Love City of Glass? Readers share 100 books like City of Glass...

By Paul Auster,

Here are 100 books that City of Glass fans have personally recommended if you like City of Glass. 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 Neil Gaiman's Snow, Glass, Apples

Victoria Pearson Author Of Once Upon A Twisted Fairytale

From my list on dark fairytales.

Why am I passionate about this?

GK Chesterton reportedly said that "fairytales are more than true: not because they teach us that dragons are real, but because they teach us dragons can be beaten." This rings true to me; I've been fascinated by the darker side of fairytales since childhood, when I used them to escape and make sense of my own dark experiences. Stories that began as oral traditions are my favourite, a blend of entertainment for long nights around a fire, and cautionary tales that teach us to fear the wolf, and beware of that which seems too good to be true. Old stories teach us what it means to be human. I hope you enjoy these.

Victoria's book list on dark fairytales

Victoria Pearson Why did Victoria love this book?

Snow, Glass, Apples is my all-time favourite Gaiman story, which is quite staggering given how much of his work I adore, but I'd only seen it in short story form before, in Smoke and Mirrors. Then I was given a copy of just Snow Glass, Apples, illustrated by Colleen Doran. The artwork is stunning, beautifully dark with a tight palette and rich, intricate detailing. Every page is a work of art, allowing you to linger and slowly digest the tale as it unfolds. This story is a huge influence for me, in particular for my collection Once Upon A Twisted Fairytale, because it flips the story of Snow White on its head. All of the elements of the traditional tale - the huntsman, the stepmother queen, the dwarves, the glass coffin - are there, but put together from the perspective of the queen, totally changing the story. I loveā€¦

By Neil Gaiman, Colleen Doran (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Neil Gaiman's Snow, Glass, Apples as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Winner of the 2020 Bram Stoker AwardĀ® for Superior Achievement in a Graphic Novel!

A chilling fantasy retelling of the Snow White fairy tale by New York Times bestselling creators Neil Gaiman and Colleen Doran!

A not-so-evil queen is terrified of her monstrous stepdaughter and determined to repel this creature and save her kingdom from a world where happy endings aren't so happily ever after.

From the Hugo, Bram Stoker, Locus, World Fantasy, Nebula award-winning, and New York Times bestselling writer Neil Gaiman (American Gods) comes this graphic novel adaptation by Colleen Doran (Troll Bridge)!


Book cover of Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel

K. Woodman-Maynard Author Of The Great Gatsby: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

From my list on graphic novel adaptations.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m a graphic novelist and designer based in beautiful Minneapolis. I tend to be varied in my artistic style and medium, moving between comics, illustration, design, and occasionally animation. Having created a graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby, I feel very passionate about the subject of graphic novel adaptations. One of the most important things is that there should be a compelling reason for it to be a graphic novel in the first place; the graphic novel should do something that a prose book cannot. For my adaptation, that was the visual depiction of metaphors, the ethereal character designs, and the lush jewel-colored watercolor. The books I recommended add to the original story in unique and compelling ways. 

K.'s book list on graphic novel adaptations

K. Woodman-Maynard Why did K. love this book?

Iā€™m always a fan of graphic novels that capture the mood of the book, rather than trying to make everything perfectly accurate to the original. Mariah Marsdenā€™s adaptation of Anne of Green Gables perfectly captures the magic and beauty of one of my favorite childhood books.

I mentioned how much I enjoyed this adaptation to a friend whoā€™s also a fan of L.M. Montgomery. However, my friend hated this adaptation (especially how Anneā€™s nose is drawn!) which I actually found very liberating as I considered adapting The Great Gatsby. Iā€™d been concerned about how people who loved Gatsby would view my adaptation, but this made me realize that some people would love my book and some people wouldnā€™tā€”and that was okay!

