100 books like The Night of the Gun

At age 15, I was captivated by Ernest Hemingway and his depiction of Paris in the 1920s. This book today reignites the enchantment of those years. Hemingway's profound influence shaped my aspirations as a writer. Through his eyes, I can vividly see Paris's cafés, salons, and vibrant social scenes, which ultimately became the backdrop of my dreams.

This book, rich with lovemaking, drinking, writing, betting at the track, and the bohemian lifestyle of so many young artists in Paris, reawakens my desire to immerse myself in that world. Hemingway's narrative voice and his novels continue to speak to me in a language that feels intimately mine, reminding me of the undying impact of his work on my life and aspirations.

Upon my initial reading, this book profoundly impacted me, reshaping my perspective as an emerging psychotherapist and memoirist. Carl Jung, rather than detailing his professional achievements, delves into his personal struggles and inner life, resonating deeply with my own experiences.

I was captivated by his journey from his earliest memories to his later years as he continued to explore his psyche and the collective unconscious. Standing beside him through his narrative, I was struck by his raw honesty, particularly remarkable for an 83-year-old man articulating his deepest emotional truths.

This book inspires me to embrace my dreams and imagination as tools for self-exploration and understanding, highlighting a path to inner discovery and wholeness that is accessible to anyone willing to engage deeply with their inner world.

I love this book for its stark, raw depiction of Viola Davis’s ascent to stardom. Her narration of the audiobook adds a poignant and often wrenching dimension to growing up in abject poverty, overt racism, and fear at the hands of a terrorizing and abusive father.

I was further compelled by her description of therapy in later life, where she struggled against the demons of her past, often in the form of her inner child, battered and belligerent, lacking any confidence to become the stellar human being and actress she was meant to become. Davis’s voice and courage left me both humbled and inspired.  

I was deeply moved by this translated account of the Oglala Lakota holy man, which vividly depicts the tragic history of American indigenous tribes. I was deeply moved by Black Elk's compelling vision for his people, calling upon ancestors and the Divine Spirit for protection and healing.

Despite the simplicity and humanity in his voice, I struggled to reconcile Black Elk’s generosity of spirit with the heartless colonization and cultural extinction of the Lakota Sioux and other tribes. The intertwined fates of the buffalo and Indigenous tribes left me filled with profound sadness and heartache.

Black Elk's story opened my eyes to the ancient spiritual world of his people and the overwhelming injustice they had to endure. I am forever grateful.

Although I loved the city of New York more than ever after 9/11, it was sometimes hard to feel optimism and hope about the bigger picture and humanity as a whole in the first several years of the new millennium. This book was one of several things that helped restore my faith, since Moehringer so lovingly portrays the community where he grew up in Long Island—an area profoundly impacted by the attack on the World Trade Center. While I was fact-checking the title, et cetera, I discovered there’s a movie version coming out in early 2022. Obviously I haven’t seen it yet, but I’m really looking forward to it.  

I think this book is so relevant for teens today.

With fast-paced social media, teens are constantly feeling pressure to fit in and appear perfect. Ani seems to have it all in her adult life but is hiding behind a hardened shell after several traumatic events and demons from her teenage years. In those years, her desperation to assimilate with the popular group was painfully relatable as most women I know, including myself, were once in this situation.

This book demonstrates perfectly the mental (and social) rollercoaster that adults try to manage after trauma and physical assault. This is so important for both YA and Adult readers because…aren’t we all carrying some sort of trauma on our backs while still trying to "have it all"?

Adler’s book depicts a woman’s life through a series of moments, incidents, bits of speech that come at the journalist narrator. The short passages perfectly capture the neurotic energy, humor, and horror of New York City. When I first read it, I was blown away. It showed there is great latitude in ways to approach writing. The short, choppy format is the closest a book has come to mirror my experience as a writer who seeks to find meaning and/or humor in everyday life. It’s a jagged mosaic of a book when put together is a delightful treasure.

Ellie Stone, a young alcoholic newspaper reporter in 1960s New York, makes her own rules while searching for a killer. The series is an incredible window into the era and the protagonist is superb. Booksellers, publishers, authors—we all know who James Ziskin is—simply one of the most decorated mystery authors writing today. This series has won so many awards, I can’t begin to list them all here. In spite of this, James Ziskin remains a secret to most readers. This baffles me and the only thing that can explain it is that we happen to be in that one alternate universe where James Ziskin, who is a bestselling author in every other multiverse, randomly hasn’t caught fire in this universe. Yet.

This is one of my favorite book covers of all time, and the story is pretty spectacular, too. I adore New York City, and Fiona Davis’ novels featuring historic buildings throughout the city are some of my most enjoyable reads.

Before picking up this novel, I knew nothing about the Barbizon Hotel for women in the 1950s. I was intrigued by the lifestyle of the hotel’s occupants and the building’s character. But it was the layer upon layer of secrets that kept me reading into the wee hours of the night. A definite must-read!

Invisible City is the first book in Julia Dahl’s Rebekah Roberts series. Julia Dahl cleverly weaves together Jewish culture and a murder mystery, using a rookie journalist as her main character.

I think journalists make great detectives in crime fiction, with their investigative skills, enthusiasm, communication skills, persistence, and perseverance. They bridge the gap between amateur sleuths and the police (not that different from a private investigator).

Invisible City portrays journalists in a positive light and also provides an insight into an unknown world, with a non-judgmental portrayal of the ultra-religious Hassidic Jewish community in Brooklyn. I enjoyed following the main character’s personal journey too.