Love Nobody Said Not to Go? Readers share 100 books like Nobody Said Not to Go...

By Ken Cuthbertson,

Here are 100 books that Nobody Said Not to Go fans have personally recommended if you like Nobody Said Not to Go. 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 Travels with My Aunt

Cookie Boyle Author Of Entitled: Life isn't easy when you're a book

From my list on a unique narrator perspective.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m a Canadian author who has been fascinated with how others see the world since I was a child. I was captivated by Charlotteā€™s Web. If pigs and spiders could be having unheard conversations, what else was I missing? I delight in stories that invite me into the distinct world of the narrator, so itā€™s no surprise that my novel, Entitled, is written from a unique perspectiveā€”that of a book. When done well, these stories let us see life through the eyes of someone else. If we all experienced our surroundings, just for a minute, as others did, perhaps there would be more humanity in this world. 

Cookie's book list on a unique narrator perspective

Cookie Boyle Why did Cookie love this book?

Henry Pulling, a reluctantly retired bank manager, meets his 70-ish-year-old Aunt Augusta for the first time in more than 50 years at his motherā€™s funeral. His Aunt is vibrant, even outrageous, and he is anything butā€”a man whose only hobby is growing dahlias. An Aunt myself, I love a story about a wild, non-traditional Aunt, and her relationship with her nephew. As the title suggests, the story is told through the eyes of Henry. His views of his life and their travels are filled with humor and insight. The joy of this novel follows the challenges that arise when two generations confront their expectations of each other and themselvesā€”expectations that are never more alive than when we travel. 

By Graham Greene,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Travels with My Aunt as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Henry Pulling, a retired bank manager, meets his septuagenarian Aunt Augusta for the first time in over fifty years at his mother's funeral. Soon after, she persuades Henry to abandon Southwood, his dahlias and the Major next door to travel her way, through Brighton, Paris, Istanbul, Paraguay... Accompanying his aunt, Henry joins a shiftless, twilight society: mixing with hippies, war criminals, CIA men; smoking pot, breaking all the currency regulations and eventually coming alive after a dull suburban lifetime.


Book cover of They Came to Baghdad

Autumn Cornwell Author Of Carpe Diem

From my list on fish out of water travel books.

Why am I passionate about this?

Squat toilets, profuse sweating, jumbo centipedes, ear nibblingā€”these are just some of the delights Iā€™ve encountered in my global travels, which inspired my YA comedic adventure novels, Never Sorry Ever Jolly and Carpe Diem, which was published in the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, and China. Carpe Diem was also nominated for numerous YA awards, chosen as a Book Sense/Indie Bound Pick, received a starred review from the School Library Journal, and according to The Washington Post: ā€œThis is self-confessed travel junkie Autumn Cornwell's first novelā€”and she's hit one out of the park.ā€ Basically, I live my life as an adventure then write about it!

Autumn's book list on fish out of water travel books

Autumn Cornwell Why did Autumn love this book?

I read and reread this suspense novel as a teen, wanting to live vicariously through Victoria Jones ā€” a bored twenty-something working as a temp in 1950ā€™s London, yearning for adventure. After being fired for the umpteenth time, Victoria impulsively takes a job as a travel companion for an invalid heading to Baghdad, where political intrigue bubbles beneath the surface of the city. When a spy unexpectedly dies in her bedroom, Victoria finds herself on the run, and must hide out in an archaeological dig in the middle of the desert. Plot twists and unlikely romance culminate in a rather clever ending. Agatha Christieā€™s own experiences on digs in the Middle East lend this book the distinct flavor of that time period. If only the role of ā€œtravel companionā€ still existed today ā€” sign me up!

By Agatha Christie,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked They Came to Baghdad as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Agatha Christie's international mystery thriller, reissued with a striking new cover designed to appeal to the latest generation of Agatha Christie fans and book lovers.

Baghdad is the chosen location for a secret summit of superpowers, concerned but not convinced, about the development of an, as yet, unidentified and undescribed secret weapon.

