Fans pick 100 books like The Keeper

By Kelcey Ervick,

Here are 100 books that The Keeper fans have personally recommended if you like The Keeper. 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 Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations

Haley Weaver Author Of Give Me Space but Don't Go Far: My Unlikely Friendship with Anxiety

From my list on graphic memoirs to make you feel seen.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I was always drawn to stories told through both words and illustrations. Why should that have to end in adulthood? Spoiler: it doesn’t, because there are SO many incredible graphic memoirs and novels written with adult audiences in mind. As a graphic memoirist myself, I love to see how other artists explore the form. I share recommendations in this genre every month in my newsletter, Haley Wrote This

Haley's book list on graphic memoirs to make you feel seen

Haley Weaver Why did Haley love this book?

This is one of those books I am just WAITING to give my niece and nephews when they’re old enough to read it. It is such a great guide for how to have conversations born out of curiosity rather than fear.

I also think the formatting of the story and illustrations is inventive, fun, and informative. I consider this graphic memoir a must-read for anyone interested in dipping a toe in the genre. 

By Mira Jacob,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Good Talk as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW, TIME, BUZZFEED, ESQUIRE, LIBRARY JOURNAL AND KIRKUS REVIEWS LONGLISTED FOR THE PEN/OPEN BOOK AWARD 'Hilarious and heart-rending' Celeste Ng 'Heartbreaking, but also infused with levity and humour. What stands out most is the fierce compassion with which she parses the complexities of family and love' Time How brown is too brown? Can Indians be racist? What does real love between really different people look like? Like many six-year-olds, Mira Jacob's half-Jewish, half-Indian son, Z, has questions about everything - and as tensions from the…


Book cover of Commute: An Illustrated Memoir of Female Shame

Haley Weaver Author Of Give Me Space but Don't Go Far: My Unlikely Friendship with Anxiety

From my list on graphic memoirs to make you feel seen.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I was always drawn to stories told through both words and illustrations. Why should that have to end in adulthood? Spoiler: it doesn’t, because there are SO many incredible graphic memoirs and novels written with adult audiences in mind. As a graphic memoirist myself, I love to see how other artists explore the form. I share recommendations in this genre every month in my newsletter, Haley Wrote This

Haley's book list on graphic memoirs to make you feel seen

Haley Weaver Why did Haley love this book?

Oh, this book. I wept! Williams' candid storytelling mirrored my own experiences with feeling objectified and unraveling shame.

This book made me feel ready to be more vulnerable about how I was feeling (which is something I’ve struggled with for most of my life). I also appreciate how the illustrations—mostly black and white with splashes of yellow—help set the tone. 

By Erin Williams,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An intimate, clever, and ultimately gut-wrenching graphic memoir about the daily decision women must make between being sexualized or being invisible

In Commute, we follow author and illustrator Erin Williams on her daily commute to and from work, punctuated by recollections of sexual encounters as well as memories of her battle with alcoholism, addiction, and recovery. As she moves through the world navigating banal, familiar, and sometimes uncomfortable interactions with the familiar-faced strangers she sees daily, Williams weaves together a riveting collection of flashbacks. Her recollections highlight the indefinable moments when lines are crossed and a woman must ask herself…


Book cover of Cheeky: A Head-to-Toe Memoir

Haley Weaver Author Of Give Me Space but Don't Go Far: My Unlikely Friendship with Anxiety

From my list on graphic memoirs to make you feel seen.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I was always drawn to stories told through both words and illustrations. Why should that have to end in adulthood? Spoiler: it doesn’t, because there are SO many incredible graphic memoirs and novels written with adult audiences in mind. As a graphic memoirist myself, I love to see how other artists explore the form. I share recommendations in this genre every month in my newsletter, Haley Wrote This

Haley's book list on graphic memoirs to make you feel seen

Haley Weaver Why did Haley love this book?

If ever a book made me want to give myself a massive hug after reading it, this one is it. As someone who has suffered with body image, this book spoke right to my soul, making even the most deeply seeded insecurities feel like parts of me worth loving.

The illustrations are silly and beautiful and moving, which brings to life so much of the messaging! I keep this on my shelf for an instant confidence boost. A total antidote to body shame!

