Fans pick 100 books like Collaborative Happiness

By Catherine Kingfisher,

Here are 100 books that Collaborative Happiness fans have personally recommended if you like Collaborative Happiness. 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 Long Island

Evelyn Kohl LaTorre Author Of Between Inca Walls

From my list on importance of belonging in different cultures.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am passionate about writing. In my childhood in a rural Montana town, I read all the books in the school library. I also kept diaries, wrote poetry, and when I moved to California at age 16, wrote essays that my High School English teachers read aloud to the class. I switched to academic writing when studying for a master’s degree in social welfare and obtaining a doctorate degree in multicultural education. Since retiring as a school administrator, I have written about my travels in 105 countries. My writing has appeared in numerous print and online publications. My second memoir tells of the struggles and triumphs of a bicultural marriage. 

Evelyn's book list on importance of belonging in different cultures

Evelyn Kohl LaTorre Why did Evelyn love this book?

I’m not sure why this Oprah’s Book Club pick is named Long Island since most of the crucial scenes take place in Ireland, the homeland of forty-three-year-old Eilis Lacey. I read this book because it is the sequel to Toibin’s previous book, Brooklyn, which was made into a movie starring Saoirse Ronan.

I often wonder what happens to couples after their romantic and enthralling beginnings, and life between two cultures interests me. It shows the differences that develop between two people from different cultures who fall in love and try to make a life together. In this second half of their lives, the couple have more than the usual problems. The unending plot-twists led me to finish the book in a day. A good read, but I’m sure the ending will be controversial.

By Colm Tóibín,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK * INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER * “Stunning.” —People * “Dazzling yet devastating...Tóibín is simply one of the world’s best living literary writers.” —The Boston Globe * “Momentous and hugely affecting.” —The Wall Street Journal *

From the beloved, critically acclaimed, bestselling author comes a spectacularly moving novel featuring Eilis Lacey, the complex and enigmatic heroine of Brooklyn, Tóibín’s most popular work in twenty years.

Eilis Lacey is Irish, married to Tony Fiorello, a plumber and one of four Italian American brothers, all of whom live in neighboring houses on a cul-de-sac in Lindenhurst, Long Island,…


Book cover of The Boys of Riverside

Evelyn Kohl LaTorre Author Of Between Inca Walls

From my list on importance of belonging in different cultures.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am passionate about writing. In my childhood in a rural Montana town, I read all the books in the school library. I also kept diaries, wrote poetry, and when I moved to California at age 16, wrote essays that my High School English teachers read aloud to the class. I switched to academic writing when studying for a master’s degree in social welfare and obtaining a doctorate degree in multicultural education. Since retiring as a school administrator, I have written about my travels in 105 countries. My writing has appeared in numerous print and online publications. My second memoir tells of the struggles and triumphs of a bicultural marriage. 

Evelyn's book list on importance of belonging in different cultures

Evelyn Kohl LaTorre Why did Evelyn love this book?

This story of the Cubs football team of the California School for the Deaf, Riverside, left me in awe. Their team won the championship of their eight-man football league in Southern California in 2022, 2023, and 2024. 

The book is as instructive as it is inspiring. Creative play-by-play descriptions like “…bounced off defenders like a pinball…” provide a clear visualization of the sport of football. This was especially important for a novice football watcher like me. Through the author’s prose, I could see the plays and feel the excitement of the games. 

Even more importantly, I understood how the deaf community interacts with the hearing-dominant world, which is often oblivious to their existence. The football players worked as a unit because their differences banded them together and gave them strength.

By Thomas Fuller,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The incredible story of an all-deaf high school football team’s triumphant climb from underdog to undefeated, their inspirational brotherhood, a fascinating portrait of deafness in America, and the indefatigable head coach who spearheaded the team, by New York Times reporter and San Francisco Bureau Chief, Thomas Fuller.

"The Boys of Riverside is another example of how anyone can achieve their dreams, making what appears impossible, possible.” —Marlee Matlin, Academy Award winner

In November 2021, an obscure email from the California Department of Education landed in New York Times reporter, Thomas Fuller’s, inbox. The football team at the California School for…


Book cover of Belonging

Evelyn Kohl LaTorre Author Of Between Inca Walls

From my list on importance of belonging in different cultures.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am passionate about writing. In my childhood in a rural Montana town, I read all the books in the school library. I also kept diaries, wrote poetry, and when I moved to California at age 16, wrote essays that my High School English teachers read aloud to the class. I switched to academic writing when studying for a master’s degree in social welfare and obtaining a doctorate degree in multicultural education. Since retiring as a school administrator, I have written about my travels in 105 countries. My writing has appeared in numerous print and online publications. My second memoir tells of the struggles and triumphs of a bicultural marriage. 

Evelyn's book list on importance of belonging in different cultures

Evelyn Kohl LaTorre Why did Evelyn love this book?