Only one man has the proof that can confirm the nature of this fantastic secret weapon - a British agent named Carmichael. Unfortunately the criminal organisation responsible for the weapon's development will stop at nothing to prevent him entering Baghdad and presenting his proof to the assembled delegates.ā€¦


Book cover of The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax

Why am I passionate about this?

During a time of turmoil in my life, I discovered the soul-calming world of the cozy when I happened upon the Thrush Green series by Miss Read (Doris Saint). A former fan of thrillers, my time spent in these rural British villages was a revelation. Who knew how peaceful the mundane could be when seasoned with a pinch of humor and common sense? I expanded my reading to include cozy mysteries like the ones Iā€™ve recommended. Having reached the age of many of the ladies in these books, I appreciate even more their determination to continue to make a difference by using their unique experiences and skills.

J.B.'s book list on mature amateur sleuths who use their years of experience and wisdom to help solve crimes with aplomb

J.B. Hawker Why did J.B. love this book?

What could be more unexpected than for a New Jersey widow in her sixties to become a CIA agent? Especially during the Cold War era?

Perhaps it is this unexpected nature of the circumstances that helps this incurable optimist to turn every near disaster into a triumph of good over evil. I love Mrs. P.ā€™s indomitable spirit and seeing all the far-flung places her adventures take her through her eyes. Having lived through the 1960ā€™s, I can relate to the authentic attitudes of the time.

By Dorothy Gilman,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Mrs Emily Pollifax is a 60-ish widow wanting more from life than teas and garden club meetings. In search of adventure, she decides to offer her services to the CIA - who, after all, would spot a suburban grandmother as a cold war secret agent? - and adventure she finds. Her first assignment, in Mexico City, doesn't sound dangerous until something goes wrong. She suddenly finds herself abducted across the world, embroiled in quite a hot Cold War... and her abductors find themselves entangled with one unbelievably feisty lady. Armed with only an open mind and a little karate, Mrsā€¦


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Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctorā€”and only womanā€”on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route upā€¦

Book cover of Flight 714 (The Adventures of Tintin)

Autumn Cornwell Author Of Carpe Diem

From my list on fish out of water travel books.

Why am I passionate about this?

Squat toilets, profuse sweating, jumbo centipedes, ear nibblingā€”these are just some of the delights Iā€™ve encountered in my global travels, which inspired my YA comedic adventure novels, Never Sorry Ever Jolly and Carpe Diem, which was published in the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, and China. Carpe Diem was also nominated for numerous YA awards, chosen as a Book Sense/Indie Bound Pick, received a starred review from the School Library Journal, and according to The Washington Post: ā€œThis is self-confessed travel junkie Autumn Cornwell's first novelā€”and she's hit one out of the park.ā€ Basically, I live my life as an adventure then write about it!

Autumn's book list on fish out of water travel books

Autumn Cornwell Why did Autumn love this book?

I couldnā€™t resist adding a Tintin graphic novel to my list since Hergeā€™s adventure series is widely beloved ā€” 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 ā€” until the millionaireā€™s jet is hijacked and diverted to a volcanic island in Java. As always, Herge nails the geographical details, plot twists, cheeky humor ā€” and the idiosyncrasies of human nature, like grizzled Captain Haddockā€™s constant frustration with absentminded Professor Calculus. As a kid, these books opened entire worlds to me ā€” I couldnā€™t wait to grow up and embark on my own adventures!

By HergƩ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Flight 714 (The Adventures of Tintin) as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The classic graphic novel. On their way to Sydney, Tintin and Captain Haddock run into an old friend, a pilot who offers them a ride on a private jet. But when the plane gets hijacked, Tintin and the Captain find themselves prisoners on a deserted volcanic island!


Book cover of The Last Rose of Shanghai

Dora Levy Mossanen Author Of Love and War in the Jewish Quarter

From my list on captivating World War II love stories.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a novelist, whose Persian family is comprised of a colorful cast of characters, who supply me with invaluable fodder for my historical novels. Years ago, my grandfather, Dr. Habib Levy, recounted how, when he was the dentist of Reza Shah Pahlavi, the King of Iran, the king commanded him to convert to Islam. Aware he might be uttering his last words, my grandfather had replied, ā€œYour Majesty, a man who turns his back to his faith is a traitor, and his Majesty will not want a traitor for a dentist.ā€ Now, after decades, this long past scene became the inspiration for my fifth historical novel, Love and War in the Jewish Quarter.

