86 books like Negotiations with God 2

By R.W. Sowrider,

Here are 86 books that Negotiations with God 2 fans have personally recommended if you like Negotiations with God 2. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Finding Jimmy Moran: Codicil to The Claire Trilogy

Joe Barrett Author Of Managed Care

From my list on people who don’t take themselves too seriously.

Why am I passionate about this?

I read Lolita as a college freshman and laughed out loud as Nabokov made me love the goofy, intelligent, and clearly sociopathic Humbert Humbert. Nabokov’s fun was palpable; it made me want to write. And knee-jerk criticisms of Lolita drove me crazy – how can people take themselves so seriously as to be offended by fictional characters? To me, an author’s ability to inspire genuine empathy for characters with distorted, irreverent, or socially unacceptable perspectives is both genius and riotously fun (something that people too busy looking for a reason to be offended will unfortunately never appreciate). Hope you enjoy this book list for people who don’t take themselves too seriously!

Joe's book list on people who don’t take themselves too seriously

Joe Barrett Why did Joe love this book?

I loved all of McCaffrey’s The Claire Trilogy books and recommend reading them first, but Finding Jimmy Moran will always occupy a special place in my heart.

McCaffrey is a born storyteller – he pulls you into his world and makes it feel like your own. The book is gritty, hilarious, sometimes gut-wrenching and (while allegedly fiction) it is also one of the most accurate representations of the wild west reckless abandon enjoyed by New York kids growing up in the 1970s and ’80s.

It’s the type of book that makes you want to break out a bottle of good Irish whiskey and read in a single sitting.

By Tom McCaffrey,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Prequel to the bestselling novel, The Wise Ass.

"The Claire Trilogy gives us Jimmy Moran, resurrected mob lawyer turned alien godfather of a crew of mystical misfits, including Claire the Mule. Finding Jimmy Moran shows the world the magical origins that make Jimmy tick. Don't miss this." -Ivy Logan, author of Broken (The Breach Chronicles)

Who is Jimmy Moran? It starts with a lucky penny. Then a muse who bestows a mystical gift. Or maybe a curse? Family, friends, and fights abound as Jimmy breaks the law, looks for love in all the wrong places and experiences loss that transforms…


Book cover of Apathy and Other Small Victories

Joe Barrett Author Of Managed Care

From my list on people who don’t take themselves too seriously.

Why am I passionate about this?

I read Lolita as a college freshman and laughed out loud as Nabokov made me love the goofy, intelligent, and clearly sociopathic Humbert Humbert. Nabokov’s fun was palpable; it made me want to write. And knee-jerk criticisms of Lolita drove me crazy – how can people take themselves so seriously as to be offended by fictional characters? To me, an author’s ability to inspire genuine empathy for characters with distorted, irreverent, or socially unacceptable perspectives is both genius and riotously fun (something that people too busy looking for a reason to be offended will unfortunately never appreciate). Hope you enjoy this book list for people who don’t take themselves too seriously!

Joe's book list on people who don’t take themselves too seriously

Joe Barrett Why did Joe love this book?

I’ve probably read Apathy and Other Small Victories a dozen times.

The first time was on an international flight, and I was laughing so hard that I was legitimately concerned that the seat next to me was going to call for an air marshal to lock me down. Like a modern-day, more introspective cousin of JP Donleavy’s The Ginger Man, this book will either offend the hell out of you or have you laughing out loud on just about every page. It will always be one of my all-time favorites.

By Paul Neilan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Apathy and Other Small Victories as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A scathingly funny debut novel about disillusionment, indifference, and one man's desperate fight to assign absolutely no meaning to modern life.

The only thing Shane cares about is leaving. Usually on a Greyhound bus, right before his life falls apart again. Just like he planned. But this time it's complicated: there's a sadistic corporate climber who thinks she's his girlfriend, a rent-subsidized affair with his landlord's wife, and the bizarrely appealing deaf assistant to Shane's cosmically unstable dentist.

When one of the women is murdered, and Shane is the only suspect who doesn't care enough to act like he didn't…


Book cover of The Other Hotel

Joe Barrett Author Of Managed Care

From my list on people who don’t take themselves too seriously.

Why am I passionate about this?

