendered in Christina Balit's vibrant art, studded with shiny stars, which perfectly illustrates Jacqueline Mitton's rich text. Awards include: Parent's Guide to Children's Media Award Parent Council Award REVIEW(S): "A visually dynamic introduction to the animal constellations." ―Booklist…


Book cover of Rare Earth: Why Complex Life Is Uncommon in the Universe

Edward P.J. van den Heuvel Author Of The Amazing Unity of the Universe: And Its Origin in the Big Bang

From my list on the history of the universe and the life in it.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have loved astronomy since high school when I built my first telescope. I subsequently have been lucky enough to become a professional astronomer. I studied physics and astronomy at Utrecht University. After obtaining my PhD, I was postdoc at Lick Observatory in California, and after that became professor of astronomy, first in Brussels and later in Amsterdam. I have always loved teaching as well as my research on the physics and formation and evolution of neutron stars and black holes in binary systems, on which I, together with my Danish colleague Thomas Tauris, published the first textbook, which came out in 2023 in the USA.  

Edward's book list on the history of the universe and the life in it

Edward P.J. van den Heuvel Why did Edward love this book?

While in the 1960s Carl Sagan and Frank Drake, based on a simple equation (“Drake’s equation”) concluded that intelligent life is abundant in the Galaxy, with as many as a million such civilizations with which we might be able to communicate, the thesis of this book is that intelligent life is exceedingly rare in the Universe.

The authors do not argue that life itself is rare. Their thesis is that simple life, such as single-celled organisms like bacteria, may have developed on billions of planets in the Galaxy. But that, on the other hand, animal life on land (multicellular creatures, able to move around) is exceedingly rare. And that these animals developing intelligence is still very much rarer.

The arguments which the authors put forward are based on what we know from the history of life on Earth in connection with the very special position of Earth in our planetary…

By Peter D. Ward, Donald Brownlee,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Rare Earth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What determines whether complex life will arise on a planet, or even any life at all? Questions such as these are investigated in this groundbreaking book. In doing so, the authors synthesize information from astronomy, biology, and paleontology, and apply it to what we know about the rise of life on Earth and to what could possibly happen elsewhere in the universe. Everyone who has been thrilled by the recent discoveries of extrasolar planets and the indications of life on Mars and the Jovian moon Europa will be fascinated by Rare Earth, and its implications for those who look to…


Book cover of Selected Writings

Richard Farr Author Of You Are Here: A User's Guide to the Universe

From my list on how science actually works… or doesn’t.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was once an academic philosopher, but I found it too glamorous and well-paid so I became a novelist and private intellectual mentor instead. I wrote You Are Here because I love what science knows, but an interest in how science knows drew me into the philosophy of science, where a puzzle lurks. Scientists claim that the essence of their craft is captured in a 17th Century formula, “the scientific method”... and in a 20th Century litmus test, “falsifiability.” Philosophers claim that these two ideas are (a) both nonsense and (b) in any case mutually contradictory. So what’s going on? 

Richard's book list on how science actually works… or doesn’t

Richard Farr Why did Richard love this book?

Few people have ideas of world-shattering originality; fewer still explain them in prose so limpid that the rest of us can follow the argument. I love receiving that gift in almost anything I read by Galileo. His writing also reminds us at every turn that great science—as his art much later came to be called—depends not just on those trite "observe, hypothesise, collect data..." recipes but, crucially, on thinking creatively about concepts. There's a man in full here, too: almost supernaturally brilliant, but also witty, defensive, cutting, proud, delighted, fearful, irascible. Of all people, of all time, he's on my top ten "wish I could have met" list.

By Galileo Galilei, William R. Shea (translator), Mark Davie (translator)

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

'Philosophy is written in this great book which is continually open before our eyes - I mean the universe...'

Galileo's astronomical discoveries changed the way we look at the world, and our place in the universe. Threatened by the Inquisition for daring to contradict the literal truth of the Bible, Galileo ignited a scientific revolution when he asserted that the Earth moves. This generous selection from his writings contains all the essential texts for a reader to appreciate his lasting significance. Mark Davie's new translation renders Galileo's vigorous Italian prose into clear modern English,
while William R. Shea's version of…


Book cover of Astronomy Lab for Kids: 52 Family-Friendly Activities

Joni Hilton Author Of Family Funbook

From my list on family activity books.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love playing with my kids. When my eldest was eight and we were sitting on the porch together he said, “On my last day of being playful, I want to play with you the whole day. I sure hope it’s on a Saturday.” My kids know that I turn most things into a game, that I’ll screech and stop for a tarantula on the road because it’s educational, that I'll get them to sing their quiz answers, and that I’ll sculpt a cake into almost anything for a school project. I believe learning should be fun, so we would drink lemonade out of measuring cups, guess how many hops from the bed to the closet, and have Whipped Cream Spray Wars every summer (outside, thank you). I also think families would spend more time together if they had a great collection of cool—and easy—stuff to do together. As a writer I’m creative, and never run out of fun ideas. Why not share them with the world?

