61 books like Porcelain

By William Hage, Matthew Hage (editor),

Here are 61 books that Porcelain fans have personally recommended if you like Porcelain. 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 Bird Box

Susan Whiting Kemp Author Of The Climate Machine

From my list on disasters where society fails suddenly.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve written or edited thousands of science and engineering proposals, blog posts, and reports, and in the past decade, disaster resilience has become a major subject of these documents. I’ve come to realize that while it’s possible to be ready for disasters, few people truly are. In the books I’m recommending, something vital to life has been stolen and the disasters are so overpowering that mere survival is a nearly impossible goal. This forces the characters into unusual and heroic action. Their choices are sometimes surprising and always compelling, and I loved sharing their journeys.   

Susan's book list on disasters where society fails suddenly

Susan Whiting Kemp Why did Susan love this book?

It fascinates me how in a disaster, from one day to the next, nothing is ever the same again.

In Bird Box, where something is turning people violently suicidal, “…it definitely begins when a person sees something.

At first there’s a rumor in a faraway country, but later the world abruptly changes. Nobody can be outside without a blindfold, millions are dying, and society collapses.

It would be bad enough to literally never see the world outside of your house, but then Malorie has to take a journey on a river…while blindfolded...with two blindfolded children…amidst creatures she knows almost nothing about.

That’s pure insanity that makes for a riveting, absorbing book, and Malorie’s determination is beyond inspiring. 

By Josh Malerman,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked Bird Box as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Josh Malerman's debut novel Bird Box is a terrifying, Hitchcockesque psychological horror that is sure to stay with you long after reading.

Malorie raises the children the only way she can: indoors.

The house is quiet. The doors are locked, the curtains are closed, mattresses are nailed over the windows.

They are out there. She might let them in.

The children sleep in the bedroom across the hall.

Soon she will have to wake them. Soon she will have to blindfold them.

Today they must leave the house. Today they will risk everything.


Book cover of Wolf Land

Yawatta Hosby Author Of Urban Legends

From my list on being terrorized by things that go bump in the night.

Why am I passionate about this?

Hola, I’m Yawatta Hosby, and I have an open mind about monsters, ghosts, and urban legends. I believe they’re real, especially the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. Earth is too big to only have humans. I have a passion for the topic being terrorized by things that go bump in the night. My book, Urban Legends, plays into that theme. October, the spooky season, is my favorite. Halloween is my favorite holiday. Every year, I watch a horror movie every day for 31 days straight. I also love reading horror books and researching urban legends. I’d like to think I’m an expert in horror, but it could all be in my head haha.

Yawatta's book list on being terrorized by things that go bump in the night

Yawatta Hosby Why did Yawatta love this book?

I loved how I got fooled into thinking someone was the main character, but he got an untimely end at the beginning of the book. It was refreshing to see the author not afraid to have a surprising twist. This werewolf story held my interest from chapter one to the end. The author never sugarcoated the werewolf’s victims, describing every tear from limb to limb. He wasn’t afraid to make the story as scary as possible. No room for interpretation–the original werewolves were clever hunters and definitely villains. The bonfire scene was very creepy, in a good way.

By Jonathan Janz,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"...this is what werewolf horror is supposed to feel like: gruesome, bloody, dark, angry, messy, and downright terrifying." - Howling Libraries
Aside from a quaint amusement park, the small town of Lakeview offers little excitement for Duane, Savannah, and their friends. They're about to endure their ten-year high school reunion when their lives are shattered by the arrival of an ancient, vengeful evil.
The werewolf.
The first attack leaves seven dead and four wounded. And though the beast remains on the loose and eager to spill more blood, the sleepy resort town is about to face an even greater terror.…


Book cover of Malice

Yawatta Hosby Author Of Urban Legends

From my list on being terrorized by things that go bump in the night.

Why am I passionate about this?

Hola, I’m Yawatta Hosby, and I have an open mind about monsters, ghosts, and urban legends. I believe they’re real, especially the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. Earth is too big to only have humans. I have a passion for the topic being terrorized by things that go bump in the night. My book, Urban Legends, plays into that theme. October, the spooky season, is my favorite. Halloween is my favorite holiday. Every year, I watch a horror movie every day for 31 days straight. I also love reading horror books and researching urban legends. I’d like to think I’m an expert in horror, but it could all be in my head haha.

Yawatta's book list on being terrorized by things that go bump in the night

Yawatta Hosby Why did Yawatta love this book?