I read Lolita as a college freshman and laughed out loud as Nabokov made me love the goofy, intelligent, and clearly sociopathic Humbert Humbert. Nabokov’s fun was palpable; it made me want to write. And knee-jerk criticisms of Lolita drove me crazy – how can people take themselves so seriously as to be offended by fictional characters? To me, an author’s ability to inspire genuine empathy for characters with distorted, irreverent, or socially unacceptable perspectives is both genius and riotously fun (something that people too busy looking for a reason to be offended will unfortunately never appreciate). Hope you enjoy this book list for people who don’t take themselves too seriously!

Joe's book list on people who don’t take themselves too seriously

Joe Barrett Why did Joe love this book?

The Other Hotel was my first Jack Stroke book and after the first few pages I was hooked.

The writing is easy, authentic, and unpretentious – reading it quickly made me feel like I was hanging out with an old friend. The plot is twisted, the characters are off-the-hook, and Stroke has the unique capacity to inject a sense of apathetic calm into situations where all hell is breaking loose – making the book a tremendous amount of fun.

I highly recommend the whole series.

By Jack Stroke,

Why should I read it?

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


Book cover of Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One

Joe Barrett Author Of Managed Care

From my list on people who don’t take themselves too seriously.

Why am I passionate about this?

I read Lolita as a college freshman and laughed out loud as Nabokov made me love the goofy, intelligent, and clearly sociopathic Humbert Humbert. Nabokov’s fun was palpable; it made me want to write. And knee-jerk criticisms of Lolita drove me crazy – how can people take themselves so seriously as to be offended by fictional characters? To me, an author’s ability to inspire genuine empathy for characters with distorted, irreverent, or socially unacceptable perspectives is both genius and riotously fun (something that people too busy looking for a reason to be offended will unfortunately never appreciate). Hope you enjoy this book list for people who don’t take themselves too seriously!

Joe's book list on people who don’t take themselves too seriously

Joe Barrett Why did Joe love this book?

I recommend starting with Volume One of the series, which is fantastic. But I’m calling out Volume Two in this particular list because it’s where Jerry, one of my favorite characters ever, really hits his stride.

Not to take anything away from Jack (the first-person protagonist who exhibits a dry, laid-back sense of humor in the face of all kinds of outrageous paranormal absurdities) but for me Jerry is a perfect example of a character that doesn’t take himself, or anything else in the world, seriously at all.

Without a doubt the best dark humor series set in a gas station that I’ve read in years.

By Jack Townsend,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Tales from the Gas Station as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Drunk customers. Shoplifting raccoons. Otherworldly visitors. As night shift clerk at the twenty-four-hour gas station at the edge of town, Jack has pretty much seen it all.


That is, until his best friend reveals the body of a local politician hidden in the trunk of a car, setting off a chain of events with apocalyptic potential. Soon, Jack finds himself entangled in a supernatural conspiracy involving monster hunters, sociopaths, doomsday cultists, and... garden gnomes?


Armed with nothing but his wits, sarcasm, and alarming amounts of coffee, can Jack stay alive long enough to see another morning shift? Or will he,…


Book cover of Getting Higher: The Manual of Psychedelic Ceremony

Andy Letcher Author Of Shroom: A Cultural History of the Magic Mushroom

From my list on the riddle of psychedelics.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've been fascinated by psychedelics since I was a teenager, and along with my book I’ve written a number of academic papers and book chapters on the subject. It intrigues me how subtle changes in the brain’s chemistry leads to such profound changes in perception, cognition, and feeling, including religious feeling. I want to know what those experiences mean, and what they can tell us about the world. For if all they are is some derangement of the senses, why is it that so many writers, thinkers, philosophers and artists return to the experience, again and again? There is a riddle here, a mystery, and I love that I’m able to devote my research time to trying to answer it.

Andy's book list on the riddle of psychedelics

Andy Letcher Why did Andy love this book?

If all my choices so far have been, in some way, about the psychedelic experience, this is a practical hands-on guide about how to occasion one yourself. Psychedelics can be consumed safely, but there are attendant risks, not least from their continued illegality in many parts of the world. Vayne, who has decades of experience as a psychedelic user and ritual technician, talks the reader through recommended ways to prepare for a psychedelic experience, how to navigate what subsequently unfolds, and how to integrate it afterwards. This is the indispensable guide for the psy-curious, and even better it comes with a cover designed by legendary British psychedelic comic artist, Pete Loveday. 