Joni's book list on family activity books

Joni Hilton Why did Joni love this book?

I love science and this book specializes in astronomy. Nichols helps kids get excited about the night sky, planets, and much more. She shows them how to make their own telescope and uses a microwave and a chocolate bar to teach them about the speed of light. A great dip into a wonderful topic.

By Michelle Nichols,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Astronomy Lab for Kids as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Explore the wonders of the universe through hands-on fun! In Astronomy Lab for Kids, science educator Michelle Nichols has compiled 52 labs and activities that use everyday materials from around the house to encourage kids, their friends, and their families to look up, down, and around at everything from the shadows on the ground to the stars in the sky.

Mini astronomers will learn about things such as the size and scale of planets using sandwich cookies and tennis balls, how to measure the speed of light with a flat candy bar and a microwave, how to make a simple…


Book cover of Night Sky

Or Graur Author Of Galaxies

From my list on budding astronomers of all ages.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an associate professor of astrophysics at the University of Portsmouth’s Institute of Cosmology and Gravitation and a research associate at the American Museum of Natural History. I use telescopes on Earth and in space to study supernovae (the explosions of stars) and tidal disruption events (bright flares caused by supermassive black holes ripping apart nearby stars). I have wanted to be a scientist since second grade, and some of the books on this list have helped kindle my passion for physics and astronomy. I hope that my own popular science books will do the same for the next generation of astronomers.

Or's book list on budding astronomers of all ages

Or Graur Why did Or love this book?

I leafed through a copy of this book in my local library and immediately bought a copy to read with my daughters. Suitable for kindergarten and older children learning to read, it describes how several cultures conceptualized the night sky and the stories they told about the patterns they saw in the stars.

I loved how it didn’t just stick to ancient Greece but also introduced readers to African stories of the Milky Way, the astronomies of ancient Egypt and China, modern telescopes, and even how certain animals use the stars for navigation. The text is sliced into short, easy-to-read paragraphs, and the paintings are gorgeous. 

By Rola Shaw, Lara Hawthorne (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Night Sky as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 5, 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

What stories, mysteries and secrets can you find in the stars?

A wonderful illustrated tour of the night sky for children aged 5+ years. Lara Hawthorne's beautiful illustrations take the reader on one of the most fascinating journeys that humankind has ever made and one that is common to us all.

From ancient Egyptians building the pyramids, to early Polynesian sailors criss-crossing the Pacific Ocean, and astronauts travelling into space, the night sky has guided and inspired people across the world, and throughout time.

Now it's your turn to look to the skies and discover the mysteries they hide.

For…


Book cover of Nightwatch: A Practical Guide to Viewing the Universe

John A. Read Author Of 50 Things to See with a Telescope: A young stargazer's guide

From my list on stargazing.

Why am I passionate about this?

My journey into astronomy began with a small and rickety telescope purchased at a local pharmacy. I found it fascinating to observe the Moon and Saturn with their rings using such meager equipment. I decided to share these views with others by writing my first book, 50 Things to See with a Small Telescope, an easy-to-understand beginner’s guide which I self-published and sold through Amazon starting in 2013. I have since published a number of other books on space for children. Besides writing, I work as the telescope operator at Burke-Gaffney Observatory. In 2020 I was awarded the Simon Newcomb Award for excellence in science communication.

John's book list on stargazing

John A. Read Why did John love this book?

This classic book is a veritable encyclopedia of stargazing knowledge, including telescope operation, celestial mechanics, and astrophotography. Terence brings his decades of stargazing experience to bear, offering tips and tricks that will push your backyard observations to the next level. Even if you only have binoculars, this book contains more than enough stargazing activities to keep you busy for years.

By Terence Dickinson, Roberta Cooke (illustrator), Adolf Schaller (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The first three editions of NightWatch sold more than 600,000 copies, making it the top-selling stargazing guide in the world for the last 20 years. The key feature of this classic title is the section of star charts that are cherished by backyard astronomers everywhere. Each new edition has outsold the previous one because of thorough revisions and additional new material.

NightWatch has been acclaimed as the best general interest introduction to astronomy. The fourth edition has improvements over the 3rd edition in every chapter, including: The famous charts, ideal for stargazers using a small telescope or binoculars; A complete…


Book cover of Kafka on the Shore
Book cover of The Bone Clocks
Book cover of More Than a Woman

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