By Mariah Marsden, Brenna Thummler (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Anne of Green Gables as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

The spirit of Anne is alive and well in Mariah Marsden's crisp adaptation, and it's a thrill to watch as the beloved orphan rushes headlong through Brenna Thummler's heavenly landscapes. Together Marsden and Thummler conjure all the magic and beauty of Green Gables. Like Anne herself, you won't want to leave.
- Brian Selznick, author/illustrator of "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" and "The Marvels"

The magic of L.M. Montgomery's treasured classic is reimagined in a whimsically-illustrated graphic novel adaptation perfect for newcomers and kindred spirits alike.

When Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert decide to adopt an orphan who can help manageā€¦


Book cover of The Iliad

Martin Van Creveld Author Of The Privileged Sex

From my list on on war, full stop.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a professor emeritus of history at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, over the years Iā€™ve been widely mentioned as one of the worldā€™s foremost experts on military theory and history. On these and other topics I have written 34 books, which between them have been published in 19 languages. Iā€™ve also consulted with defense departments, taught and lectured all over the world, etc., etc.

Martin's book list on on war, full stop

Martin Van Creveld Why did Martin love this book?

The Iliad is not a book on strategy. Nor on tactics, nor on logistics, nor on command and control, nor on any other individual aspect of warfare about which any number of lesser authors have written. An epic poem, it provides an unparalleled panorama of men (and, playing a secondary yet crucially important role, a few women) at war: the hope, the despair, the fear, the elation, the kindness, the rage, the horror, the love and the sex (which both increases the horror and to some extent makes up for it). All intertwined, and all pulsating along with the human heart. Probably written down around 750 BCE, but making use of much older material, for almost three millennia now it has been regarded not just as a classic but as the greatest classic of all. Unquestionably it will continue doing so for millennia more. 

By Homer, Gareth Hinds,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In a companion volume to his award-winning adaptation of The Odyssey, the incomparable graphic novelist Gareth Hinds masterfully adapts Homerā€™s classic wartime epic.

More than three thousand years ago, two armies faced each other in an epic battle that rewrote history and came to be known as the Trojan War. The Iliad, Homer's legendary account of this nine-year ordeal, is considered the greatest war story of all time and one of the most important works of Western literature. In this stunning graphic novel adaptation ā€” a thoroughly researched and artfully rendered masterwork ā€” renowned illustrator Gareth Hinds captures all theā€¦


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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 Yvain: The Knight of the Lion

K. Woodman-Maynard Author Of The Great Gatsby: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

From my list on graphic novel adaptations.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m a graphic novelist and designer based in beautiful Minneapolis. I tend to be varied in my artistic style and medium, moving between comics, illustration, design, and occasionally animation. Having created a graphic novel adaptation of The Great Gatsby, I feel very passionate about the subject of graphic novel adaptations. One of the most important things is that there should be a compelling reason for it to be a graphic novel in the first place; the graphic novel should do something that a prose book cannot. For my adaptation, that was the visual depiction of metaphors, the ethereal character designs, and the lush jewel-colored watercolor. The books I recommended add to the original story in unique and compelling ways. 

K.'s book list on graphic novel adaptations

K. Woodman-Maynard Why did K. love this book?

Ideally, the style of art in a graphic novel should reflect the story being told. Yvain does a beautiful job of capturing this Arthurian myth set in the 12th century with drawings that feel appropriately medieval while the sketchy and gestural line art keep it from feeling heavy. Iā€™m a bit obsessed with the idea of the style matching the storyā€”I developed a whole new style and learned watercolor for The Great Gatsbyā€”which is probably why I appreciate it so much in Yvain.

By M.T. Anderson, Andrea Offermann (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Yvain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

In his first graphic novel, National Book Award winner M. T. Anderson turns to Arthurian lore, with captivating art by Andrea Offermann bringing the classic legend to life.

