Love The Merry Spinster? Readers share 100 books like The Merry Spinster...

By Daniel M. Lavery,

Here are 100 books that The Merry Spinster fans have personally recommended if you like The Merry Spinster. 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 Gideon the Ninth

JW Troemner Author Of The Dealmaker's Gambit

From my list on LGBTQ speculative fiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve been drawn to LGBT+ characters and themes long before I knew that was a thing that a person could beā€”and longer still before I realized that it was something that might apply to me. Science fiction and fantasy helped me to explore identities and ways of existing within the world that were fundamentally different from my own and that instilled a love of the genre that Iā€™ll always treasure. 

JW's book list on LGBTQ speculative fiction

JW Troemner Why did JW love this book?

I like to think Iā€™m pretty good at guessing where a book is going to goā€”this is not the case with Gideon the Ninth. Every time I thought I had a grip on what was going on and where we were going, it took a turn. Every time I thought I had an idea of how I felt about a character, new lore dropped, and I fell in love (or in hate, or in a complicated love/hate thing that I have yet to figure out).

By the time I finished, I was torn between picking up the second book in the series to learn what happened next or rereading the first just to see how different it would be once I had a better understanding of the book.

By Tamsyn Muir,

Why should I read it?

25 authors picked Gideon the Ninth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

15+ pages of new, original content, including a glossary of terms, in-universe writings, and more!

A USA Today Best-Selling Novel!

"Unlike anything I've ever read. " --V.E. Schwab

"Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!" --Charles Stross

"Brilliantly original, messy and weird straight through." --NPR

The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.

Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth, first in The Locked Tomb Trilogy, unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, asā€¦


Book cover of When I Arrived at the Castle

Yvesdot Author Of Something's Not Right

From my list on LGBT-friendly SFF you absolutely should read.

Why am I passionate about this?

It took me far too long to realize that I, childhood absorber of all things fantastical, counted as an SFF fan; all the books I saw listed as ā€œpopularā€ or ā€œclassicā€ SFF were cis/het white dude parties. But SFF at its best uses the fantastical as metaphor for the mundane; imagines better (or worse) worlds; does something different, in screaming color! Who can do that better than the books lost on the fringes? To that end, Iā€™ve organized this list based on rough reverse popularity, so if you donā€™t find something new by the beginning, youā€™ll almost certainly get it by the end. Happy reading!

Yvesdot's book list on LGBT-friendly SFF you absolutely should read

Yvesdot Why did Yvesdot love this book?

With her singular art style and effortless storytelling skill, Emily Carroll has long been a favorite of mine. When I Arrived at the Castle is a tour de force in erotic horror, comic artistry, and, yes, a very complicated catgirl x vampiress relationship. This is one of those books I am shocked even exists, so thoroughly does it cater to my deepest desires: lush shots of catgirls in bathtubs, peeks at vampiresses through their bedroom keyholes, metaphors so subtle I always find something new when I reread. Carroll outdoes herself with suspense, sexuality, and a sexy red-black-and-grey limited color palette.

By Emily Carroll,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked When I Arrived at the Castle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Like many before her that have never come back, sheā€™s made it to the Countessā€™ castle determined to snuff out the horror, but she could never be prepared for what hides within its turrets; what unfurls under its fluttering flags. Emily Carroll has fashioned a rich gothic horror charged with eroticism that doesnā€™t just make your skin crawl, it crawls into it.


Book cover of O Human Star: Volume 1

Yvesdot Author Of Something's Not Right

From my list on LGBT-friendly SFF you absolutely should read.

Why am I passionate about this?

It took me far too long to realize that I, childhood absorber of all things fantastical, counted as an SFF fan; all the books I saw listed as ā€œpopularā€ or ā€œclassicā€ SFF were cis/het white dude parties. But SFF at its best uses the fantastical as metaphor for the mundane; imagines better (or worse) worlds; does something different, in screaming color! Who can do that better than the books lost on the fringes? To that end, Iā€™ve organized this list based on rough reverse popularity, so if you donā€™t find something new by the beginning, youā€™ll almost certainly get it by the end. Happy reading!

Yvesdot's book list on LGBT-friendly SFF you absolutely should read

Yvesdot Why did Yvesdot love this book?

As a friend sputtered to me over a voice call: ā€œI donā€™t understand. Itā€™s free to read online; where is everybody?!ā€ 

I agree wholeheartedly. O Human Star is that rare breed: a webcomic taken up over a decade ago, thoroughly plotted from the start, executed with masterful grace and gravitas by an author who loved it enough to do it justice. While executing this story of gay and trans self-understanding, Delliquanti themself realized they were trans, so the pronouns in my (signed!!) copies are different based on when they came out. Finding even a well-written cis gay man was hard in 2012, let alone such a deeply loving story about the entire LGBT communityā€”and all that is to say nothing of the robots. Trans robots FTW!

