72 books like If You Can't Take the Heat

I love bad-ass women who take the world by storm. I love it when they’re funny. I love it when they share their journey. Amy Poehler, badass writer/comedian, wrote her memoir in the form of a self-help book. The self-help aspect is in disguise, though. You’re supposed to think it’s a memoir/fun celebrity tell-all, but it’s way more than that. It’s a bossy bitchy blueprint on how to get through life with humor and honesty and loads of funny stories. 

Some of her advice: Talk To Yourself Like You’re Ninety and Treat Your Career Like A Bad Boyfriend. Amy’s snarky, smart, and silly stories about her successes and failures inspire me to be a badass, too. Humor and snark and advice. Yes, please!

I felt like I was on a roller coaster ride that never stopped while reading this book. It was thrilling and scary and fun. I also couldn’t stop bursting into laughter that ranged from high-pitched shrieking to low-key chuckling, all while nervously looking around to see if anyone in my proximity would ask what was so funny. Because … I don’t know what was so funny.

Everything I was laughing at was inappropriate. Concerning. Completely not funny if I thought about it. But that is the genius of Jenny Lawson’s memoir. Her wild and disturbing journey through life and her ability to handle the insanity with absurd humor and sweetness makes devouring her book the most fun roller coaster in the world. 

This book took my breath away.

This is no pithy or glib advice column book bound by word counts and editorial edits. Her advice is lengthy and considered and beautifully interwoven with her poignant personal stories. Her advice is raw and poetic. Not flowery or pretty poetry, but punch you in your soul, pierce directly into your heart truth bombs.

It’s tough love to the extreme. Every single entry took my breath away with its unflinching rawness. And, at the same time, delivered with compassion and care that I felt somehow … loved. There’s humor in this book, but it’s subtle, and it captures the wonder and madness and beauty and crazy courageousness needed to live in our bizarre world. 

I wish Greg Behrendt were my brother: that awesome guy in my life who loves me unconditionally, thinks I’m the greatest, but tells it to me straight. Unflinchingly and unapologetically. Noogie sandwiches and all.

What I loved most about this book is Greg’s unfiltered and (sometimes horrifyingly) honest dating advice for the modern female. This is the guy who tells you exactly how to navigate the male mind, stop deluding yourself, and stop wasting your time. Part cheerleader, part therapist, part drill sergeant, part stand-up comic, Greg does not want you to settle for any guy who isn’t over the moon for you. I love a good tough love approach. Greg and Liz deliver. Yum.

Love with a Chance of Drowning had been recommended to me for a while, but I only recently dove in.

One of the reasons was the high price for the eBook, undoubtedly because this is a traditionally published memoir. And, what can I say? I adored this well-crafted love story set on a small sailboat crossing the Pacific Ocean, sprinkled with fearful and heartfelt incidents.

Torre is a fabulous writer, who pulls you into the narrative. She is witty, sarcastic, smart, straightforward, and doesn’t shy away from sharing personal insights, flaws, and brutal honesty, a touted aspect of my book as well.

The author used the present tense to impart a sense of urgency (it’s a wonderful tool to keep you turning the pages) and focused on the connection, strength, and commitment that is needed to rescue her relationship. This is one of the most skillfully written and compelling… show more.

I’m recommending this book because I think it’s the best book ever written about the Klondike Gold Rush. During his numerous adventures, the main character, George Mitchell, finds something far more valuable than gold. The book was so little known that I felt obliged to get it back into print as well as write an introduction to the reissue.

This book does African American magic on a scale that I’ve never seen before. It was given to me as a gift. “Cameron, you need to read this.” And they were right. I’ve read plenty of fantasy that makes use of the same African American and Caribbean folklore (my family is from Belize) but never at such depth for middle-grade novels.

I love how we get dropped right into the mix very early without explanation because no explanation is needed. I’m on the inside. I know exactly who and what he’s talking about. And because it’s a full-on fantasy novel, I got to know these staple characters that everybody thinks they know, like Brer Fox, as whole people, not just walking, talking cautionary tales.  

I loved this book’s whimsical storytelling and beautifully lyrical writing. It is a refreshing take on one of my favorite Chinese myths, the story of Chang’e and Hou Yi (the Moon Goddess and the Archer).

In this compelling adult fantasy, Chang’e’s daughter, Xingyin, must find help from unlikely allies—including dragons—to save her mother and herself.

I couldn’t resist adding a Tintin graphic novel to my list since Herge’s adventure series is widely beloved — and this one is a particular favorite. The story opens when the miserly millionaire, Laszlo Carreidas, "the millionaire who never laughs," invites Tintin, Captain Haddock, and Professor Calculus to accompany him on his private jet to Sydney instead of taking commercial Flight 714. It all seems rather jolly — until the millionaire’s jet is hijacked and diverted to a volcanic island in Java. As always, Herge nails the geographical details, plot twists, cheeky humor — and the idiosyncrasies of human nature, like grizzled Captain Haddock’s constant frustration with absentminded Professor Calculus. As a kid, these books opened entire worlds to me — I couldn’t wait to grow up and embark on my own adventures!

Most novels, fantasy or otherwise, use portals to travel between worlds—but why stop there? Story Thieves certainly doesn’t! It takes the whole concept of fictional worlds and brings it one step further—characters can physically step in and out of books, and even influence their contents.

Sounds interesting? I certainly found it to be, and read through each novel in this series within days of its release, not to mention several times later throughout the years. Should you be looking for a bit of fresh air in your library, this is certainly one choice worth considering.