Eager for glory and heedless of others, Sir Yvain sets out from King Arthurā€™s court and defeats a local lord in battle, unknowingly intertwining his future with the lives of two compelling women: Lady Laudine, the beautiful widow of the fallen lord, and her sly maid Lunette. In a stunning visual interpretation of a 12th century epic poem by ChrĆ©tien de Troyes, readers are ā€” at first glance ā€” transported into aā€¦


Book cover of Build My Gallows High

Michael Amedeo Author Of Past Tense: A Matt Moulton Mystery

From my list on American novels centering on private detectives.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been a journalist whoā€™s focused on culture, particularly film, and especially classic film and film noir. That sparked me to write two crime novels, with a third on the way, for Level Best Books. The first came out in February. The next will reach the market in May 2025. The third will come out in 2026. For more information, please go to my website.

Michael's book list on American novels centering on private detectives

Michael Amedeo Why did Michael love this book?

Cynicism and fatalism drank heavily together in the hardboiled genre of the private detective novel, but no more so than in this mid-40s book. 

I think they even take refuge in the novelā€™s title: Build My Gallows High. It tells the embittered tale of Red Bailey, a guy in hiding from private detective work after being exploited by a powerful client and betrayed by the beautiful and manipulative woman Bailey loved. 

Bailey would never go back to those daysā€”until he would. His ex-client finds him and blackmails him into searching for that woman, who was also once that powerful manā€™s lover.  

I love the way each of the three of them harbor conflicting ideas of how this story will end. Thatā€™s perfectā€”the bookā€™s conflict and bile inspired the creation of what has long been one of the darkest and most celebrated of films noir, Out of the Past.

By Geoffrey Homes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Build My Gallows High as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Retired private eye Red Bailey is happier than he's been for a long time. Living in Nevada, bothered by nobody, he runs a little gas station, gets in a lot of fishing, and might even be falling for a local girl. Then, out of the blue, his past comes back to haunt him. Blackmailed into doing just one more job, he's forced to revisit the life he fledā€”in particular, the seductive Mumsie McGonigle. It's not long before Bailey realizes that a trap has been set for him. The novel, scripted by the author, went on in the hands of Jacquesā€¦


Book cover of Double Indemnity

Timothy J. Lockhart Author Of Evil Intentions Come

From my list on American noir fiction taking you to the end of a one-way street.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have loved crime fiction since encountering it in college. After seeing the Bogart-Bacall version of The Big Sleep, I read the underlying Raymond Chandler novel and was hooked. I devoured Chandlerā€™s other works and moved on to James M. Cain, Jim Thompson, John D. MacDonald, and others. Later I discovered the crime novels of Charles Williams, Day Keene, Gil Brewer, and other ā€œpulp masters.ā€ Loving those novels led me to try my hand at writing crime fiction, and Stark House Press has now published five of my novels with another on the way. My crime-writing career is an unusual path for someone whose M.A. thesis is on Jane Austen!

Timothy's book list on American noir fiction taking you to the end of a one-way street

Timothy J. Lockhart Why did Timothy love this book?

I have loved this novel since first reading it in collegeā€”probably when I should have been studying for exams! 

Double Indemnity is one of the first and best American noir novels and served as the basis for the 1944 film by the same name. The novel taught me about the classic noir trap: a basically good but flawed man helps a basically bad but attractive woman in an effort to murder her husband, the good/flawed man hoping to end up with both the woman and the money.

But things seem fated to go wrong, and what starts out as a bleak tale ends up even bleakerā€”at the dark end of a one-way street. Since reading this powerful novelā€”and seeing the equally powerful film with its crackling dialogue by famed hardboiled crime writer Raymond Chandlerā€”I have never looked at life quite the same way again.

By James M. Cain,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Walter Huff is an insurance investigator like any other until the day he meets the beautiful and dangerous Phyllis Nirdlinger and falls under her spell. Together they plot to kill her husband and split the insurance. It'll be the perfect murder ...


Book cover of In Plain Sight

Paul W. Papa Author Of Night Mayer: Legend of the Skinwalker

From my list on offbeat noir you need to read.