By Ariella Elovic,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A Beat Most Anticipated Graphic Novel of Fall 2020

The funny, exuberant, inspiring antidote to body shame--a full-color graphic memoir celebrating the imperfections of the author's female body in all its glory.

Too tall. Too short. Too fat. Too thin. The message is everywhere--we need to pluck, wax, shrink, and hide ourselves, to not take up space, emotionally or literally; women are never “just right.” Well, Ariella Elovic, feminist and illustrator extraordinaire, has had enough. In her full-color graphic memoir Cheeky, she takes an inspiring and exuberant head-to-toe look at her own body self-consciousness, and body part by body part,…


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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 doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up…

Book cover of Dancing at the Pity Party

Haley Weaver Author Of Give Me Space but Don't Go Far: My Unlikely Friendship with Anxiety

From my list on graphic memoirs to make you feel seen.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I was always drawn to stories told through both words and illustrations. Why should that have to end in adulthood? Spoiler: it doesn’t, because there are SO many incredible graphic memoirs and novels written with adult audiences in mind. As a graphic memoirist myself, I love to see how other artists explore the form. I share recommendations in this genre every month in my newsletter, Haley Wrote This

Haley's book list on graphic memoirs to make you feel seen

Haley Weaver Why did Haley love this book?

It wasn’t until this book that I encountered such a sweet, heartbreaking, and colorful retelling of grief. This book has become my blueprint for how to both navigate my own experiences with loss and care for friends in grieving; Feder so perfectly lays out what’s helpful and what’s not.

I also appreciate how the illustrations preserve the beauty of Feder’s connection to her mom (in which I saw a lot of similarities to my own mother-daughter relationship!). I gave this book to my friend, who is a school counselor, to keep in their office for students going through grief, too. 

By Tyler Feder,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dancing at the Pity Party as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

This acclaimed graphic memoir that Kirkus calls “cathartic and uplifting” is the tale of losing a parent and what it feels like to grieve and to move forward.

“I can’t recommend this kind, funny, and poignant memoir enough. It’s an intimate, life-affirming story of resilience that feels like a good friend.” —Mari Andrew, author of Am I There Yet?

Tyler Feder had just white-knuckled her way through her first year of college when her super cool mom was diagnosed with late-stage cancer. Now, with a decade of grief and nervous laughter under her belt, Tyler shares the story of that…


Book cover of Let Me Play: The Story of Title IX: The Law That Changed the Future of Girls in America

Barbara Carroll Roberts Author Of Nikki on the Line

From my list on girls who love sports.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a very active kid – the kind of kid who was constantly told to sit still and be quiet. Growing up in the 1960s, I had few opportunities to engage in athletics, other than neighborhood games of tag and kick-the-can. But when I got to high school, our school district had just begun offering competitive sports for girls. Finally, my energy and athletic ability were appreciated (at least by my coaches and teammates). So I guess it was inevitable that when I began writing books for young readers, I would start with a book about a girl who loves sports.

Barbara's book list on girls who love sports

Barbara Carroll Roberts Why did Barbara love this book?

Today’s young readers can’t believe that when I was in high school, our basketball team was only allowed in the gym when the boys weren’t using it. They can’t believe there was a time when people thought girls shouldn’t play competitive sports. But really, who could believe it? Who could believe it would take an act of Congress – the 1972 law known as Title IX – to guarantee girls and women the right to equal opportunities in every academic field and in athletics? I love this book because it tells the story of Title IX, a law that mandated academic equity for girls and women, and changed the world for girls who love sports. 

By Karen Blumenthal,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Let Me Play 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?

Can girls play softball? Can girls be school crossing guards? Can girls become lawyers or doctors or engineers? Of course they can... today. But just a few decades ago, opportunities for girls were far more limited, not because they weren't capable or didn't want to, but because they weren't allowed to. Ages 8-12.


Book cover of Five Miles Away, A World Apart: One City, Two Schools, and the Story of Educational Opportunity in Modern America

Tracy L. Steffes Author Of Structuring Inequality: How Schooling, Housing, and Tax Policies Shaped Metropolitan Development and Education

From my list on understanding the history of educational inequality.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a historian of education and twentieth-century U.S. history. Public schooling has been transformative for me, opening up a world of opportunities, but I know many others are not nearly so lucky. This has shaped my interest in the history of public schooling, including its promise of democracy and opportunity and the too-often reality of the way it replicates and deepens social and economic inequalities. I think history helps us understand our world, including to see the roots of inequality we live with today and to think about how we might build a more equitable system. 