By Blue Delliquanti,

Why should I read it?

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


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Book cover of The Ballad of Falling Rock

The Ballad of Falling Rock by Jordan Dotson,

Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: ā€œAre his love songs closer to heaven than dying?ā€ Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard itā€¦

Book cover of The Dark and Other Love Stories

Yvesdot Author Of Something's Not Right

From my list on LGBT-friendly SFF you absolutely should read.

Why am I passionate about this?

It took me far too long to realize that I, childhood absorber of all things fantastical, counted as an SFF fan; all the books I saw listed as ā€œpopularā€ or ā€œclassicā€ SFF were cis/het white dude parties. But SFF at its best uses the fantastical as metaphor for the mundane; imagines better (or worse) worlds; does something different, in screaming color! Who can do that better than the books lost on the fringes? To that end, Iā€™ve organized this list based on rough reverse popularity, so if you donā€™t find something new by the beginning, youā€™ll almost certainly get it by the end. Happy reading!

Yvesdot's book list on LGBT-friendly SFF you absolutely should read

Yvesdot Why did Yvesdot love this book?

This final book is the catalyst for my own: the book that, resting in my hands at the library, made me realize that I could just do this. If I loved reading short stories so much, if I so deeply enjoyed reading about gay girls with horses and game show contestants going to Mars, why couldnā€™t someone love my own body of work, transsexually languishing in my Google Drive? There can never be enough praise for The Dark, which delivers tonally consistent and individually unique stories that glue me to my seat every time. A big thank you to Deborah Willis, and to whoever put her book on hold that day I was volunteering at the library: I loved her work, and it inspired me to put mine out there. 

By Deborah Willis,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The characters in these thirteen masterful and engaging stories exist on the edge of danger, where landscapes melt into dreamscapes and every house is haunted. A drug dealer's girlfriend signs up for the first manned mission to Mars. A girl falls in love with a man who wants to turn her into a bird. A teenaged girl and her best friend test their relationship by breaking into suburban houses. A wife finds a gaping hole in the floor of the home she shares with her husband, a hole that only she can see. Full of longing and strange humor, theseā€¦


Book cover of The Light Princess

Hester Velmans Author Of Slipper

From my list on forgotten fairy tales every adult should read.

Why am I passionate about this?

At the age of seven, already a devoted bookworm, I came upon a large stack of early-20th century children's magazines filled with stories, poems, and especially fairy tales, some the classic kind, and some weird, scary or unfamiliar. I don't know where those dog-eared, well-thumbed annuals came from, or what happened to them afterward ā€“ they were lost or given away when our family moved, I suppose. But I have never forgotten them, or the effect they had on my imagination and longings. I've been searching for those long-lost tales ever since... and it finally led me to decide I would just have to write a few of my own.

Hester's book list on forgotten fairy tales every adult should read

Hester Velmans Why did Hester love this book?

The 19th-century Scottish writer George MacDonald is said to be the father of the modern fairy tale, inspiring C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, and many others. I chose The Light Princess because I find it his most charming tale: it's about a princess under a wicked spell who has been made weightless, unable to obey the laws of gravity. As in all good fairy tales, a prince eventually comes along to drag her back down to earth. He must sacrifice himself for her, but in the end, it is she who rescues him ā€“ from a feminist perspective, a most gratifying conclusion.

By George MacDonald,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

George MacDonald (1824-1905), the great nineteenth-century innovator of modern fantasy, influenced not only C. S. Lewis but also such literary masters as Charles Williams and J. R. R. Tolkien. Though his longer fairy tales Lilith and Phantastes are particularly famous, much of MacDonaldā€™s best fantasy writing is found in his shorter stories. In this volume editor Glenn Sadler has compiled some of MacDonaldā€™s finest short worksā€•marvelous fairy tales and stories certain to delight readers familiar with MacDonald and those about to meet him for the first time.


Book cover of The Bloody Chamber: And Other Stories

William Orem Author Of Miss Lucy

From my list on both literary and gothic.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was six years old, and already a lover of Halloweā€™en, when the special joy of stories took hold of my mind. It has never left. By the time I was an adult, I had come to value finely crafted fiction, the beautiful nuances of thought and expression possible in the hands of the greatest writers. At the same time, I never lost my youthful enthusiasm for the ghost, the deep forest just at twilight, the unused room at the back of the house where no one goes. To my delight, I have found there is an entire tradition of such workā€”gothic shapes rendered by the highest quality writers.

William's book list on both literary and gothic

William Orem Why did William love this book?

I am a huge fan of the very-brief gothic. Itā€™s so hard to do well; trivial jump-scares are easy, but to produce a meaningful effect in only a few pages takes real precision. Shirley Jackson holds the crown with "The Lottery," but my second favorite instance of a surprisingly quick read that produces a real gasp is Angela Carterā€™s mini-treasure, "The Werewolf."

