Books like The Other Passenger: 98 fan favorites

By Louise Candlish,

Here are 98 books that The Other Passenger fans have personally recommended if you like The Other Passenger. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Book cover of White Teeth

Ken Eckert Author Of Shorter of Breath: 8-Tracks. Aliens. Korea. Edmonton. And a chance to leave lame-o millennial culture for the '70s!

From my list on thoughtful comedy leaves you bored or depressed.

Why am I passionate about this?

I teach and have written too many articles on these books as an English professor. Thereā€™s a time for tragic or difficult books (James Joyce, anyone?), but also a time for fun, and I believe itā€™s good for my students to giggle and enjoy reading while they learn. As a Canadian, Iā€™m told my humor is dry but warmer, and accordingly, the books I prefer make me thinkā€”and some break my heartā€”but my favorites also make me laugh. If you want a quality read but arenā€™t above a fart joke, I hope you will check out my list.

Ken's book list on thoughtful comedy leaves you bored or depressed

Ken Eckert Why did Ken love this book?

This book has always hit the trifecta for meā€”interesting, moving, and funny. A story about London immigrant families in the ā€˜80s and ā€˜90s, it shows a lesser-known side of society and certainly is the raunchiest book in my listā€”thereā€™s a lot of sex among its confused screw-ups.

I admit my mind was opened, and my sympathies widened by this book, and after re-reading, I can appreciate it as a masterpiece of comic chaos. I wouldnā€™t want to be these charactersā€”how many books begin with a failed suicide attempt?ā€”but Iā€™m glad they let me into their lives.

By Zadie Smith,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked White Teeth as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

One of the most talked about fictional debuts of recent years, "White Teeth" is a funny, generous, big-hearted novel, adored by critics and readers alike. Dealing - among many other things - with friendship, love, war, three cultures and three families over three generations, one brown mouse, and the tricky way the past has of coming back and biting you on the ankle, it is a life-affirming, riotous must-read of a book.


Book cover of Full Dark House

Diane M. Dickson Author Of Body in the Canal

From my list on when you want to dabble in crime with no risk.

Why am I passionate about this?

My fascination with crime fiction has come from reading about it. I have no idea how many novels I have read focused on baddies and the catching of them, but itā€™s numbering now in the many hundreds. I think the fact that a crime novel can incorporate elements of all other genres ā€“ horror, history, romance, the supernatural, etc. are what make them so appealing and add to the joy of writing them. Untangling the threads that make up a crime novel is very satisfying. Maybe in another reality, I would be a detective ā€“ I love that idea, but for now, in this bit of the multiverse, Iā€™ll just carry on making them up.  

Diane's book list on when you want to dabble in crime with no risk

Diane M. Dickson Why did Diane love this book?

Another series. I really enjoy getting to know characters and look forward to watching them develop over the time that I read about them. Bryant and May are so very unusual. Quirky, and a little bit mad, it has to be said, as are the whole of the Peculiar Crime Unit. The back stories are expertly woven into the narrative and the detail and relating of little-known facts about London are absolutely fascinating. Again I have read the whole series, though as these two elderly detectives grow older and more frail I found them harder to read, but this book ā€“ the first in the series was a delight. 

By Christopher Fowler,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Full Dark House as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When a bomb devastates the office of London's most unusual police unit and claims the life of its oldest detective, Arthur Bryant, his surviving partner John May searches for clues to the bomber's identity. His search takes him back to the day the detectives first met as young men in 1940.

In Blitz-ravaged London, a beautiful dancer rehearsing for a sexy, sinister production of 'Orpheus In The Underworld' is found without her feet. Bryant & May's investigation plunges them into a bizarre gothic mystery, where a faceless man stalks terrified actors and death strikes in darkness. Tracking their quarry throughā€¦


Book cover of The Nickel Boys

Ginger Pinholster Author Of Snakes of St. Augustine

From my list on featuring Florida in a big way.

Why am I passionate about this?

My second novel, Snakes of St. Augustine, describes an unconventional love story served up with a large side of Florida weirdness. My first novel, City in a Forest, received a Gold Royal Palm Literary Award from the Florida Writers Association in 2020. My short fiction and essays have appeared in Pangyrus, Eckerd Review, Northern Virginia Review, Atticus Review, and elsewhere. I earned my bachelorā€™s degree in English from Eckerd College and the M.F.A. in Fiction from Queens University of Charlotte. Currently, Iā€™m a writer for a university in Daytona Beach, Florida. A resident of Ponce Inlet, I began volunteering with the Volusia-Flagler Sea Turtle Patrol in 2018.