Dora's book list on captivating World War II love stories

Dora Levy Mossanen Why did Dora love this book?

This novel swept me away to Shanghai during World War II and learned much I didnā€™t know about Shanghai, the Chinese culture at the time, and the consequences of World War II on the country and her people.

And above all, I kept turning the pages as I rooted for our brave Shanghai Heiress and a Jewish refugee, with nothing to his name, to consummate their forbidden love.

By Weina Dai Randel,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In Japanese-occupied Shanghai, two people from different cultures are drawn together by fate and the freedom of music...

1940. Aiyi Shao is a young heiress and the owner of a formerly popular and glamorous Shanghai nightclub. Ernest Reismann is a penniless Jewish refugee driven out of Germany, an outsider searching for shelter in a city wary of strangers. He loses nearly all hope until he crosses paths with Aiyi. When she hires Ernest to play piano at her club, her defiance of custom causes a sensation. His instant fame makes Aiyi's club once again the hottest spot in Shanghai. Soonā€¦


Book cover of Night in Shanghai

Claire Chao Author Of Remembering Shanghai: A Memoir of Socialites, Scholars and Scoundrels

From my list on Chinaā€™s greatest city Shanghai.

Why am I passionate about this?

ā€œOld Shanghaiā€ is in my blood: though raised in Hong Kong, I was surrounded by all things Shanghai through my parents and their friends, who had grown up during Shanghaiā€™s 1930s heyday. The classical culture ā€¦ the modern glamour ā€¦ the breathtaking scandals! Since childhood Iā€™ve searched for connections to my heritage; this fascination led me, years later, to write Remembering Shanghai with my mother, by then in her eighties. Having immersed myself in Shanghai history and culture most of my life, I am passionate about intimate, authentic stories that are told against a rich historical backdropā€”the kind that make reviewers say ā€œyou canā€™t make this up!ā€

Claire's book list on Chinaā€™s greatest city Shanghai

Claire Chao Why did Claire love this book?

At the center of the novel Night in Shanghai is Black American musician Thomas Greene, who arrives in Shanghai from segregated Baltimore to find wealth, position, and loveā€”only to have his life changed forever by the outbreak of World War II. Author Nicole Mones was a businesswoman in China in the 1970s; her China experience, coupled with meticulous research, makes this a pitch-perfect portrait of the city and its denizens. A talented storyteller, she describes the little-known Black American experience of Shanghai, taking the reader from go-go Shanghai to wartime, weaving in actual events, characters, and depictions of the nightspots and jazz clubs of my parentsā€™ Shanghai.

By Nicole Mones,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In 1936, classical pianist Thomas Greene is recruited to Shanghai to lead a jazz orchestra of fellow African-American expats. From being flat broke in segregated Baltimore to living in a mansion with servants of his own, he becomes the toast of a city obsessed with music, money, pleasure and power, even as it ignores the rising winds of war.
Song Yuhua is refined and educated, and has been bonded since age eighteen to Shanghai's most powerful crime boss in payment for her father's gambling debts. Outwardly submissive, she burns with rage and risks her life spying on her master forā€¦


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Book cover of American Daredevil: Comics, Communism, and the Battles of Lev Gleason

American Daredevil by Brett Dakin,

Meet Lev Gleason, a real-life comics superhero! Gleason was a titan among Golden Age comics publishers who fought back against the censorship campaigns and paranoia of the Red Scare. After dropping out of Harvard to fight in World War I in France, Gleason moved to New York City and eventuallyā€¦

Book cover of Bernardine's Shanghai Salon: The Story of the Doyenne of Old China

Jean Hoffman Lewanda Author Of Shalama: My 96 Seasons in China

From my list on about incredible women in China through time.

Why am I passionate about this?

