Love I'm Always so Serious? Readers share 100 books like I'm Always so Serious...

By Karisma Price,

Here are 100 books that I'm Always so Serious fans have personally recommended if you like I'm Always so Serious. 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 Mausoleum of Flowers

Olatunde Osinaike Author Of Tender Headed

From my list on contemporary poetry books revisiting music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I listen to about eight albums of music per week. At least one per day and another of that bunch gathers a re-listen, though more warrant the same! Listening is my favorite hobby. I name it like one would rock climbing or gardening, and though we are here connecting through words and swapping ideas, it all starts with my ear. I most want to feel what Iā€™d like to know, and it is possible that music sometimes held the work of thinking on my behalf. In writing my book, I was most interested in what it meant to be offered the world in such a personal yet composed way each day. 

Olatunde's book list on contemporary poetry books revisiting music

Olatunde Osinaike Why did Olatunde love this book?

Love is made more possible by every violence it has overcome.

Throughout Summerhillā€™s sophomoric collection, I found myself turning toward play, both in the pause that suddenly arrived after a line that hits and in the music I turned on after a line that urged reconsideration.

Even for the avid fan of Frank Oceanā€™s discography, this book serves as a vital push toward questioning what it is we deem valuable. A must-read for self-declarations of grace and hope in the face of racial, historical, and social brutality. 

By Daniel Summerhill,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A poetry collection that celebrates Black culture, creativity, and memory.

From Kendrick to Kanye, to a Sunday in Oakland with Frank Ocean's falsetto in the foreground, Mausoleum of Flowers is still life set against the backdrop of demise. Daniel Summerhill's sophomore collection grabs fate by the throat and confronts it. What does it mean to continue living when your friends are dying beside you? This collection melds an exploration of spirituality and rebellion with Black tradition. Summerhill's poems invite the reader near in order to self-excavate and explore tones of loss, love, and light.


Book cover of PlayHouse: Poems

Olatunde Osinaike Author Of Tender Headed

From my list on contemporary poetry books revisiting music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I listen to about eight albums of music per week. At least one per day and another of that bunch gathers a re-listen, though more warrant the same! Listening is my favorite hobby. I name it like one would rock climbing or gardening, and though we are here connecting through words and swapping ideas, it all starts with my ear. I most want to feel what Iā€™d like to know, and it is possible that music sometimes held the work of thinking on my behalf. In writing my book, I was most interested in what it meant to be offered the world in such a personal yet composed way each day. 

Olatunde's book list on contemporary poetry books revisiting music

Olatunde Osinaike Why did Olatunde love this book?

Noting my fortune to have been a reader of this book before its official surfacing to the national public, I was first drawn to those poems that again gave me back my memory. Poems reminisced on Migos, Blu & Exile, and others.

Soon after, it's display of self-portraiture unfolded into a mastery of wit, celebrating how music is always a task of discovery first.

ā€œI saw stranger; looked again, I saw friend,ā€ Watkins writes with an intelligence marked by the fruit of reorientation and heart that comes with inhabiting and celebrating your own tribe.

By Jorrell Watkins,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Poems on Black joy, masculinity, and the music that transforms a space into a home

Jorrell Watkins's debut poetry collection is a polyvocal, musically charged disruption of the United States's fixation on drug and gun culture. The poems in Play|House embody many identities, including son, brother, fugitive, bluesman, karate practitioner, and witness. Throughout, Watkins inflects a Black/trap vernacular that defamiliarizes the urban Southern landscape. Across three sections of poetry scored by hip-hop, blues, and trap, Watkins considers how music is a dwelling and wonders which histories, memories, and people haunt each home. Past figures such as John Coltrane, Billie Holiday,ā€¦


Book cover of Imperial Liquor: Poems

Olatunde Osinaike Author Of Tender Headed

From my list on contemporary poetry books revisiting music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I listen to about eight albums of music per week. At least one per day and another of that bunch gathers a re-listen, though more warrant the same! Listening is my favorite hobby. I name it like one would rock climbing or gardening, and though we are here connecting through words and swapping ideas, it all starts with my ear. I most want to feel what Iā€™d like to know, and it is possible that music sometimes held the work of thinking on my behalf. In writing my book, I was most interested in what it meant to be offered the world in such a personal yet composed way each day. 

Olatunde's book list on contemporary poetry books revisiting music

Olatunde Osinaike Why did Olatunde love this book?

Both keen and forgiving, this book traces the amorous and lofty histories of Black masculinity in America while also delighting in the surprises surrounding its speaker(s).