Ginger's book list on featuring Florida in a big way

Ginger Pinholster Why did Ginger love this book?

The devastating story of two boys unjustly sentenced to serve time in a nightmarish juvenile reform school, The Nickel Boys won a Pulitzer Prize and became a New York Times bestseller.

It is a must-read for anyone sampling literary works featuring Florida. The boys in the story, Elwood and Turner, endure and witness hellish abuse at the Nickel Academy. The boysā€™ haunting story, exquisitely told by Colson Whitehead, is based on Floridaā€™s real-life Dozier school where thousands of children were tortured, raped, and murdered for more than a century.

Whiteheadā€™s unflinching descriptions of terror and abuse can be tough to take, but they serve an important purpose, by forcing the reader to confront the hellish reality that was America under Jim Crow laws. Long after the last page is turned, if ever, this novel wonā€™t leave you.

By Colson Whitehead,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Nickel Boys as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER ā€¢ In this Pulitzer Prize-winning follow-up to The Underground Railroad, Colson Whitehead brilliantly dramatizes another strand of American history through the story of two boys unjustly sentenced to a hellish reform school in Jim Crow-era Florida.
 
When Elwood Curtis, a black boy growing up in 1960s Tallahassee, is unfairly sentenced to a juvenile reformatory called the Nickel Academy, he finds himself trapped in a grotesque chamber of horrors. Elwoodā€™s only salvation is his friendship with fellow ā€œdelinquentā€ Turner, which deepens despite Turnerā€™s conviction that Elwood is hopelessly naive, that the world is crooked, and that the only wayā€¦


If you love The Other Passenger...

Ad

Book cover of What You Made Me Do

What You Made Me Do by Barbara Gayle Austin,

Willem and Jurriaan have a miserable childhood thanks to their cruel, controlling motherā€”Louisa Veldkamp, a world-renowned pianist. Dad turns a blind eye. One day, Louisa vanishes without a trace during a family vacation.

Adoptee Anneliese Bakker survives a toxic childhood and leaves home, vowing never to return. While searching forā€¦

Book cover of A Prayer for Owen Meany

S. Chris Shirley Author Of Playing by the Book

From my list on exploring crises of faith.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up as a closeted homosexual in a fundamentalist Christian home, enduring nearly two decades in a crisis of faith. Sermons frequently warned of damnation for my natural inclinations, pushing me to fast, pray, and achieve to resist temptation. This crisis gradually resolved over the eight years I spent writing Playing by the Book, the first coming-out novel to win a National IPPY Medal in religious fiction. Although I donā€™t consider myself a spiritual writer, I am drawn to stories that explore existential struggles and triumphs, including those related to a crisis of faithā€”much like the characters in the novels on this list.

S.'s book list on exploring crises of faith

S. Chris Shirley Why did S. love this book?

I love this book because it shows that being different does not exclude one from being an instrument of God. Owen Meany, with his unusual voice and diminutive stature, is an unforgettable character who, despite seeming out of place, becomes integral to a grander plan. His story resonated deeply with me, reminding me of my journey as a closeted gay man.

Like Owen, I felt different from everyone else and struggled with feelings of unworthinessā€”feelings that are now far behind me. This book celebrates the unusual and beautifully illustrates that every life has meaning and every person has a role to play.

By John Irving,

Why should I read it?

7 authors picked A Prayer for Owen Meany as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A work of genius' Independent

'Marvellously funny . . . What better entertainment is there than a serious book which makes you laugh?' Spectator

'If you care about something you have to protect it. If you're lucky enough to find a way of life you love, you have to find the courage to live it.'

Summer, 1953. In the small town of Gravesend, New Hampshire, eleven-year-old John Wheelwright and his best friend Owen Meany are playing in a Little League baseball game. When Owen hits a foul ball which kills John's mother, their lives are changed in an instant.

Itā€¦


Book cover of Bang the Drum Slowly

Carl Deuker Author Of Golden Arm

From my list on sports books about more than sports.

Why am I passionate about this?