From the moment I could understand that there was a country very far away where my mother was born, where my parents met, where their Russian and Austrian families could live safely, where there was no antisemitism, I wanted to know more about China. The cultures my family came from could not have been more different than Chinese culture, yet my great-grandparents, grandparents and parents chose to find haven in a distant land that presented obstacles, but did not throw up barriers. Iā€™ve come to discover that throughout time, regardless of culture, regardless of station, women have achieved amazing things in the complicated and mysterious society that has been China throughout time.

Jean's book list on about incredible women in China through time

Jean Hoffman Lewanda Why did Jean love this book?

In 1929, Bernardine Szold Fritz, age 33, accepted a proposal of marriage that brought her to Shanghai. From the very beginning, I was intrigued. Why would a single Jewish woman hop a train to China to be with a fourth husband, a man she met briefly in Paris? While the marriage is a disappointment, Art Deco Shanghai is not. 

Like other Jewish women before her, she started a salon in her home and an International Arts Theater that saw the likes of Hollywood luminaries and famous names in the arts and politics. I was mesmerized by how Bernardineā€™s commitment to intellectual pursuits defied the fragile political situation that existed in Shanghai through the civil wars and the time period leading up to World War II. She brought creativity and joy to a city that would soon change forever.

By Susan Blumberg-Kason,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bernardine's Shanghai Salon as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Meet the Jewish salon host in 1930s Shanghai who brought together Chinese and expats around the arts as civil war erupted and World War II loomed on the horizon.

Bernardine Szold Fritz arrived in Shanghai in 1929 to marry her fourth husband. Only thirty-three years old, she found herself in a time and place like no other. Political intrigue and scandal lurked on every street corner. Art Deco cinemas showed the latest Hollywood flicks, while dancehall owners and jazz musicians turned Shanghai into Asia's top nightlife destination.

Yet from the night of their wedding, Bernardine's new husband did not liveā€¦


Book cover of China's Trial by Fire: The Shanghai War of 1932

Martin Petersen Author Of City of Lost Souls: A Jack Ford Shanghai Mystery

From my list on life in Shanghai in Sino-Japanese War.

Why am I passionate about this?

I fell in love with Asia as a young boy growing up in Phoenix, Arizona. Many of my playmates were Asian Americans, and I was fascinated by the photos of their ancestors who had immigrated to America. That curiosity grew to a passionā€”one that led me to a long career as an Asian expert in the US Government. My first visit to China in the early 1980s took me to Shanghai before its incredible transformation. I knew much of its history, but walking the streets, seeing the buildings, and encountering its citizens made it real and left me wanting more. The history of Shanghai became a hobby.

Martin's book list on life in Shanghai in Sino-Japanese War

Martin Petersen Why did Martin love this book?

I love history, especially of Asia and WWII, and Jordanā€™s intense and harrowing description of the ā€œbattle at the end of the streetā€ in 1932 between the Chinese Nationalists and Japan moved me with its descriptions of the destruction and suffering it brought. Jordan is an academic, but this isnā€™t a stodgy history. 

Jordanā€™s lively account covers not only the fighting, but the political maneuvering running up to it, efforts by the international community to control it, and the heroic stand by the Chinese Nineteen Route Army that gave the Japanese militarists all they could handle. I came away with not only a deeper understanding of WWII in China but greater respect for the Chinese soldier.

By Donald A. Jordan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked China's Trial by Fire as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?


China's Trial by Firepresents the balanced history of how, ten years before Pearl Harbor, Japan tested modern China in a thirty-three-day war, now known as the Shanghai War of1932. Often obscured by the larger World War II, this history details how the Chinese fought from trenches against Japan's modern bombers and navy, and formed a defense that brought the country together for the first time.
Unlike other histories' brief generalizations of the incident, this study traces the war from the initial January 28th Japanese marine raid on Chinese Shanghai. It also studies the roles played by the prevailing Japanese leaders,ā€¦


Book cover of Champions Day: The End of Old Shanghai

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom Author Of Vigil: Hong Kong on the Brink

From my list on twentieth-century Shanghai.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been fascinated by history since I spent a year in Britain as a ten-year-old. I became hooked on novels set in ancient Greece and Rome and found it incredibly exotic to walk through old buildings and imagine the lives of the people who had walked through those same doors. In college, I began studying history in earnest and grew intrigued by China, especially Chinese cities during periods of upheaval and transformation. My first passion was Shanghai history, and I spent time there in the mid-1980s before the soaring Pudong skyscrapers that are now among its most iconic structures were built. I have since shifted my attention to Hong Kong, a city I had enjoyed visiting for decades but had not written about until after I completed my last book on Shanghai. My fascination with cities that are in China but enmeshed in global processes and are sites of protest has been a constant.