The author did great creating a frightening vibe throughout the book. I was spooked from the very first sentence–"The stranger grinned and his sunken cheeks made his face look like a skull.” I loved that the story was a mystery with Lysander trying to figure out why he was seeing unusual things. I also enjoyed the sarcastic sense of humor in Derek, Sam, and Lysander’s friendship. I was definitely kept in suspense until the last second. Moral of the story–don’t mess with a witch; you may pay for what your ancestors did.

By Griffin Hayes,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"The chill-factor was immensely high in Malice! This was a great read." --J.A. Redmerski, #1 bestselling Kindle author of THE EDGE OF NEVER.
Welcome to Millingham, MA, pop. 5000... 4997... 4993...
A serial killer stalks the streets of this small, isolated community. A killer as ancient as the town itself, murdering at will and never leaving a trace.

The sheriff has convinced himself and others that the recent rash of deaths in the town are just suicides, but Lysander Shore knows different. He knows the townsfolk are being hunted by something that shouldn't exist. And the deeper Lysander digs, the…


Book cover of Five Midnights

Yawatta Hosby Author Of Urban Legends

From my list on being terrorized by things that go bump in the night.

Why am I passionate about this?

Hola, I’m Yawatta Hosby, and I have an open mind about monsters, ghosts, and urban legends. I believe they’re real, especially the Loch Ness Monster and Bigfoot. Earth is too big to only have humans. I have a passion for the topic being terrorized by things that go bump in the night. My book, Urban Legends, plays into that theme. October, the spooky season, is my favorite. Halloween is my favorite holiday. Every year, I watch a horror movie every day for 31 days straight. I also love reading horror books and researching urban legends. I’d like to think I’m an expert in horror, but it could all be in my head haha.

Yawatta's book list on being terrorized by things that go bump in the night

Yawatta Hosby Why did Yawatta love this book?

I was surprised at the beginning because I thought Vico would be a main character, but he ended up being the monster’s victim in the first few pages. A very chilling scene. The author was great at describing Puerto Rico to the point I could picture the setting vividly without ever visiting Puerto Rico in real life. All the scenes were interesting and moved the plot forward. I really liked how the teenagers teamed up to try and solve the mystery of the monster. They each had a past they regretted. My favorite line in the book, "You’ve been watching too many movies. Things just aren’t that interesting in real life.”

By Ann Dávila Cardinal,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Ann Dávila Cardinal's Five Midnights is a “wickedly thrilling” (William Alexander) and “flat-out unputdownable” (Paul Tremblay) novel based on the el Cuco myth set against the backdrop of modern day Puerto Rico.

2019 Digital Book World Award Winner for best Suspense/Horror Book

Five friends cursed. Five deadly fates. Five nights of retribución.

If Lupe Dávila and Javier Utierre can survive each other’s company, together they can solve a series of grisly murders sweeping though Puerto Rico. But the clues lead them out of the real world and into the realm of myths and legends. And if they want to catch…


Book cover of The Season of You & Me

Jennifer Salvato Doktorski Author Of The Summer After You and Me

From my list on set in New Jersey by NJ authors.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a proud Jersey girl who grew up walking to the ice cream shop where Tony Soprano took his last breath and spending summers “Down the Shore,” near the MTV house, where Snookie and Co. tried to claim the Jersey Shore as their own. When I was younger, outsiders almost had me convinced those overdone jokes about New Jersey were on to something. After traveling the world and living in other places, I realized how much my home state had to offer. My four young adult novels feature proud Jersey girl protagonists and two of my books are set at the real Jersey shore—The Summer After You and Me and August and Everything After.

Jennifer's book list on set in New Jersey by NJ authors

Jennifer Salvato Doktorski Why did Jennifer love this book?

Set at the Jersey Shore, this book by fellow New Jersey native Robin Constantine, is my book’s soul sister (right down to the cover) and Robin is my kindred author spirit. We both write about our home state, rock bands, and first loves in a way that only Jersey girls can. By chance, I read this book while vacationing in Cape May, the town that formed the template for the backdrop of this wonderful love story, which made both experiences even more memorable. Needless to say, I was thrilled when Robin invited me to do a book signing with her in her hometown of Bayonne, New Jersey at an amazing indie bookstore called The Little Boho Bookshop.

By Robin Constantine,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Season of You & Me as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

From Robin Constantine, author of The Promise of Amazing and The Secrets of Attraction, comes a funny and heartfelt summer romance set in New Jersey. Perfect for fans of Sarah Mlynowski, Jenny Han, and Morgan Matson. Cassidy Emmerich is reeling from a sudden, humiliating breakup. The last thing she wants to do is stick around and be reminded of her ex everywhere she goes. On impulse, she decides to spend the summer with her father and his family at their Jersey Shore bed-and-breakfast. A different scene and a new job working as a camp counselor seem like the perfect recipe…


Book cover of Bantam of the Opera

Susie Black Author Of Death by Pins and Needles

From my list on humorous mysteries with protagonists and sidekicks.