I wanted to know why Michelle Miller, an award-winning broadcast journalist on the CBS Saturday Morning show, yearns to reconnect with her biological mother. She wants her Latina birthmother to recognize her as her own. Questions we both wanted to know: Was she abandoned because her father was married to someone else? Because she had darker skin than her Hispanic mother? Or because her mother’s family disapproved of their daughter being with a Black man despite his being a surgeon and a city councilman? 

Michelle attended Howard University, where she formed tight friendships. Her journalistic career is marked by interactions with famous civil rights movers and shakers. Yet, throughout her life, she missed having a mother and a “normal” nuclear family to belong to. 

By Michelle Miller,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

"[An] outstanding debut."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The award-winning journalist and co-host of CBS Saturday Morning tells the candid, and deeply personal story of her mother’s abandonment and how the search for answers forced her to reckon with her own identity and the secrets that shaped her family for five decades.

Though Michelle Miller was an award-winning broadcast journalist for CBS News, few people in her life knew the painful secret she carried: her mother had abandoned her at birth. Los Angeles in 1967 was deeply segregated, and her mother—a Chicana hospital administrator who presented as white,…


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Book cover of I Am Taurus

I Am Taurus By Stephen Palmer,

The constellation we know as Taurus goes all the way back to cave paintings of aurochs at Lascaux. This book traces the story of the bull in the sky, a journey through the history of what has become known as the sacred bull.

Each of the sections is written from…

Book cover of Twice a Daughter

Evelyn Kohl LaTorre Author Of Between Inca Walls

From my list on importance of belonging in different cultures.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am passionate about writing. In my childhood in a rural Montana town, I read all the books in the school library. I also kept diaries, wrote poetry, and when I moved to California at age 16, wrote essays that my High School English teachers read aloud to the class. I switched to academic writing when studying for a master’s degree in social welfare and obtaining a doctorate degree in multicultural education. Since retiring as a school administrator, I have written about my travels in 105 countries. My writing has appeared in numerous print and online publications. My second memoir tells of the struggles and triumphs of a bicultural marriage. 

Evelyn's book list on importance of belonging in different cultures

Evelyn Kohl LaTorre Why did Evelyn love this book?

Few things delight me more than being immersed in a world where a character is searching for where he/she belongs, such as in the world of closed adoptions. From the first page to the last, the book absorbed me in the highs and lows of an adoptee’s search for her biological mother and father.

Julie perseveres in her hunt for nearly a decade. The author’s vivid descriptions of her intense emotions during her quest made me aware of the painful consequences of keeping adoption information secret. I felt her sorrow, disappointments, and tension. The depictions of her Collie companions, her garden, and Chicago make them characters that add authenticity. This book is a heartfelt memoir—with a surprise ending. I highly recommend it.

By Julie Ryan McGue,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Julie is adopted. She is also a twin. Because their adoption was closed, she and her sister lack both a health history and their adoption papers - which becomes an issue for Julie when, at forty-eight years old, she finds herself facing several serious health issues. To launch the probe into her closed adoption, Julie first needs the support of her sister. The twins talk things over, and make a pact: Julie will approach their adoptive parents for the adoption paperwork and investigate search options, and the sisters will split the costs involved in locating their birth relatives. But their…


Book cover of Life in Half a Second: How to Achieve Success Before It's Too Late

John Lamerton Author Of Big Ideas... For Small Businesses: Simple, Practical Tools and Tactics to Help Your Small Business Grow

From my list on ambitious, lifestyle business owners.

Why am I passionate about this?

I used to hate lifestyle businesses, looking down my nose at them, saying (as many others do!) that they weren’t real businesses. After a “lightbulb moment,” I now proudly describe myself as an ambitious lifestyle business owner – someone who designs their business around their lifestyle, rather than the other way around. Work to live, not live to work! As well as Big Ideas... for Small Businesses, a bestselling book about how to build a lifestyle business, I also host the Ambitious Lifestyle Business podcast, where I interview other lifestyle business owners, discovering how what an ambitious, lifestyle business looks like for them.

John's book list on ambitious, lifestyle business owners

John Lamerton Why did John love this book?

If you need a kick up the arse to go and make a dent in the universe, then Life in Half a Second is the book for you. I often listen to the audiobook version of the first chapter to fire me up, and stop me from wasting my life.

Michalewicz's point is simple: the planet is 4.5 billion years old. Humans appeared 200,000 years ago. Most of us live 80 years, and have already wasted half that time. That time is all we have – and if the lifetime of Earth was condensed to a calendar year, then your entire life would flash by in less than half of one second.

Tick, tock.