By Julian Vayne, Pete Loveday,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Getting Higher is a manual for exploring the use of psychedelic substances in the contexts of spirituality, self-transformation and magic. This is the psychonaut s essential guide. The techniques presented here work whether you're a scientist or a shaman; there's no requirement to believe in anything other than the wonder of your own neurochemistry and the value of the psychedelic experience. Getting Higher describes the psychedelic triangle of Set, Setting and Substance. It suggests strategies to hold and enhance the psychedelic experience; from games to play when you are high, through to complete entheogenic ceremonies. It will help you to…


Book cover of Tripping: An Anthology of True-Life Psychedelic Adventures

Cody Johnson Author Of Magic Medicine: A Trip Through the Intoxicating History and Modern-Day Use of Psychedelic Plants and Substances

From my list on exploring psychedelics without taking any.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been fascinated by strange and “forbidden” states of consciousness. My first taste of psychedelia came in the form of cannabis—more potent and otherworldly than it gets credit for—and quickly graduated to MDMA, which blew me away. I dove head first into this new world, experimenting with psychedelics new and ancient while reading about all things psychedelic: their history, emerging science, and therapeutic and spiritual possibilities. My other great passion is books, so it was only natural that I would try to encapsulate all that I had learned in book form.

Cody's book list on exploring psychedelics without taking any

Cody Johnson Why did Cody love this book?

There are plenty of academic tomes about psychedelics—their chemistry, their medical applications, their cultural impact, and so on. I was hunting for something more personal: stories of people’s experiences while zonked out of their gourds. What I found was this aptly named collection of tripping stories, with chapters submitted by writers from all walks of life.

It's a sipping book—at over 500 pages, it’s one you take a chapter at a time, not devour cover to cover. What makes the book special is its remarkable curation: the stories are diverse, covering the full gamut of psychedelic experiences from spiritual nirvana to hellish ordeals. Some stories struck me as stronger than others, but thanks to the editor’s deft hand, the prose always sparkles.

Like a good acid trip, the overall effect is stimulating and emotionally satisfying. But unlike a real trip, this vicarious ride is one you can pause and resume…

By Charles Hayes (editor),

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A collection of transformational, awe-provoking psychedelic experiences. 

In Tripping, Charles Hayes has gathered fifty narratives about unforgettable psychedelic experiences from an international array of subjects representing all walks of life--respectable Baby Boomers, aging hippies, young ravers, and accomplished writers such as John Perry Barlow, Anne Waldman, Robert Charles Wilson, Paul Devereux, and Tim Page. Taking a balanced, objective approach, the book depicts a broad spectrum of altered states, from the sublime to the terrifying. Hayes's supplemental essays provide a synopsis of the history and culture of psychedelics and a discussion of the kinetics of tripping. Specially featured is an interview…


Book cover of Astrology, Karma & Transformation

Noel Eastwood Author Of Psychological Astrology And The Twelve Houses

From my list on for learning psychological astrology.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've had a deep passion for the esoteric world since childhood. I read books on everything to do with ghosts, magic, and astral travel, and began drawing up astrology charts from books I had borrowed from the library as a teenager. I studied astrology back in the mid-1980s when the new age was in full swing. Ten years later I went back to university and studied to become a psychologist. I am a firm believer that an understanding of personality through depth psychotherapy, and the hidden wisdom found in alternative schools of knowledge, can enhance one’s personal and spiritual growth in the difficult times we face today.

Noel's book list on for learning psychological astrology

Noel Eastwood Why did Noel love this book?

When I read his expose of the Saturn Return I knew that I had hit upon a hidden gem. His description of how to read and use the conflicts of planets, signs, and houses within the chart changed the way I approached my readings, and to Stephen, I am eternally grateful.

By Stephen Arroyo,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Astrology, Karma & Transformation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This insightful and original book focuses on the understanding and use of astrology as a tool for spiritual and psychological growth. In contrast to traditional prediction-oriented astrology, this new approach to the most ancient of all sciences is based upon the law of karma and the urge toward self-transformation. Especially emphasizing the transformative and karmic significance of Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, this book places all astrological techniques in a growth-oriented perspective. It is especially pertinent for those whose interest in astrology is based on a recognition of its spiritual significance and its value for enhancing self-knowledge. Included are chapters…


Book cover of Don't Forget to Remember

Natalee Creech Author Of Nothing: Nothing Can Separate You from God's Love!

From my list on children’s books about God’s love.

Why am I passionate about this?