Why am I passionate about this?

So why have I chosen noir? Iā€™m glad you asked. Ever since I picked up my first Raymond Chandler bookā€”The Lady in the Lakeā€”I have been a fan of the genre, so much so that I write in it almost exclusively. I watch all the old movies on Noir Alley every Saturday nightā€”or whenever I can find one on TV. And while I tend to gravitate to the works of Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammet, and Erle Stanley Gardner, I'm always on the hunt for new authors. I also very much enjoy when someone takes the genre in a new direction, which is why I created this list.

Paul's book list on offbeat noir you need to read

Paul W. Papa Why did Paul love this book?

I love books that mash up genres and Dan Will has done just that with this first offering in his Arcane Casebook series. His hero, Alexander Lockerby, is a man after my own heartā€”a noir detective through and through. Only this fedora-wearing gumshoe has a little extra zing up his sleeveā€”magic. Heā€™s a runewright, and while I have to admit I didnā€™t know what that was when I began the book, it became perfectly clear by the end. I wonā€™t ruin it for you, but suffice it to say, itā€™s aces with the noir genreā€”a man gifted with certain talents, but not ones enough to gain him the easy life. This story starts out simple, but takes little time to grab you by the collar and slap you across the kisser. And the good news? There are eight more to keep it company. 

By Dan Willis,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

It was 1933 and the magicā€¦

ā€¦brought a plague to the Big Apple.

Will Alex be able to stop a madman?

At 31-years old, Alex has limited powers, but a knack for unraveling a mystery. The first clue leads him to a thief, but it doesnā€™t stop there. When people started dying, it becomes clear that it wasnā€™t an ordinary spell. Could it have something to do with the book?

A legendary and ancient tome could be the key.

But can he find it?

When an unfortunate incident gets him in hot water with both the police and New Yorkā€™sā€¦


Book cover of Dark City: The Lost World of Film Noir

Elyce Helford Author Of What Price Hollywood?: Gender and Sex in the Films of George Cukor

From my list on classic Hollywood from a scholar and fan of film.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a film fan and scholar who has a joyful yet complex relationship with Hollywood. I have basked in the classics of Hollywoodā€™s Golden Age (1930s-1950s) from my teen years on, including the musical delights of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, the screwball comedies of Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant, the magnificent Universal monsters, and the deliciously dark creativity of film noir. Reading about the history of Hollywood has helped me enjoy this pastime even more, learning everything from economics and politics to method and form. The more I know, the richer grows my interest in both the past and present of that unique institution we call Hollywood.

Elyce's book list on classic Hollywood from a scholar and fan of film

Elyce Helford Why did Elyce love this book?

I love film noir and have written and published on it. Iā€™ve also read numerous academic books on noir. But for those who want all the information and less of the jargon, no one does it better than Eddie Muller, author and host of Turner Movie Classicsā€™ Noir Alley and president of the Film Noir Foundation, which hosts annual noir screening events in multiple US cities and publishes a wonderful magazine for members.

Dark City is full of amazing, restored photos alongside informative texts, great for reading and rereading. I keep mine on a coffee table.

By Eddie Muller,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

TCM host Eddie Muller's Dark City is a film noir lover's bible, taking readers on a tour of the urban landscape of the grim and gritty genre in an authoritative, highly illustrated volume.

This narrative history is packed with stories about the stars and makers of both long-recognized classics like The Maltese Falcon and under-the-radar "lost" greats such as Cry Danger. The book highlights more than one hundred films, breaking down plots and offering insider accounts behind-the-scenes of their making.