For 20 years, I tried to write politically relevant, ā€œimportantā€ novels. I teach. One day I told my students that to succeed as a writer, they needed to write about things they knew and loved. Honesty was the key. That night, I resumed work on a novel set in Prague involving Cold War intrigue, capitalism, communism, and some other "isms" Iā€™ve forgotten. I wrote a paragraph and then stopped. My advice was good. Write about things you know and love. So why not follow it myself? What section of the newspaper did I read first? The sports page. Did I live and die with my favorite sports teams? Yes. I put my hopeless Prague novel aside and started On the Devilā€™s Court. For better or worse, a sportswriter is who I am.

Carl's book list on sports books about more than sports

Carl Deuker Why did Carl love this book?

Okay, two books--but theyā€™re really one. The Southpaw is about Henry Wiggen the baseball player finding his way in the major leagues.  A sports book by and large.  And then the fastball to the heart--Bang the Drum Slowly. The vagaries and tragedies of life intrude on the pristine baseball field, and Wiggen and the rest have to deal with reality:  boys grow into men; men sicken, men die. These books inspired me when I decided to become a writer of sports novels. They showed me that not only could I write a sports book about more than sports, but also that I needed to write a sports book about more than sports. Why bother otherwise? 

By Mark Harris,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Henry Wiggen, hero of The Southpaw and the best-known fictional baseball player in America, is back again, throwing a baseball "with his arm and his brain and his memory and his bluff for the sake of his pocket and his family." More than a novel about baseball, Bang the Drum Slowly is about the friendship and the lives of a group of men as they each learn that a teammate is dying of cancer. Bang the Drum Slowly was chosen as one of the top one hundred sports books of all time by Sports Illustrated and appears on numerous otherā€¦


Book cover of The Gustav Sonata

Imogen Matthews Author Of The Boy in the Attic

From my list on acts of resistance in WW2.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child I grew up listening to my Dutch motherā€™s stories of life under German occupation and her familyā€™s struggle for survival during the Hunger Winter. Life was hard but exciting for a teenager who thought nothing of delivering anti-Nazi leaflets, chopping down lime trees in front of the house for firewood, and evading the Germans on her ancient bike in her quest for food. It was this unwavering spirit that I wanted to capture in the four novels Iā€™ve written set in wartime Holland. She was the inspiration behind my latest World War 2 novel, The Boy in the Attic.

Imogen's book list on acts of resistance in WW2

Imogen Matthews Why did Imogen love this book?

The Gustav Sonata started out as a short story called "A Game of Cards". Long after it appeared, Tremain felt she had wasted a very promising core idea on something essentially too short and too unexamined. The story and novel are set in Switzerland, which seemed safe as a neutral country during World War 2, but the government was torn between compassion for German Jewish refugees and the fear of devastating German reprisals if they took them in. Tremain tackles this dilemma through the stoical character of Gustav, who is Jewish and explores the ambiguities in the relationship between Gustav and his friend Anton, a gifted pianist who is crippled by stage fright. I found the themes sensitively and beautifully described.   

By Rose Tremain,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Gustav Perle grows up in a small town in Switzerland, where the horrors of the Second World War seem only a distant echo. An only child, he lives alone with Emilie, the mother he adores but who treats him with bitter severity. He begins an intense friendship with a Jewish boy his age, talented and mercurial Anton Zweibel, a budding concert pianist. The novel follows Gustav's family, tracing the roots of his mother's anti-Semitism and its impact on her son and his beloved friend. Moving backward to the war years and the painful repercussions of an act of conscience, andā€¦


Book cover of The Teammates: A Portrait of Friendship

Dan Largent Author Of Before We Ever Spoke

From my list on baseball is part of the theme.

Why am I passionate about this?

Before he became a bestselling author with his debut novel, Before We Ever Spoke, Dan Largent spent the better part of two decades as a high school baseball coach. In 2010, he guided Olmsted Falls High School to its first-ever State Final Four and was subsequently named Greater Cleveland Division I Coach of the Year. Dan stepped away from his duties as a baseball coach in 2017 to spend more time with his wife, April, and their three children Brooke, Grace, and Luke. He has, however, remained close to the game he loves by turning doubles into singles as a member of Clevelandā€™s finest 35 and over baseball league.

Dan's book list on baseball is part of the theme

Dan Largent Why did Dan love this book?