It manages to be a fairy tale, feminist critique, a witch, and a werewolf story all at onceā€”and, like the beast in the title, it may not be what it appears. Also wonderful to me are "The Company of Wolves," "The Snow Child," and the eponymous "The Bloody Chamber," that one a revisioning of "Bluebeard"ā€”essentially, Carter updates all kinds of dark fairy tales, bringing out their subversive shadows for a savvy reader. Still so fresh to this day.

By Angela Carter,

Why should I read it?

15 authors picked The Bloody Chamber as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

With an introduction by Helen Simpson. From familiar fairy tales and legends - Red Riding Hood, Bluebeard, Puss in Boots, Beauty and the Beast, vampires and werewolves - Angela Carter has created an absorbing collection of dark, sensual, fantastic stories.


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Book cover of This Animal Body

This Animal Body by Meredith Walters,

Neuroscience PhD student Frankie Conner has finally gotten her life togetherā€”sheā€™s determined to discover the cause of her depression and find a cure for herself and everyone like her. But the first day of her program, she meets a group of talking animals who have an urgent message they refuseā€¦

Book cover of I Am Not Your Final Girl

Brianna Malotke Author Of Lost Cherry

From my list on horror poetry to devour in an autumn afternoon.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™ve loved reading short horror stories ever since I got my elementary school-aged hands on a copy of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. In high school, I discovered my love of poetry, and Iā€™ve never stopped trying to find a new favorite horror book. I love being able to sit down with a cup of tea on a rainy autumn afternoon and read a whole book in one go. Iā€™m co-chair of the Horror Writers Associationā€™s Seattle Chapter and find myself adding new horror books to my TBR pile every week. I hope you enjoy these books as much as I did!

Brianna's book list on horror poetry to devour in an autumn afternoon

Brianna Malotke Why did Brianna love this book?

I absolutely loved this creative take on the whole final girl slasher trope! I really enjoy a strong female character in horror where theyā€™re ā€œjust like us.ā€ Reading these poems where the females can be outspoken and confident but also quiet or slutty was powerful.

I enjoyed how theyā€™re inspired or based on different movies. When I finished the book, I had a whole list of movies I needed to watch or re-watch. This collection was on my mind for days after.

By Claire C. Holland,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked I Am Not Your Final Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Now an Elgin Award-nominated book!

"There is nothing else in this world / like realizing / youā€™re going to live / and not being sure / you can."

From Claire C. Holland, a timely collection of poetry that follows the final girl of slasher cinema - the girl who survives until the end - on a journey of retribution and reclamation. From the white picket fences of 1970s Haddonfield to the apocalyptic end of the world, Holland confronts the role of women in relation to subjects including feminism, sexuality, violence, and healing in the world of Trump and the MeTooā€¦


Book cover of The Water Cure

Fiona Tolan Author Of The Fiction of Margaret Atwood

From my list on dark, dystopian futures written by women.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an academic and a passionate reader of womenā€™s fiction. My job title, Reader in Contemporary Womenā€™s Writing, is also, fortunately, my hobby. I love to think about how womenā€™s writing explores womenā€™s lives today. I chose the theme of dystopian fiction because The Handmaidā€™s Tale has been so central to my work. Still, other potential topics that came to mind were motherhood, home and domestic labour, reproductive politics, and feminist protest. It strikes me now that each of the books on my list also cover these topics. This is the element of my work I love ā€“ drawing out the connections and political convictions that make todayā€™s womenā€™s writing so powerful.

Fiona's book list on dark, dystopian futures written by women

Fiona Tolan Why did Fiona love this book?

In a list of dystopian futures, Mackintoshā€™s book sits a little unsurely. Itā€™s a dreamy, otherworldly novel, and weā€™re never quite sure when or where itā€™s taking place. Three sisters live in isolation with their parents, avoiding an outside world ravaged by contagion ā€“ but is the threat real or imagined?

I love this book for its strangeness: itā€™s an uncanny fairy tale, partly set in some kind of decrepit Victorian seaside retreat for lady hysterics, partly set in the woods where wolves (or men) may prowl.

Mackintosh builds layered dystopias, where both the diseased, brutal world of male violence and the claustrophobic, emotionally manipulative "care" of home and family threaten the sistersā€™ security. This hazy fever-dream of a book stayed with me for a long time after I finished it. 