No song is without a community to which it belongs. We sing our songs together. This realization is especially stark and exacting in this book as it chronicles the bounty of lyrics from Marvin Gaye to the Delfonics.

By Amaud Jamaul Johnson,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Imperial Liquor is a chronicle of melancholy, a reaction to the monotony of racism. These poems concern loneliness, fear, fatigue, rage, and love; they hold fatherhood held against the vulnerability of the black male body, aging, and urban decay. Part remembrance, part swan song for the Compton, California of the 1980s, Johnson examines the limitations of romance to heal broken relationships or rebuild a broken city. Slow Jams, red-lit rooms, cheap liquor, like seduction and betrayal - what's more American? This book tracks echoes, rides the residue of music "after the love is gone."


Book cover of neckbone: visual verses

Olatunde Osinaike Author Of Tender Headed

From my list on contemporary poetry books revisiting music.

Why am I passionate about this?

I listen to about eight albums of music per week. At least one per day and another of that bunch gathers a re-listen, though more warrant the same! Listening is my favorite hobby. I name it like one would rock climbing or gardening, and though we are here connecting through words and swapping ideas, it all starts with my ear. I most want to feel what Iā€™d like to know, and it is possible that music sometimes held the work of thinking on my behalf. In writing my book, I was most interested in what it meant to be offered the world in such a personal yet composed way each day. 

Olatunde's book list on contemporary poetry books revisiting music

Olatunde Osinaike Why did Olatunde love this book?

For only the fifth of what could be more recommendations on musical collections, I wanted to draw attention to Avery Youngā€™s book for its relentless approach to enactment and what movements manifest in the aftermath of musicā€™s touch.

I read this collection during a low period of 2022 when COVID was still rampant, and it was a reminder of what it is I am listening for. Past our doctoring or our purities, our humanity is most clear when we are true about our experiences.

I would highly encourage readers to grab a copy of this dream of a book and look out for whatā€™s next from Chicagoā€™s inaugural poet laureate.

By Avery R. Young,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The ""blk alter"" of Avery R. Young's poetic vision makes its stunning debut in a multidisciplinary arsenal entitled, neckbone: visual verses. Young's years of supernatural fieldwork within the black experience and the gospel of his transitions between poetry, art and music, become the stitch, paint brush, metaphor, and narrative of arresting visual metaphors of childhood teachings and traumas, identity, and the personal reverence of pop culture's beauty and beast. A mastermind in a new language of poetry, that engages and challenges readers to see beyond the traditional spaces poems are shaped and exist, Young's neckbone extends tentacles in literature, art,ā€¦


Book cover of A Thousand Splendid Suns

Anthea T. Piscarik Author Of The Years In Between

From my list on historical fiction about overcoming loss.

Why am I passionate about this?

My favorite genre, historical fiction, inserts characters into real-life events. As a former news reporter, I enjoyed doing research when communicating factual information to readers. I love learning about different time periods and coming away with a fresh perspective on times gone by. History is subjective and always revised and revisited, but factual dates and occurrences remain the same. All the stories I chose to review reveal how fictionalized characters, in real events, deal with coming out on the other side of loss or pain with a stronger spirit. None of us escape loss. Itā€™s inevitable. But thereā€™s healing over time and trust in a God that loves us beyond expectations.

Anthea's book list on historical fiction about overcoming loss

Anthea T. Piscarik Why did Anthea love this book?

I cried at the conclusion of this book. I cried because I cared so deeply for the women I met on their journeys. And I cried to release the anguish I felt from their rejection, constriction, and subjugation to arranged marriages.

Iā€™m so very grateful for a book written by an Afghan with a clear-eyed perspective of his culture and sensitivity to the tyranny of suppression, especially for women treated as unequal to men. But thereā€™s so much more to this book; it is an homage to courage, resilience, and, ultimately, love, namely, a motherā€™s self-sacrificing love.  The characters conquer despair and limited freedoms with enduring hope. 

By Khaled Hosseini,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked A Thousand Splendid Suns as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE RICHARD & JUDY NUMBER ONE BESTSELLER

'A suspenseful epic' Daily Telegraph

'A triumph' Financial Times

'Heartbreaking' Mail on Sunday

'Deeply moving' Sunday Times

Mariam is only fifteen when she is sent to Kabul to marry Rasheed. Nearly two decades later, a friendship grows between Mariam and a local teenager, Laila, as strong as the ties between mother and daughter. When the Taliban take over, life becomes a desperate struggle against starvation, brutality and fear. Yet love can move a person to act in unexpected ways, and lead them to overcome the most daunting obstacles with a startling heroism.