". . . a righteous, rip-snorting riff on the ultimate cinematic genre-film noir. This book displays a salutary knowledge ofā€¦


Book cover of The Best American Noir of the Century

G.E. Nordell Author Of Backlot Requiem: A Rick Walker Mystery

From my list on hardboiled noir detective mystery stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

Among other things, I'm an existentialist. A well-constructed mystery novel is an existential puzzle given to the reader to solve at his/her leisure, and the noir sub-genre has the further subtext that the protagonistā€”and the readerā€”are doomed in some way even if the solution is nailed. Romance novels are drivel and have no basis in reality, but noir and other types of mystery fiction reflect the way that the world works: you may solve this puzzle problem, but then you are left to a vast world that is rife with puzzles but without a coherent plot. The detective trudges on, achieves a kind of satisfaction, and then is thrust into the next crisis.

G.E.'s book list on hardboiled noir detective mystery stories

G.E. Nordell Why did G.E. love this book?

A treasure trove of noir short fiction, an impressive anthology of  American greed, crime, and comeuppance by some of the genreā€™s greatest authors including Mickey Spillane, Evan Hunter, Elmore Leonard, Patricia Highsmith, Joyce Carol Oates, Dennis Lehane, Cornell Woolrich, and editor Ellroy. The 39 selected stories are a feast of excellence, a wide-ranging buffet of tasty tales from 1923 to 2007ā€”makes me drool just thinking about a re-read.

By James Ellroy (editor), Otto Penzler (editor),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Best American Noir of the Century as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A magisterial anthology of American noir writing in the 20th century by the best-selling author of the LA Quartet: The Black Dahlia. The Big Nowhere , LA Confidential and White Jazz. In his intoduction to The Best American Noir of the Century, James Ellroy writes, "noir is the most scrutinised offshoot of the hard-boiled school of fiction. It's the long drop off the short pier and the wrong man and the wrong woman in perfect misalliance. It's the nightmare of flawed souls with big dreams and the precise how and why of the all-time sure thing that goes bad." Offeringā€¦


Book cover of Where the Truth Lies

Steven Jankowski Author Of Below the Line

From my list on noir crime with characters that arenā€™t detectives.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a screenwriter Iā€™ve always enjoyed noir stories, whether books or movies. Stories where the characters are not your squeaky-clean ā€œgood guys.ā€ I like to see ā€œordinaryā€ people; people who are flawed (like all of us), or maybe with a shady past, who are swayed or manipulated by dire circumstances into doing something they would not ordinarily do. I enjoy stories with unique, interesting characters that are not your run-of-the-mill private eyes, and whose moral compass might be a bit off. I particularly like stories where characters are forced to become investigators because of a situation they are thrust into, whether by accident or by their own dubious actions. 

Steven's book list on noir crime with characters that arenā€™t detectives

Steven Jankowski Why did Steven love this book?

Set in the seventies, a sexy female celebrity journalist sets out to find the reason for the break-up of a singing/comedy duo alĆ” Lewis and Martin and uncovers a gruesome murder. Full of sex, drugs, and behind-the-scenes entertainment business debauchery, this story is told in a masterful way that is funny, frightful, suspenseful, and disturbing. A truly unique noir tale where no one comes away clean. Just how I like it. And written by my good friend and former employer, Rupert Holmes. The same guy that gave us ā€œEscape, The Pina Colada Songā€ and the Broadway hit The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

By Rupert Holmes,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Where the Truth Lies as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE

Oā€™Connor, a vivacious, free-spirited young journalist known for her penetrating celebrity interviews, is bent on unearthing secrets long ago buried by the handsome showbiz team of singer Vince Collins and comic Lanny Morris. These two highly desirable men, once inseparable (and insatiable, where women were concerned), were driven apart by a bizarre and unexplained death in which one of them may have played the part of murderer. As the tart-tongued, eye-catching Oā€™Connor ventures deeper into this unsolved mystery, she finds herself compromisingly coiled around both men, knowing more about them than they realize and lessā€¦


Book cover of Neil Gaiman's Snow, Glass, Apples
Book cover of Anne of Green Gables: A Graphic Novel
Book cover of The Iliad

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