By Sophie Mackintosh,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

'A gripping, sinister fable' - MARGARET ATWOOD, via Twitter

'An extraordinary debut novel. Otherworldly, luminous, precise... She is writing the way that Sofia Coppola would shoot the end of the world' Guardian

Shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Breakthrough Award

'Bold, inventive, haunting... With shades of Margaret Atwood and Eimear McBride, you'll be bowled over by it' Stylist

'Visceral, hypnotic... with one of my favourite endings I've read in a long while' The Pool

Imagine a world very close to our own: where women are not safe in their bodies, where desperate measures are required to raise a daughter.ā€¦


Book cover of The Mermaid of Black Conch

Therese Down Author Of The Estate Agent

From my list on lighting up your imagination and your soul.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love stories grounded in realism - but which also explore that there may be more to life than meets the eye; reasons beyond reason, for the way we dream, love, and think, and which come from unexpected sources. I love books whose characters really 'live', and stay with me, long after I've finished reading. I aspire to create such characters. In my novels, I seek to explore important themes from perspectives that often pitch rationality against what it cannot explain, or dismiss. The fiction I most love does this ā€“ whether it exploits mythology, suggests life beyond life, or uses magical realism to add ā€˜otherā€™ dimensions to the ordinary. "There are more thingsā€¦ Horatioā€¦"

Therese's book list on lighting up your imagination and your soul

Therese Down Why did Therese love this book?

The Mermaid of Black Conch takes a mythological creature and gives her extraordinary life, as a very real, young woman, called Aycayia.

She is caught ā€“ hooked like a prize fish - by greedy anglers, and hauled from the sea, bringing with her an already fascinating and tragic history of injustice and misunderstanding. But, she is also an object of love.

Not all fishermen are commercial opportunistsā€¦ Not all men are eager to exploit beautiful and unusual women, and so begins an extraordinary rescue, and a life-affirming relationship, with many unpredictable, literally magical, and truly remarkable twists.

This enchanting book, written with breath-taking originality, is likely to spell-bind you ā€“ permanently. Youā€™ll never again think of mermaids in the same way.

By Monique Roffey,

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked The Mermaid of Black Conch as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Escape to the ocean with the entrancing, unforgettable winner of the Costa Book of the Year - as read on BBC Radio 4.

'Mesmerising' MAGGIE O'FARRELL
'A unique talent' BERNARDINE EVARISTO
'Wonderful' BRIDGET COLLINS
'Brilliant' CLARE CHAMBERS

Near the island of Black Conch, a fisherman sings to himself while waiting for a catch. But David attracts a sea-dweller that he never expected - Aycayia, an innocent young woman cursed by jealous wives to live as a mermaid.

When American tourists capture Aycayia, David rescues her and vows to win her trust. Slowly, painfully, she transforms into a woman again. Yetā€¦


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Book cover of Beneath the Veil

Beneath the Veil by Martin Kearns,

The Valor of Valhalla series by Martin Kearns is a pulse-pounding dark urban fantasy trilogy that fuses the raw power of Norse mythology with the grit of modern warfare. Set in a world where ancient gods and mythical creatures clash with secret military organizations and rogue heroes, the series followsā€¦

Book cover of This Is Sadie

Talitha Shipman Author Of Finding Beauty

From my list on inspiring childlike wonder for all ages.

Why am I passionate about this?

Iā€™m an award-winning children's book author-illustrator. Iā€™ve spent the last fifteen years dreaming up stories that I hope will inspire curiosity and wonder in kids of all ages. Iā€™m also a life-long learner! I canā€™t get enough info about this amazing world we live in. The more I learn, the more I realize that being a noticer, someone who slows down to observe the tiny details around them, will inspire questions and the need to find some surprising and fascinating answers. When my daughter asks a question (and there are many), my mantra has become, ā€œI donā€™t know, letā€™s find out!ā€ I hope this list inspires your own adventurous inquiries.

Talitha's book list on inspiring childlike wonder for all ages

Talitha Shipman Why did Talitha love this book?

Of course, Iā€™m going to have some picture books on this list, and This is Sadie is one of my all-time favorite books. It makes me feel like a kid again.

With spare yet thoughtful words from Oā€™Leary and whimsical illustrations by Morstad, you are transported to a time and place where adult worries and preoccupations donā€™t exist. Sadie is a hero, a mermaid, an archer in a fairy tale, and was also raised by wolves.

Oh, and she has wings! Itā€™s a magical and powerful portrayal of childhood imagination.

By Sara Oā€™Leary, Julie Morstad (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked This Is Sadie 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?

Now in board book, the beloved story about a little girl with a big imagination from the award-winning team of Sara O'Leary and Julie Morstad.

Sadie is a little girl with a big imagination. She has been a girl who lived under
the sea and a boy raised by wolves. She has had adventures in wonderland and
visited the world of fairytales. She whispers to the dresses in her closet and talks
to birds in the treetops. She has wings that take her anywhere she wants to go, but
that always bring her home again. She likes to make thingsā€¦


Book cover of Gideon the Ninth
Book cover of When I Arrived at the Castle
Book cover of O Human Star: Volume 1

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