100 books like The Gods of Change

By Howard Sasportas,

Here are 100 books that The Gods of Change fans have personally recommended if you like The Gods of Change. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Saturn: A New Look at an Old Devil

Babs Kirby Author Of Love and Sexuality: An Exploration of Venus and Mars

From my list on astrology with a psychological perspective.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a humanistic psychotherapist first and came to astrology later and loved the way it didn’t pathologize and gave insight into our character and how that affects our destiny. I started to gather the charts of my psychotherapy clients (with their permission of course) and while not using this in their sessions, I was inspired by how they spoke their charts. Much of my understanding of how planetary positions and aspects manifest has been discovered by listening. I love how aspect patterns repeat through the generations within a family and what ramifications this has on the individuals. Who’s carrying the families karma?

Babs' book list on astrology with a psychological perspective

Babs Kirby Why did Babs love this book?

I bought this book in 1976, when it first came out and it’s now held together with Sellotape.

It offers an in-depth description of Saturn, a much misunderstood and maligned planet, through the signs and houses it occupies in a birth chart and includes a section on aspects as well aspects in synastry. No one else offers as much insight into the Saturnian principle and the painful lessons in life it can describe as Liz Greene. She does this planetary principle justice. 

By Liz Greene,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?


This classic astrology text, revered by beginners and professional astrologers alike, is now available in a Weiser Classics edition.

“The most important single contribution of twentieth-century astrology is that astrology is not a map of one’s fixed destiny but is a potential map of the unfolding of the authentic, higher self.” —Robert Hand, from the foreword

Saturn’s darker persona is recognized universally in myth and fairytale. In this classic astrology text, renowned astrologer and Jungian analyst Liz Greene offers a fresh perspective on how to handle the influence of this much-maligned astrological symbol.

In Saturn, Greene shows us how the…


Book cover of How to handle your T-square

Babs Kirby Author Of Love and Sexuality: An Exploration of Venus and Mars

From my list on astrology with a psychological perspective.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a humanistic psychotherapist first and came to astrology later and loved the way it didn’t pathologize and gave insight into our character and how that affects our destiny. I started to gather the charts of my psychotherapy clients (with their permission of course) and while not using this in their sessions, I was inspired by how they spoke their charts. Much of my understanding of how planetary positions and aspects manifest has been discovered by listening. I love how aspect patterns repeat through the generations within a family and what ramifications this has on the individuals. Who’s carrying the families karma?

Babs' book list on astrology with a psychological perspective

Babs Kirby Why did Babs love this book?

This is another of my books held together with Sellotape.

A T-square is a particularly challenging aspect pattern within a natal chart and Tracy gives vivid descriptions of a variety of possible manifestations. This book will help us to see the positive and the negative outcomes available to us and potentially take more responsibility for the circumstances that befall us. 

By Tracy Marks,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How to handle your T-square as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Book by Marks, Tracy


Book cover of Astrological Signs: The Pulse of Life

Babs Kirby Author Of Love and Sexuality: An Exploration of Venus and Mars

From my list on astrology with a psychological perspective.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a humanistic psychotherapist first and came to astrology later and loved the way it didn’t pathologize and gave insight into our character and how that affects our destiny. I started to gather the charts of my psychotherapy clients (with their permission of course) and while not using this in their sessions, I was inspired by how they spoke their charts. Much of my understanding of how planetary positions and aspects manifest has been discovered by listening. I love how aspect patterns repeat through the generations within a family and what ramifications this has on the individuals. Who’s carrying the families karma?

Babs' book list on astrology with a psychological perspective

Babs Kirby Why did Babs love this book?

It’s hard to pick out my favourite Dane Rudhyar book, but this was the first one of his I read.

His descriptions of the signs of the zodiac are grounded in nature and inspirational. I was blown away by them and went on to read most of his writings. For those wanting to open up their understanding of their sun sign, this is the book to read. 

By Dane Rudhyar,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An intelligent metaphysical statement of the human experience expressed through the poetry of the zodiac. Free from the annoying fatalistic tone of some astrological writing, Rudhyar's book is all-inclusive, connecting the 12 astrological symbols to seasonal rhythms in a way that is both plausible from a scientific mindset and respectful of religious traditions.


Book cover of Horoscope Symbols

Babs Kirby Author Of Love and Sexuality: An Exploration of Venus and Mars

From my list on astrology with a psychological perspective.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a humanistic psychotherapist first and came to astrology later and loved the way it didn’t pathologize and gave insight into our character and how that affects our destiny. I started to gather the charts of my psychotherapy clients (with their permission of course) and while not using this in their sessions, I was inspired by how they spoke their charts. Much of my understanding of how planetary positions and aspects manifest has been discovered by listening. I love how aspect patterns repeat through the generations within a family and what ramifications this has on the individuals. Who’s carrying the families karma?

Babs' book list on astrology with a psychological perspective

Babs Kirby Why did Babs love this book?

This is a great, in-depth introduction to the symbolic language of astrology.