Tracy's book list on understanding the history of educational inequality

Tracy L. Steffes Why did Tracy love this book?

I love how this book shows us how we can’t understand the failures of recent education reforms to fix educational inequality without putting them into a longer and wider context, namely the history of school desegregation.

This book explores how the failure of courts and policymakers to go far enough in school desegregation—especially to challenge the city-suburban boundary as a primary axis of racial and socioeconomic inequality—has doomed all subsequent reforms, including school finance reform, school choice, and standards and accountability.

This book has shaped my thinking about educational reform and inequality today, especially the importance of boundaries and funding. It helps us look at our current education policy landscape with a much more critical eye and see some of the things that are missing from this discussion today.

By James Ryan,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Five Miles Away, A World Apart as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

How is it that half a century after Brown v. Board of Education--and in spite of increased funding for urban schools and programs like No Child Left Behind--educational opportunities for blacks and whites in America still remain so unequal?
In Five Miles Away, A World Apart, James Ryan provides a sobering answer to this question by tracing the fortunes of two schools in Richmond, Virginia--one suburban, relatively affluent, and mostly white, and the other urban, relatively poor, and mostly black. Ryan shows how court rulings against desegregation in the 1970s laid the groundwork for the massive disparities between urban and…


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Book cover of The Twenty: One Woman's Trek Across Corsica on the GR20 Trail

The Twenty By Marianne C. Bohr,

Marianne Bohr and her husband, about to turn sixty, are restless for adventure. They decide on an extended, desolate trek across the French island of Corsica — the GR20, Europe’s toughest long-distance footpath — to challenge what it means to grow old. Part travelogue, part buddy story, part memoir, The…

Book cover of Abortion in America: The Origins and Evolution of a National Policy

Marcia Biederman Author Of The Disquieting Death of Emma Gill: Abortion, Death, and Concealment in Victorian New England

From my list on abortion flourishing even when criminalized.

Why am I passionate about this?

Years ago, I wrote mystery novels featuring women investigators when that was new in the genre. Now, I discover stories of real-life women whose lives have a natural story arc that can engage the reader from start to finish. Like gambling and prostitution, abortion, when it was illegal in the US, as it is now again in many places, was simultaneously in your face and undercover. It was also largely practiced by women, which is why I’m fascinated by books about it.

Marcia's book list on abortion flourishing even when criminalized

Marcia Biederman Why did Marcia love this book?

This book has a permanent place on my nightstand, where I reach for it whenever I need a pithy, brilliant reminder of how the US completed its late-nineteenth-century transformation from a country with no abortion laws to a place where abortion was banned everywhere at every stage.

I’m amazed that a book first published in 1978, long before the advent of the Internet, managed to marshal evidence from newspaper classified ads and forgotten trials to present a portrait of America where abortion was widespread but seldom dared to speak its name.

By James C. Mohr,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

'The history of how abortion came to be banned and how women lost--for the century between approximately 1870 and 1970--rights previously thought to be natural and inherent over their own bodies is a fascinating and infuriating one.


Book cover of The Right to Repair: Reclaiming the Things We Own

Sarah Winkler Author Of Recycling For Dummies

From my list on challenging our understanding of waste.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a youngster I used to drive my parents crazy because I was so passionate about recycling. I rekindled this passion about five years ago and started Everyday Recycler. Through my website I help people improve their recycling habits by offering actionable instructions with a focus on explaining how recycling works and its intrinsic value. I also advocate strongly for recycled products. I believe that by purchasing recycled products, we can help generate demand for the materials we toss in our recycling bin and contribute to the overall success of recycling. These works have educated and inspired me over the years. I hope they inspire you as much.

Sarah's book list on challenging our understanding of waste

Sarah Winkler Why did Sarah love this book?

In researching my own book I learnt that e-waste is one of the fastest-growing waste streams on the planet. It impacts the environment and humans at all stages from extraction of raw materials to the end of life disposal.

A key solution is to keep items in their originally intended use as long as possible. Right to Repair explores the critical issues of corporations limiting consumers' ability to repair their own products, leading to planned obsolescence and ultimately unnecessary waste. This is an urgent issue that requires more attention and plays a crucial role in reducing e-waste and its negative effects on the environment.