Why am I passionate about this?

To be a successful humorous cozy mystery author, character development is the key. Prior to writing cozy mysteries, like the protagonist in my Holly Swimsuit Mystery Series, I enjoyed a career as a ladies’ apparel sales exec. Fortunately for my writing gig, salespeople are also students of human nature. I've been fascinated by what makes people tick all my life and have taken all I have learned and applied it to my writing. The relationship between the protagonist and her sidekick is one that makes the characters in my stories imperfect, but believable, accents their individuality, and lets their personalities come alive so that readers can’t help but invest in them.

Susie's book list on humorous mysteries with protagonists and sidekicks

Susie Black Why did Susie love this book?

My parents would certainly confirm I have always asked a lot of questions, and I am naturally the curious sort (some narrow-minded people say I am nosy…go figure…LOL). So, Seattle bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn, who can’t mind her own beeswax to save her soul and let the police do their job, is a gal after my heart. In this book, Judith isn't exactly bellowing "Bravo!" over the news that obnoxious opera star Mario Pacetti and his entourage are coming to stay at the Hillside Manor. So when the would-be Pavarotti inadvertently drinks poison and falls down dead on his tosca, accusing eyes turn to Judith and her amateur sleuthing partner, irrepressible graphic artist cousin Renie. It's curtains unless the cousins can unmask the real culprit—before a killer's final, fatal encore.

I love the collision of wills between the bed and breakfast hostess and her cousin that bring a snap,…

By Mary Daheim,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Bed-and-breakfast hostess Judith McMonigle Flynn isn't exactly bellowing "Bravo!" over the news that obnoxious opera star Mario Pacetti and his entourage are coming to stay at the Hillside Manor. The world-class tenor is a renowned pain-in-the-neck—a bloated buffoon who could easily eat her out of house and home. So when the puffed-up, would-be Pavarotti inadvertently drinks poison and falls down dead on his tosca, accusing eyes turn to Judith and her amateur sleuthing partner, cousin Renie. Now it's curtains unless the cousins can unmask the real culprit—before a killer's final, fatal encore.


Book cover of Bed, Breakfast & Bones: A Ravenwood Cove Mystery

K.E. O'Connor Author Of Cream Caramel and Murder

From my list on involving muffins and murder.

Why am I passionate about this?

My degree in archaeology taught me life is a giant puzzle. People leave behind fragments, giving hints but never definitive answers. My deductive skills when piecing together broken pottery or looking at renderings of hominid skulls to determine how they lived, evolved my desire to write mysteries. One of the many things I love about cozy mysteries is that everything looks peaceful on the outside, but like real life, you barely need to scratch the surface before you discover dark deeds and secrets. And who doesn’t enjoy that?

K.E.'s book list on involving muffins and murder

K.E. O'Connor Why did K.E. love this book?

This is a delightfully fun twisty mystery that fulfilled my fantasy of inheriting an amazing property in a beautiful small town and being involved in a wonderful community (with a few murderous intentions lurking beneath the surface!)

Ravenwood Cove is a fabulous town and the author does an amazing job of making you feel like you’re there, with vivid descriptions of the setting and lively, realistic characters with fascinating pasts.

A delightful giant of a series that’ll keep you entertained for weeks. And there are bonus recipes if you love to bake along as you discover whodunit!

By Carolyn L Dean,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Bed, Breakfast & Bones as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Amanda Graham inherited a rundown bed and breakfast, a starving cat, and some dead guy who’s buried in her garden!What should’ve been a simple remodeling project and a new business in a small Oregon beach town winds up with her uncle named as the number one murder suspect, a slew of odd neighbors and problematic townspeople, and Amanda wanting to just sit down and eat her weight in chocolate pie. Sure, she could pack her bags and travel back to LA…or should she dig in, heal from her failed romance, and find a whole new set of friends and adventures…


Book cover of Falling Towards England

Jessica Mudditt Author Of Our Home in Myanmar: Four years in Yangon

From my list on living abroad.

Why am I passionate about this?

I left home in Melbourne to spend a year travelling in Asia when I was in my mid-twenties. I ended up living abroad for a decade in London, Bangladesh, and Myanmar before returning to Sydney in 2016. My first book is about the four years I lived in Myanmar and I’m currently writing my second, which is about the year I spent backpacking from Cambodia to Pakistan. My third book will be about the three years I worked as a journalist in Bangladesh. My plan is to write a ‘trilogy’ of memoirs. Living abroad has enriched my life and travel memoirs are one of my favourite genres, both as a reader and a writer.