Robert Hand covers just about everything in this book, which is aimed at beginner and intermediate students of astrology but stands up well even when you’ve become more fluent in astrology’s rich vocabulary. It’s accessible and profound at the same time. One you can dip into for new understandings indefinitely. 

By Robert Hand,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Whether you're a beginning student or a practicing professional, Horoscope Symbols takes you beyond your present conception of astrology into a whole new realm of understanding. Horoscope Symbols takes the beginner beyond cookbook interpretations to genuine insight, beyond superficial keywords to the fundamental principles that underlie astrology, beyond overemphasis on signs to the primacy of planets and angles. Although Hand assumes little prior knowledge of astrology, the more you know, the more you will get out of this book. Hand takes the expert beyond the fatalism of tradition to a deep understanding of the role of personal choice in the…


Book cover of Variable Stars

Paul Murdin Author Of The Secret Lives of Planets: Order, Chaos, and Uniqueness in the Solar System

From my list on with fictional female astronomers.

Why am I passionate about this?

Astronomy teaches us that our bodies are quite literally star stuff, chemical elements made inside exploding stars. For much of my life, I studied and researched astronomy in universities, and in observatories on remote and beautiful mountain tops and in space.  I explored the cosmos for its own sake, but I came to realise also that we are literally and metaphorically a part of the Universe, not apart from it. Just as the science of astronomy has done for me, these novels put humanity against the same backdrop: cosmic lives seen through women’s eyes. 

Paul's book list on with fictional female astronomers

Paul Murdin Why did Paul love this book?

Caroline Herschel was the sister of William Herschel, a church organist and piano tutor, latterly the discoverer of the planet Uranus, a mapper of the skies, and an astronomer at the court of King George III. At first, she devoted herself to her brother, acting as his housekeeper, musical accompanist, and PA in Bath and then as his scientific assistant in Slough, near Windsor Castle. She submerged her own volition to his. But gradually she found her own life in astronomy, and discovered 8 comets, pooh-poohed as small by the King but much appreciated by Queen Charlotte and her ladies. She became known internationally in her own right. She lived to a considerable old age in Hannover, where she was born. The book is a fictionalised but real-life story that echoes between the eighteenth century and our own time.

By Christina Koning,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

This is a story of love and astronomy; music and silence; secrets and truth-telling; of world-changing discoveries, and unrequited desire. Moving from York in the 1780s to Regency Bath, and then to Hanover in the 1840s, it concerns the lives of three people-all astronomers. There is Caroline, torn between her passion for music and her passion for the stars; John, deaf from childhood, whose extraordinary mathematical gifts afford him perspectives not available to others; and Edward, friend and mentor to Caroline and to John, who must conceal his innermost feelings from them both. All three find fulfilment in the heavens…


Book cover of Pluto Gets the Call

Nidhi Kamra Author Of Simon's Skin

From my list on space exploration.

Why am I passionate about this?

Who doesn’t like space? I love learning about space! Tip: Picture books are easier to comprehend compared to graduate courses – there’s only so much of Newton-Euler dynamics, inertia tensors, eccentricity vectors, etc. one can handle. Plus, there are no nasty mind-boggling equations in picture books. I mean, do you really want to calculate the maximum flight path angle and the true anomaly at which it occurs? Or solve Kepler’s equations for hyperbolic eccentric anomaly? No, right? Always stick to the picture book if you have a choice! I mentioned some fun picture books (fiction and non-fiction) with amusing or complementing illustrations that helped me on my journey to understanding space. Enjoy!

Nidhi's book list on space exploration

Nidhi Kamra Why did Nidhi love this book?

Poor Pluto! Earthlings are wretched, despicable creatures. How dare they ask Pluto if they can call him Plutoid!

In this hilarious, fact-filled book, Pluto gets the call from us dreadful, “Earth’s meanest jerks” – humans, giving him the ‘news.’ All of us on Earth heard the news, but Pluto was informed of his downgrade a wee bit later. Follow newly-demoted Pluto and the rest of the planets on a fun journey of acceptance. The author has done a fabulous job of interleaving (mostly) facts and fiction. The story is told with speech bubbles, many of which will leave you chuckling. There are also some great puns. Don’t miss this one!

By Adam Rex, Laurie Keller (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pluto Gets the Call as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 3, 4, 5, and 6.

What is this book about?

Pluto gets a call from Earth telling him he isn’t a planet anymore, so he sets out on a journey through the solar system to find out why in this funny and fact-filled romp that’s perfect for fans of The Scrambled States of America.

Pluto loves being a planet. That is, until the day he gets a call from some Earth scientists telling him he isn’t a planet anymore! You probably wanted to meet a real planet, huh? So, Pluto takes the reader on a hilarious and informative journey through the solar system to introduce the other planets and commiserate…


Book cover of How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming

Philip Plait Author Of Under Alien Skies: A Sightseer's Guide to the Universe

From my list on taking you to another world. Literally..

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been in love with the Universe since I was a kid. Astronomy has always been my passion, and eventually became my career. This drove me to get my astronomy PhD and work on Hubble for a decade before starting to write and do public outreach about science. I’ve been on podcasts, radio, TV, and consulted for books and blockbuster sci-fi movies. I love science and science fiction – stories are one of the most powerful ways we relate to the Universe. I live and breathe this stuff every day, and my greatest joy is motivating that passion for science in others.