Book cover of Descent

Jennifer Fawcett Author Of Beneath the Stairs

From my list on thrillers that give you something to chew on.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love thrillers. Mysteries, police procedurals, domestic noir, horrorā€”no matter the sub-genre, I love books that grip me in a well-structured plot. But the books that I re-read, that leave me thinking about them long after, have more than just the pull of a page-turner. Thereā€™s a lushness to the language, a psychological complexity to the characters, and the landscapes are alive, vivid, and filled with menace. I call these books ā€œchewyā€ because, like excellent food, thereā€™s so much to savor. They satisfy my cravings and fill me up, but their flavors and textures add layers to the experience. I hope youā€™ll devour and savor these books as much as I have.

Jennifer's book list on thrillers that give you something to chew on

Jennifer Fawcett Why did Jennifer love this book?

This book is a meticulous and gut-wrenching story of the unraveling of a family. At its center, is a young woman who is abducted while running in the Rockies, but it is so much more than that (and that story in and of itself is riveting). Iā€™ve always been drawn to stories that look at the ripples of an act of violence. Thereā€™s the shock of the act itself, but then thereā€™s all of the days and years after. What Johnston does so beautifully in this story is show how this family unravels but also how each one of them fights like hell to survive within that unraveling and how that hope ultimately saves them all. 

By Tim Johnston,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

As their world comes undone, the Courtlands are drawn into a vortex of dread and recrimination. Why weren't they more careful? What has happened to their daughter? Is she alive? Will they ever know? Caitlin's disappearance, all the more devastating for its mystery, is the beginning of the family's harrowing journey down increasingly divergent and solitary paths until all that continues to bind them together are the questions they can never bring themselves to ask: At what point does a family stop searching? At what point will a girl stop fighting for her life? Written with a precision that capturesā€¦


Book cover of What Dreams May Come

Donna Norman-Carbone Author Of All That Is Sacred

From my list on soulful connections.

Why am I passionate about this?

As someone who has experienced a lot of loss in my life, Iā€™ve done a good amount of research and exploration into the soulful nature in all of us (the living and the dead) through reading nonfiction (Laura Lynn Jackson, Brian Weiss, Edgar Cayce, Jane Roberts, John Edward and Suzane Northrop among them) and fiction that deals with strong soulful connections. Through my own work as an author, I seek to provide the message love, in any form, transcends life and death. We only have to be open to the possibility to know it and experience it. Nothing is a coincidence and we are all connected. I hope these selections open you to the possibility.

Donna's book list on soulful connections

Donna Norman-Carbone Why did Donna love this book?

When Chris, the main character of this novel, dies, he teeters between a majestic heaven and the depths of hell when he canā€™t let go of his life because of his wifeā€™s descent into depression.

This is a love story about a spirit that cannot move on because his soul is so deeply connected to his wife in the human world even though the peace heaven offers is tempting. This is the first novel opened my mind to the connections between souls on earth and those in the afterlife.

By Richard Matheson,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked What Dreams May Come as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

What happens to us after we die? Chris Nielsen had no idea, until an unexpected accident cut his life short, separating him abruptly from his beloved wife. Now Chris must discover the true nature of life after death. He also has to risk his very soul to save Annie from an eternity of despair.


Book cover of The Office of Historical Corrections: A Novella and Stories

Diane Lefer Author Of Out of Place

From my list on for recovering erased history.

Why am I passionate about this?

Soon after 9/11, I had dinner with several American scientists worried about how new security measures would affect international collaborations and foreign-born colleagues. Since science rarely if ever comes up in discourse about the War on Terror, that set me off. Iā€™m always drawn to whatever gets overlooked. I was born in one international city ā€“ New York ā€“ and have lived in another ā€“ Los Angeles ā€“ for over 20 years. Iā€™ve spent time on four continents and assisted survivors of violent persecution as they seek asylum ā€“ which may explain why I feel compelled to include viewpoints from outside the US and fill in the gaps when different cultural perspectives go missing.

Diane's book list on for recovering erased history

Diane Lefer Why did Diane love this book?