Jessica's book list on living abroad

Jessica Mudditt Why did Jessica love this book?

This is a really funny book. It is the second volume of Clive James’ Unreliable Memoirs, and it’s set in London in the sixties. James moves to London from Australia to find fame and fortune as a writer and playwright, but things do not go smoothly. I remember snorting with laughter as he describes having no money and nowhere to live, so he crashes at a friend’s place. His friend has bought just a new mattress and James has no blankets and is freezing, so he sleeps in the plastic packaging that the mattress arrives in. He said he rustled like a packet of chips all night long.

By Clive James,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In the first volume of Clive James's autobiography, Unreliable Memoirs, we said farewell to our hero as he set sail from Sydney Harbour, bound for London, fame and fortune. Finding the first of these proved relatively simple; the second two less so. Undaunted, Clive moved into a bed and breakfast in a Swiss Cottage where he practised the Twist, anticipated poetical masterpieces and worried about his wardrobe . . .

Falling Towards England is the entertaining and erudite second part in Clive James' life story, which he continues in May Week Was in June, North Face of Soho and The…


Book cover of Living in Italy: the Real Deal

Jaime Salazar Author Of Mutiny of Rage: The 1917 Camp Logan Riots and Buffalo Soldiers in Houston

From my list on travel for military and adventure enthusiasts.

Why am I passionate about this?

In today’s tech-obsessed world, social media may well be the perfect platform to showcase the world’s beauty to armchair travelers across the globe, but travel is so much more than just getting that perfect Instagram shot. Travel should be meaningful. It should excite and inspire you, rejuvenate and ground you, educate and challenge you, and most importantly, humble you. Travel gives us our most wondrous stories, our most cherished memories, and countless irreplaceable learnings that we can choose to pay forward to others. It teaches us about ourselves and each other, it broadens our horizons, and, just like a reset button, it forces us to refocus on what matters.

Jaime's book list on travel for military and adventure enthusiasts

Jaime Salazar Why did Jaime love this book?

Would you dare to follow your dream and move or retire to Italy? Stef & Nico did, although their dog Sara had her doubts. Now from your comfortable armchair, you can share in the hilarious & horrendous adventures they experienced when they moved to Italy to start a bed and breakfast. For lovers of amusing travelogue memoirs who like a good laugh. Moreover, for those interested in practical advice on buying a house in Italy there is valuable information along the way, pleasantly presented within the short stories. Glossary of Italian words and expressions included!

By Stef Smulders, Emese Mayhew (translator),

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A Dutch bestseller, finally available in translation! 

Would you dare to follow your dream and move or retire to Italy to live La Dolce Vita? Have a Reality Check first!

Stef & Nico did take the leap, although their dog Sara had her doubts. Now from your comfortable armchair you can share in the hilarious & horrendous adventures they experienced when they moved to Italy to start a bed and breakfast.

For lovers of amusing travelogue memoirs who like a good laugh. And for those interested in practical advice on how to buy a house in Italy there is useful…


Book cover of Aliens on Vacation

Tziporah Cohen Author Of No Vacancy

From my list on middle grade set in motels and hotels.

Why am I passionate about this?

When I was a kid, staying in a motel, even a run-down one, was a real treat. Flicking on all the switches to see what they controlled, exploring the bathroom for fun soaps and little shampoo bottles, sharing a room with my sister, swimming in the motel pool, and getting to eat sugar cereals at breakfast—all this was a wonderland to me as a kid. It was part of what made writing No Vacancy so much fun. There’s so much you can do with a motel or hotel setting, and I love to see what other authors come up with. I hope you do too!

Tziporah's book list on middle grade set in motels and hotels

Tziporah Cohen Why did Tziporah love this book?

From the title to the fantastic cover illustration, you know this book will be a treat. David, nicknamed Scrub, is sent to spend the summer with his grandmother, who owns The Intergalactic Bed and Breakfast. And yes, its clientele is just whom you would expect! Full of hijinks, discoveries, a new friendship, and a meddling, suspicious sheriff (who just happens to be the new friend’s father), this book is a fun, out-of-this-world read.

By Clete Barrett Smith, Christian Slade (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Aliens on Vacation as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

13-year-old David discovers that his grandmother's inn is a portal for comical aliens from all over the universe---a secret that, until now, she has been able to keep from her small town.

Scrub isn't happy about having to spend the summer with his hippie grandmother in "Middle of Nowhere," Washington. When he arrives at her Intergalactic Bed & Breakfast, he's not surprised by its 1960s-meets-Star Wars decor; but he is surprised by the weird looking guests. It turns out that each room in the inn is a portal and his grandma is the gatekeeper, allowing aliens to vacation on Earth.…


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