Philip's book list on taking you to another world. Literally.

Philip Plait Why did Philip love this book?

Astronomer Mike Brown is dedicated to finding small icy worlds beyond Neptune.

His discovery of the frozen object Eris in 2005—only slightly smaller but more massive than Pluto—is credited for kick-starting the official debate of how we define a planet, and this book is his personal telling of that story.

He weaves it together with the birth of his daughter in a well-told and engaging tale that will give you insight on how discoveries can change how we see the Universe.

By Mike Brown,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The solar system most of us grew up with included nine planets, with Mercury closest to the sun and Pluto at the outer edge. Then, in 2005, astronomer Mike Brown made the discovery of a lifetime: a tenth planet, Eris, slightly bigger than Pluto. But instead of its resulting in one more planet being added to our solar system, Brown’s find ignited a firestorm of controversy that riled the usually sedate world of astronomy and launched him into the public eye. The debate culminated in the demotion of Pluto from real planet to the newly coined category of “dwarf” planet.…


Book cover of The Geography of Pluto

Eddy Boudel Tan Author Of After Elias

From my list on books set on atmospheric islands.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write strange, emotional novels from my book-filled apartment in Vancouver, a short walk from the ocean. This may be why I’m obsessed with islands. Or perhaps it’s because they evoke the feeling of being apart from the world, adrift, of protecting something rare. Whatever the reason, my novel takes place on an uncanny island off the coast of Mexico, where the locals drink tea in the afternoon and pray to skeletons hidden in caves. The story that unfolds on this island could not have taken place on the mainland, and I believe the same goes for the books on my list. 

Eddy's book list on books set on atmospheric islands

Eddy Boudel Tan Why did Eddy love this book?

The island city of Montreal comes to life in vivid, loving detail in this poignant novel. A young schoolteacher confronts both change and stagnation in his life, navigating the city’s streets in constant search of human connection. As he experiences the thrills and heartbreak of being a gay man in a time of liberation, past fears and insecurities hold him back from finding what he’s looking for.

I loved this novel that’s filled with yearning.  

By Christopher DiRaddo,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Twenty-eight-year-old Will, a teacher living in Montreal, has spent the last few months recovering from a breakup with his first serious boyfriend, Max. He has resumed his search for companionship, but has he truly moved on? Will's mother Katherine-one of the few people, perhaps the only one, who loves him unconditionally-is also in recovery, from a bout with colon cancer that haunts her body and mind with the possibility of relapse. Having experienced heartbreak and fearful of tragedy, Will must come to terms with the rule of impermanence: to see past lost treasures and unwanted returns, to find hope and…


Book cover of Pluto's Secret: An Icy World's Tale of Discovery

Sandra Nickel Author Of The Stuff Between the Stars: How Vera Rubin Discovered Most of the Universe

From my list on children’s books about astronomy.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an award-winning children’s book author who writes stories about unexpected friends, women who did the impossible, people who are (almost) forgotten & ideas that seem too complicated until I find the right way to tell them.

Sandra's book list on children’s books about astronomy

Sandra Nickel Why did Sandra love this book?

Pluto’s Secret is the tale of Pluto’s discovery, naming, and demotion from planet to “icy world.” Along the way, it is jam-packed with details about astronomy, with Pluto jumping in with its endearing point of view. Immersed in Pluto’s world this way, Pluto’s Secret is a fun and upbeat way to learn about planets as well as the way astronomy is done.

By Margaret Weitekamp, David H. DeVorkin, Diane Kidd (illustrator)

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

People, children especially, have been baffled, bewildered, and even outraged by the fact that Pluto is no longer called a planet. Through whimsical artwork and an entertaining dialogue format, Pluto's Secret explains the true story of this distant world, including its recent reclassification. Includes a glossary and bibliography.


Book cover of The Kid Who Named Pluto

Andrea Menotti Author Of How Many Jelly Beans?

From my list on math and science.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a deeply curious person who has always loved the intersections of science and art, and the related intersection of the humanities and technology. I also have a passion for children’s books and have worked as both a writer and an editor, and as a developer of interactive apps and games based on children’s books. My latest book is a collaboration with one of my favorite childhood (and teenage) writing partners, Hena Khan. It’s an adventure where you get to make choices that turn you into a hero or a villain. It’s called Super You: The Power of Flight. I hope you’ll check it out!

Andrea's book list on math and science

Andrea Menotti Why did Andrea love this book?

I didn’t want to leave older children out of this list. This book would make a fantastic gift for a child who loves science but considers themselves “too old” for picture books. This beautifully illustrated chapter book features children who followed their curiosities and questions to real discoveries that helped the world! A very inspiring read.

By Marc McCutcheon, Jon Cannell (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Kid Who Named Pluto 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?

A collection of profiles of children and young adults whose scientific inventions made an impact on the world, including Louis Braille who discovered a way for the blind to read and write.


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