By Matthew Michalewicz,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Life in Half a Second as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What if there was a proven path to success? A path supported by science and research? A path that led to your goals and aspirations in less time, with less risk? Would you take it? Truthful and hard hitting, Life in Half a Second is the first "fact-based" formula for achieving success in life and business. Proven through thousands of studies and decades of research, it presents the five doors you must walk through to achieve success in your career, business, or personal life. Gimmicks, mind tricks, fairy tales, and wishful thinking NOT INCLUDED. Just facts.


Book cover of Giada's Feel Good Food: My Healthy Recipes and Secrets: A Cookbook

Lauren Thomas Author Of The Modern Hippie Table: Recipes and Menus for Eating Simply and Living Beautifully

From my list on lifestyle books for cooking, entertaining and tablescaping.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child of divorce who moved around often, cooking and entertaining was consistent in my life on both sides of my family. The comforting smells and traditions around food in the home became a religion to me—something I could count on. My grandmother was a hostess to be admiredher impeccable entertaining etiquette was where my love of hosting was born. My degree in psychology lends itself to sharing what’s so important about creating intentional gatherings at the table. My education and passion for creative arts pair well with my husband’s expertise as an Architect, where we understand the importance of creating inviting spaces for people to occupy.

Lauren's book list on lifestyle books for cooking, entertaining and tablescaping

Lauren Thomas Why did Lauren love this book?

We all love to know what someone we admire does beyond the scope of what they are most known for. I love how this cookbook goes beyond recipes—Giada also shares her beauty secrets such as hair and makeup routines, how she stays trim with lifestyle and exercise, tips for choosing healthy options when eating out, and what she packs for snacks while on the go. It’s truly a lifestyle that I want to subscribe to!

By Giada De Laurentiis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Giada's Feel Good Food as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Food Network's most beautiful star shares her secrets for staying fit and feeling great in this gorgeous, practical book with healthy recipes including nutritional information, and personal lifestyle and beauty tips.

The number one question that Giada De Laurentiis is asked by fans is, "How do you stay so trim?" Admirers then ask about her favorite recipes, her nail polish color, her exercise routine. . . and much more. In Giada's Feel Good Food, she answers all of these questions in her most personal and also most hardworking book yet.

Here are 120 recipes for breakfasts, juices, lunches, snacks, dinners,…


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Book cover of Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS

Marriage and Fatherhood in the Nazi SS By Amy Carney,

When I was writing this book, several of my friends jokingly called it the Nazi baby book, with one insisting it would make a great title. Nazi Babies – admittedly, that is a catchy title, but that’s not exactly what my book is about. SS babies would be slightly more…

Book cover of How We Live Now: Redefining Home and Family in the 21st Century

Maya Bernadett Author Of Stories My Grandmother Told Me: A multicultural journey from Harlem to Tohono O'dham

From my list on on the power of family to shape us.

Why am I passionate about this?

Family is one of the few truly universal experiences that all human beings have, because we all come from somewhere. Every human on Earth is raised by someone, so it’s something we can all relate to, for good or for ill. Universal experiences like family allow us as human beings to relate to others, and that common ground is what provides joy and meaning in life. I appreciate that I don’t have to have a master’s degree or PhD in family studies or family therapy to glean insights into how our families shape us. My own observations and analytical writer’s mind made me realize the importance of storytelling in keeping families together, especially across generations.

Maya's book list on on the power of family to shape us

Maya Bernadett Why did Maya love this book?

Family can be an emotionally charged word, especially for people who come from toxic families or don’t even know their biological families. This is why I appreciate this non-fiction book by Bella DePaulo, which acknowledges that there is more than one way to be a family. She goes well beyond the typical nuclear family of mother, father, and biological children to explore how people are living together in the 21st century. One type of configuration she explores, the multi-generational household, is near and dear to my heart because I grew up like that, and it changed my life for the better.

By Bella DePaulo,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How We Live Now as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A close-up examination and exploration, How We Live Now challenges our old concepts of what it means to be a family and have a home, opening the door to the many diverse and thriving experiments of living in twenty-first century America.

Across America and around the world, in cities and suburbs and small towns, people from all walks of life are redefining our “lifespaces”—the way we live and who we live with. The traditional nuclear family in their single-family home on a suburban lot has lost its place of prominence in contemporary life. Today, Americans have more choices than ever…


Book cover of Minimalism for Families: Practical Minimalist Living Strategies to Simplify Your Home and Life

Brittany Polat Author Of Tranquility Parenting: A Guide to Staying Calm, Mindful, and Engaged

From my list on finding your bliss as a parent.

Why am I passionate about this?

I strongly believe that anyone who is willing to reflect thoughtfully on life can make progress toward inner peace and contentment. I have pursued my lifelong interest in human development first through a Ph.D. in applied linguistics (with a focus on individual differences in second language development) and then through the study of Stoic moral psychology and philosophy. These days I have ample opportunity to study human nature in the best laboratory of all: parenthood!