I couldnā€™t possibly leave out Danielle Evansā€™ story collection when the title novella portrays just the kind of cultural erasure and recuperation Iā€™ve been blathering on about. The protagonist, Cassie, is an obscure federal employee charged with correcting historical inaccuracies and omissions in public places and textbooks. Her mission intersects in Wisconsin with that of an old frenemy as both investigate an arson murder from 1937. Throughout the collection, these stories delight me line by line, with beautifully wrought prose, insight, and wit. Evans tackles fake news and current controversies about race, including fissures within the Black community, while always focusing on the personal dilemmas of her vividly alive characters. I am in awe of her talent. 

By Danielle Evans,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

'Sublime short stories of race, grief, and belonging . . . an extraordinary new collection'
New Yorker

'Evans's new stories present rich plots reflecting on race relations, grief, and love'
New York Times, Editor's Choice

'Brilliant . . . These stories are sly and prescient, a nuanced reflection of the world we are living in'
Roxane Gay

Danielle Evans is widely acclaimed for her blisteringly smart voice and X-ray insights into complex human relationships. With The Office of Historical Corrections, Evans zooms in on particular moments and relationships in her characters' lives in a way that allows them to speakā€¦


Book cover of The Courage to Grieve: The Classic Guide to Creative Living, Recovery, and Growth Through Grief

Allen Klein Author Of Embracing Life After Loss: A Gentle Guide for Growing Through Grief

From my list on grief and loss.

Why am I passionate about this?

Allen Klein is a former hospice volunteer and the former director of The Life-Death Transitions Institute in San Francisco. He has also spoken at over 100 hospice events around the world. In addition, several of his books have dealt with death, dying, and grief. Among them are, The Healing Power of Humor, The Courage to Laugh, and Embracing Life after Loss. Kleinā€™s interest in the connection between humor and death and dying came out of the death of his wife, who had a wonderful sense of humor. He saw how humor helped her, and those around her, cope with this challenging circumstance.

Allen's book list on grief and loss

Allen Klein Why did Allen love this book?

Experiencing a loss may feel overwhelming. That is why you need to read this comforting book; it can ease that feeling. Written by a Gestalt therapist, this book feels like the author is in the room with you helping you deal with your sorrow, guilt, loneliness, resentment, confusion, and encouraging you to take part in life again after your loss.

By Judy Tatelbaum,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Profound loss and disappointment are emotions that each of us will experience at some point in our lives. Loss is one of the most difficult experiences to come to terms with. The Courage to Grieve explores how we can deal with every kind of grief, revealing:

- How grief manifests itself in many ways, ranging from anguish, exhaustion, emptiness, resentment, longing, tension, confusion, sleeplessness and sometimes the temporary loss of the will to live.
- How we can help ourselves and others to cope with the immediate experience of death and the grief and mourning period that follows.
- Howā€¦


Book cover of The Grief Recovery Handbook: The Action Program for Moving Beyond Death, Divorce, and Other Losses including Health, Career, and Faith

Chonta T.A. Haynes Author Of Divinely Connected: Sister 2 Sister

From my list on adjust your attitude for the greater.

Why am I passionate about this?

My life was turned upside down because of a devastating divorce, becoming an empty nester, and my job as a theology professor ending. The identity crisis was real because the doing that gave me purpose was gone, yet God had a lesson and a purpose. I realized that what was left was more than what left me, and I understand that the key to resilience is your spiritual foundation. I believe the crown you wear is the treasure; elevation begins head first. Today, I empower women to live life confidently, on their terms, with peace and financial security. I help women reframe their stories, reinvent themselves, and reimagine their future. 

Chonta's book list on adjust your attitude for the greater

Chonta T.A. Haynes Why did Chonta love this book?

At some time in our lives, we all go through losing a loved one. I was introduced to this book after my mother died. I love the honesty of what others would say and the grace suggested to get through difficult seasons. Donā€™t be fooled that this is just a story to comfort.

This book helps you do the heart work to understand your feelings. I love the timeline and the fact that recovery is the main point of this book. Itā€™s not you hiding behind work, school, or substances. It helps you see the triggers and gives you tools to actually recover. 

By John W. James, Russell Friedman,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Updated to commemorate its 20th anniversary, this classic resource further explores the effects of grief and sheds new light on how to begin to take effective actions to complete the grieving process and work towards recovery and happiness.

Incomplete recovery from grief can have a lifelong negative effect on the capacity for happiness. Drawing from their own histories as well as from others', the authors illustrate how it is possible to recover from grief and regain energy and spontaneity.

Based on a proven program, The Grief Recovery Handbook offers grievers the specific actions needed to move beyond loss. New materialā€¦


Book cover of Mausoleum of Flowers
Book cover of PlayHouse: Poems
Book cover of Imperial Liquor: Poems

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