“I am loved and forgiven. What a wonderful thing! I’m adopted as God’s own. I’m a child of the King!” I am an author who wants to help parents write important truths on their children’s hearts. Nothing is a book I wish I had written sooner, and would have loved to have read with my own children when they were little enough to hold in my lap. I hope these book recommendations help you share God’s love with your little ones, so that when they grow up they are sure of the promise that nothing can ever separate them from God’s love.

Natalee's book list on children’s books about God’s love

Natalee Creech Why did Natalee love this book?

With gentle rhyming verse, Ellie Holcomb’s Don’t Forget to Remember tells how all creation reminds us of God’s love. Kayla Harren’s beautiful illustrations are more detailed than what is typical in a board book. I also recommend listening to Ellie Holcomb's song by the same title. Be warned though; you may find yourself singing it at any given moment. 

By Ellie Holcomb, Kayla Harren (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Don't Forget to Remember as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Do you ever forget to remember what's true? 

Sometimes remembering is hard to do! But in this lyrical tale, Ellie Holcomb celebrates creation’s reminders of God’s love, which surrounds us from sunrise to sunset, even on our most forgetful of days.

Visit the Lifeway Brand Store for more inspirational products.
 


Book cover of The God Code: The Secret of Our Past, the Promise of Our Future

Elizabeth E. Botchis Author Of Awakening the Holographic Human: Nature's Path to Healing and Higher Consciousness

From my list on healing ourselves and our planet.

Why am I passionate about this?

Lilli Botchis, PhD, is a psycho-spiritual counselor, educator, and vibrational medicine developer with four decades of experience in advanced body/soul wellness and the development of higher consciousness. Her expertise includes botanicals, gems, color, flower essences, bio-energy therapies, and holographic soul readings. Lilli is an alchemist, mystic, and translator of Nature’s language as it speaks to our soul. A brilliant researcher in the field of consciousness, she understands the interconnectedness of Nature and the human being and is known as an extraordinary emissary of the natural world. Lilli has been inducted into the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Knights Hospitaller. Many seek her out for her visionary insights and compassionate wisdom.

Elizabeth's book list on healing ourselves and our planet

Elizabeth E. Botchis Why did Elizabeth love this book?

Gregg Braden is an example of one who has discovered how to live the spirituality within science. In this brilliant and insightful work, he links our genetic code to biblical alphabets to prove the unity of the human race and the idea that we are all greater than our beliefs. Braden shows that deep within our genetic code, held in the sanctuary of the DNA, is the universal message that traverses humanity—all cultures, all races, all genders: the name of God. Applying this message to our lives, we can transcend our beliefs, our biases, our conditioning to create a more harmonious condition of living for all of humanity.

By Gregg Braden,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A coded message has been found within the molecules of life, deep within the DNA in each cell of our bodies. In this book what we once believed of our past is about to change. Through a remarkable discovery linking Biblical alphabets to our genetic code, the 'language of life' may now be read as the ancient letters of a timeless message. This message is the same in each cell of every man, woman, and child, past and present.

During his extensive 12-year study of the most sacred and honoured traditions of humankind he has discovered tangible and unprecedented evidence…


Book cover of Red Heir

Jane Buehler Author Of The Forest Bride

From my list on romance set in a lighthearted, cozy fantasy world.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always loved fantasy worlds and romantic stories, but in recent years I’ve found it harder to read stories with extreme violence or trauma. When I started writing fiction, I planned to write a fantasy romance with a kingdom and a battle, but I couldn’t do it—my characters organized a nonviolent revolution and formed a democratic system of governance instead. I reconsidered and decided to write what I call cozy fantasy romances. So many types of romance novels could be set in a fantasy world, such as an office romance or road trip comedy. I’ve been searching for these types of romance novels—fun, lighthearted romances set in a fantasy world—and am slowly finding them.

Jane's book list on romance set in a lighthearted, cozy fantasy world

Jane Buehler Why did Jane love this book?

This book made me laugh out loud so many times—it's the funniest fantasy I have ever read. An oddball crew breaks into the protagonist’s prison cell to rescue a prince, so the protagonist claims to be the prince and is rescued along with his cellmate.

The journey back to the prince’s country is a road trip comedy with a wacky cast... but amid all the crude jokes are real emotional moments and characters being kind to each other. The protagonist can’t stop himself from falling for the prince and grows as a person in the process. Nothing about the story ever gets too serious, and the bad bits happen quickly and without prolonged trauma. I loved everything about it.

By Lisa Henry, Sarah Honey,

Why should I read it?

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


5 book lists we think you will like!

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