Brittany's book list on finding your bliss as a parent

Brittany Polat Why did Brittany love this book?

Maybe you’ve heard of minimalism. It’s a way of life that helps you shed all the stuff you don’t need in your life so you can focus on the people, activities, and priorities that bring you joy. But is it possible to be a minimalist with children at home? Absolutely! Zoë Kim shows you how in this relatable and easy-to-read guide to getting the whole family on board with minimalism. You’ll learn how to pare back your commitments, declutter your home, and take a more intentional approach to family life. From cleaning out the first drawer to developing lifelong minimalist habits, you will appreciate the newfound time, space, and sense of peace that minimalism brings.

By Zoë Kim,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Share the joys of minimalism with your whole family.

Make room for what really matters. Minimalism for Families shows you the real costs of the things you own and helps you discover that cutting non-essential items makes for a happier, more satisfying home and life.

Spend less time stressing about your stuff and more time together. Filled with practical advice to help you and your family clear out your house, Minimalism for Families helps you build stronger bonds, spend more time together, and start enjoying the benefits of living clutter-free.

Minimalism for Families includes:

An introduction to minimalism―Find out what…


Book cover of Inconspicuous Consumption: The Environmental Impact You Don't Know You Have

Lauren E. Oakes Author Of In Search of the Canary Tree: The Story of a Scientist, a Cypress, and a Changing World

From my list on to inspire climate action.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a conservation scientist and a writer. I’ve always thought of human and environmental health as deeply intertwined, but as a scientist in the environmental field, I get to study how those links play out in various contexts and help people implement solutions to create a more sustainable future. At heart, I am a storyteller. I write mainly about forest and climate-related issues, but I have a broader interest in the complex relationships between people and the natural world. I hold a dual degree in Environmental Studies and Visual Art from Brown University, and I earned my Ph.D. from the Emmett Interdisciplinary Program for Environment and Resources at Stanford University.

Lauren's book list on to inspire climate action

Lauren E. Oakes Why did Lauren love this book?

When it comes to the massive issue of climate change, even citizens who are very concerned often wonder, “What can I really do to help?” The scale of the problem requires global action, but often people are left feeling like their actions alone can’t begin to make a difference. In Inconspicuous Consumption, former New York Times science writer Tatiana Schlossberg opens our eyes to the fact that our everyday choices in such a convenience-driven society contribute to the climate crisis.

Schlossberg unveils the hidden environmental impacts behind the Internet and technology, food, fashion, and fuel and traces the far-reaching effects of our daily living in a super-connected world. But, even more importantly, she shows us that our choices, such as what we eat or what we wear, could also be a part of the many solutions needed, too. In terms of a carbon footprint, I finally got a great…

By Tatiana Schlossberg,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

As we become a more digital society, the gains that have been made for the environment by moving toward a paperless world with more and more efficient devices will soon be or already have been offset by the number of devices in our lives that are always using energy. But many don't think about the impact on the environment of the "Internet of things." Whether it's a microwave connected to the internet, use of Netflix, or online shopping, these technological advances have created new impacts that the people who are most well-versed in these issues haven't considered.

In INCONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION,…


Book cover of Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease: The Revolutionary, Scientifically Proven, Nutrition-Based Cure

Glen Merzer Author Of Own Your Health: How to Live Long & Avoid Chronic Illness

From my list on healthy cooking, eating, and lifestyle.

Why am I passionate about this?

Heart disease ravaged both sides of my family. When I was a teenager, my mother developed heart disease and her two brothers died of heart attacks. In response, at the age of seventeen, I gave up meat. Now, after a career writing comedy for the stage and television, I write books on health, and all my extensive research on nutrition has vindicated my instincts from the age of seventeen but taught me that there is far more to a healthy diet than just avoiding flesh foods. I have authored or co-authored eleven books that, in different ways, make the case for the health benefits of plants. 

Glen's book list on healthy cooking, eating, and lifestyle

Glen Merzer Why did Glen love this book?

Dr. Caldwell B. Esselstyn, Jr., is a soft-spoken giant of modern medicine who has revolutionized the treatment of heart disease. The studies he has conducted on the role of diet in reversing heart disease, reported on within the book, are the most significant heart studies of our time. Esselstyn writes simply and clearly; when you finish reading his book, you understand everything you need to know in order to nurture and protect, through diet, a healthy heart. 

By Caldwell B. Esselstyn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Prevent and Reverse Heart Disease as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Reading books is a kind of enjoyment. Reading books is a good habit. We bring you a different kinds of books. You can carry this book where ever you want. It is easy to carry. It can be an ideal gift to yourself and to your loved ones. Care instruction keep away from fire.


Book cover of Long Island
Book cover of The Boys of Riverside
Book cover of Belonging

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in lifestyle, well being, and happiness?

Lifestyle 10 books
Well Being 28 books
Happiness 360 books