Right to Repair will help the reader understand their rights to repair-friendly technology and help them become a more informed consumer.

By Aaron Perzanowski,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In recent decades, companies around the world have deployed an arsenal of tools - including IP law, hardware design, software restrictions, pricing strategies, and marketing messages - to prevent consumers from fixing the things they own. While this strategy has enriched companies almost beyond measure, it has taken billions of dollars out of the pockets of consumers and imposed massive environmental costs on the planet. In The Right to Repair, Aaron Perzanowski analyzes the history of repair to show how we've arrived at this moment, when a battle over repair is being waged - largely unnoticed - in courtrooms, legislatures,…


Book cover of Splitting: Protecting Yourself While Divorcing Someone with Borderline or Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Jen Lawrence Author Of The Designed Divorce: How to preserve your wealth and peace of mind in divorce

From my list on getting through divorce successfully.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a Certified Divorce Coach and Certified Divorce Financial Analyst®, I work with clients during one of the most difficult stages of their lives. Clients often feel regretful about the past and fearful for the future, and the right book recommendation can really help them move forward. I often give clients reading assignments between coaching sessions that help them process their grief, figure out their goals, educate themselves about finances, feel less alone in the divorce process, and become more confident in making major decisions. I’m never not reading on this subject.

Jen's book list on getting through divorce successfully

Jen Lawrence Why did Jen love this book?

Divorcing someone with a personality disorder can be one of the most stressful things one can face. Bill Eddy is a family lawyer and therapist who understands the complexities of divorcing a high conflict person and has mastered ways to communicate and co-parent with them. This book is a must-read for anyone facing high conflict divorce as it is filled with practical tips and suggestions.

By Bill Eddy, Randi Kreger,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Divorce is difficult under the best of circumstances. Dealing with this inherently adversarial process can be highly emotional on both sides. But when a divorcing individual is a "persuasive blamer"-someone who suffers from borderline personality disorder (BPD), narcissistic personality disorder (NPD), or simply has a high-conflict, manipulative personality-their behavior can have devastating ramifications for their former spouses. People with these disorders may adopt physical and verbal abuse as strategies, lie to lawyers and judges, manipulate the court, and may even level charges of abuse in order to get their way. Because persuasive blamers are so convincing and even charming, these…


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Book cover of Unsettled

Unsettled By Laurie Woodford,

At the age of forty-nine, Laurie Woodford rents out her house, packs her belongings into two suitcases, and leaves her life in upstate New York to relocate to Seoul, South Korea. What begins as an opportunity to teach college English in Asia evolves into a nomadic adventure.

Laurie spoon-feeds orphans…

Book cover of The Runaway Jury

John L. DeBoer Author Of The Girl from Belgrade

From my list on thrillers that don’t skimp on character development.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a retired surgeon and have no expertise in espionage, law enforcement, or the legal system. But I enjoy thriller novels that feature these things, and I follow the adage, “Write what you like to read.” But I do have medical/surgical expertise and have followed another adage: “Write what you know,” so I have inserted medical situations into many of my stories and one of my published books is a medical thriller. What I like about thrillers is the ability to show each side of the conflict. The good guys against the bad guys, neither side knowing what the other is doing. But the reader knows, and this adds to the suspense.

John's book list on thrillers that don’t skimp on character development

John L. DeBoer Why did John love this book?

I’ve enjoyed most of Grisham’s novels, but I’m picking this legal thriller (as are most of his books) because of the fascinating plot. It’s a David vs. Goliath story, in which the underdogs are seeking righteous justice from a huge corporation by using the legal court system. The planning involved to make it happen and the attempts by the opposition to destroy the effort gives an inside-baseball look at how multi-million dollar lawsuits are put together. The book also made a great movie!

By John Grisham,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Ever wonder what happens in the jury room, a place where the lawyer's aren't heard and the judge is not welcome? Who controls a jury when the door is locked and the deliberations begin? John Grisham returns to the legal world and weaves another gripping tale of intrigue and power play. With a combination of taul suspense and high drama this novel will once again show John Grisham as the master storyteller of our generation.


Book cover of Good Talk: A Memoir in Conversations
Book cover of Commute: An Illustrated Memoir of Female Shame
Book cover of Cheeky: A Head-to-Toe Memoir

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