Jeffrey's book list on twentieth-century Shanghai

Jeffrey N. Wasserstrom Why did Jeffrey love this book?

Shanghai, which was once called the ā€œHollywood of Asia,ā€ has always been a cinematic city par excellence, so a good way to describe the charms of this book is via movie terms. In one sense, it zooms in tightly on a specific day in the history of the city and what was happening in a single setting. It mixes close-ups of a horse race and some people who came to watch it, though, with wide-angle shots and flashbacks. The author, a skilled historian with deep knowledge of Chinese history and a stylish writer, moves effortlessly between Shanghai in the early 1940s as the Japanese militaryā€™s World War II era grip on the city and much of China was tightening and earlier points in its past. He also moves fluidly between the racecourseā€”a potent symbol, as during the height of the British imperial period, Britons would often build these to markā€¦

By James Carter,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

12 November 1941: war and revolution are in the air. At the Shanghai Race Club, the elite prepare their best horses and most nimble jockeys for the annual Champions Day races. Across the city and amid tight security, others celebrated the birth of Sun Yat-Sen in a new centre which challenged European imperialism. Thousands more Shanghai residents attended the funeral of China's wealthiest woman. But the biggest crowd gathered at the track; no one knew it, but Champions Day heralded the end of European Shanghai. Through this snapshot of the day's events, the rich and complex history that led toā€¦


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Book cover of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier,

The coaching book that's for all of us, not just coaches.

It's the best-selling book on coaching this century, with 15k+ online reviews. BrenƩ Brown calls it "a classic". Dan Pink said it was "essential".

It is practical, funny, and short, and "unweirds" coaching. Whether you're a parent, a teacher,ā€¦

Book cover of Love in a Fallen City

Janet Beard Author Of The Atomic City Girls

From my list on womenā€™s experiences of World War II.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up near Oak Ridge, Tennessee, I was aware that the city had historical significance but also that it wasnā€™t particularly famous, at least to people from outside the region. Iā€™ve always been drawn to these sorts of overlooked stories from history, which are, not coincidentally, often womenā€™s stories. Women made up the majority of workers in Oak Ridge during World War II, and for decades afterward, their stories were generally viewed as less important than male-dominated narratives of the war. But Iā€™ve always believed that womenā€™s stories are no less interesting than menā€™s. These books look at historyā€™s worst conflict from unique perspectives that foreground the female experience. 

Janet's book list on womenā€™s experiences of World War II

Janet Beard Why did Janet love this book?

Though these collected stories were popular in Changā€™s native China when first published in the 1940s, decades passed before they were translated into English. The title story brings war-torn Hong Kong to life, but even against the most dramatic political backdrop, Changā€™s focus is firmly on women and relationships. Though the time and place may seem remote, readers will find universal emotions in these carefully constructed tales. 

By Eileen Chang, Karen S. Kingsbury (translator),

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Love in a Fallen City as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Masterful short works about passion, family, and human relationships by one of the greatest writers of 20th century China. 

A New York Review Books Original

 

ā€œ[A] giant of modern Chinese literatureā€ ā€“The New York Times

 

"With language as sharp as a knife edge, Eileen Chang cut open a huge divide in Chinese culture, between the classical patriarchy and our troubled modernity. She was one of the very few able truly to connect that divide, just as her heroines often disappeared inside it. She is the fallen angel of Chinese literature, and now, with these excellent new translations, English readers canā€¦


Book cover of Travels with My Aunt
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Book cover of The Unexpected Mrs. Pollifax

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