Ted Williams is my favorite baseball player of all time, so naturally, I have read almost every book ever written about him. This book, however, isnā€™t just about the ā€œSplendid Splinterā€. 

The Teammates takes place in the fall of 2001, as Ted Williams is dying and right around one of the most challenging times our country has endured. It revolves around the life-long friendship of 4 aging Red Sox teammates: Ted Williams, Dom DiMaggio, Johnny Pesky, and Bobby Doerr.

This is a book about four friends and teammates at the end of their time on this planet, and well-aware of that fact, who demonstrate that they will be there for each other all the way to the end. This is a short book and a fast read at only 218 pages (with pictures), but it is impactful far beyond its word count.

By David Halberstam,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

More than 6 years after his death David Halberstam remains one of this country's most respected journalists and revered authorities on American life and history in the years since WWII. A Pulitzer Prize-winner for his ground-breaking reporting on the Vietnam War, Halberstam wrote more than 20 books, almost all of them bestsellers. His work has stood the test of time and has become the standard by which all journalists measure themselves.

The Teammates is the profoundly moving story of four great baseball players who have made the passage from sports icons--when they were young and seemingly indestructible--to men dealing withā€¦


Book cover of The Grace of Kings

Prashanth Srivatsa Author Of The Spice Gate: A Fantasy

From my list on fantasy novels with quests and crafty gods.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am instantly drawn to stories with voyages, spices, and trade. But as much as these, I love meddlesome and crafty gods. Iā€™m not a religious person, but I love to understand how people behave around religion, how it influences their choices, and how our worldā€™s history can be chronologized as a series of fanatical events and conquests. Fantasy gives me the option to explore characters and worlds where gods are not only inherently intrusive but also cast a long shadow on peopleā€™s nature, giving birth to folklore, myths, and, of course, great stories to tell. They drive destinies, but more importantly, they drive the resistance against being puppeteered.

Prashanth's book list on fantasy novels with quests and crafty gods

Prashanth Srivatsa Why did Prashanth love this book?

This was one meaty book! Ken Liu has thrown away all the rules of writing and has yet written an absolute masterpiece of fantasy fiction.

I donā€™t remember being this thrilled, terrified, angry, and chuffed with scene after scene, battle after battle. I am a sucker for sprawling epic fantasies. Give me intricate maps, dozens of characters, multiple POVs, betrayals, puppeteering gods, and a complex plot that ties them all together.

The Grace of Kings is all that and more in its rich and silken reimagining of the Han dynasty and the Chu Han Contention. Imagine my delight when I found out there are three more books to this saga, each meatier than the previous.

By Ken Liu,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Grace of Kings as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Emperor Mapidere was the first to unite the island kingdoms of Dara under a single banner. But now the emperor is on his deathbed, his people are exhausted by his vast, conscriptive engineering projects and his counsellors conspire only for their own gain.

Even the gods themselves are restless.

A wily, charismatic bandit and the vengeance-sworn son of a deposed duke cross paths as they each lead their own rebellion against the emperor's brutal regime. Together, they will journey to the heart of the empire; witnessing the clash of armies, fleets of silk-draped airships, magical books and shapeshifting gods. Theirā€¦


Book cover of A Fine Dark Line

Scott Montgomery Author Of Austin Noir

From my list on crime with a whole lot of Texas.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have spent over twenty years over (fifteen in Texas) recommending crime fiction as a bookseller in a couple of prominent stores. Texas and its writers have always fascinated me. Now that I get to call myself one, I am connected more to the genre literature of my adopted state and have an insider's view as both writer and resident.

Scott's book list on crime with a whole lot of Texas

Scott Montgomery Why did Scott love this book?

My favorite book from Texasā€™ greatest living writer.

Iā€™ve been lucky enough to go from fan to friend of Joeā€™s and realized a lot of the experiences of his youth ended up in this novel of a young boy in 1958 who discovers a box of love letters that unravel the mystery of a murder that happened decades ago in his small town, but some folks still want silent.

Lansdale captures a time of drive-in movies, early civil rights, and gearing up for times of change. Part Twainā€™s Huckleberry Finn, Kingā€™s The Body (a.k.a. Stand By Me), and all Lansdale.

By Joe R. Lansdale,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Fine Dark Line as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Young Stanley Mitchell, Jr., enters the underworld of his 1958 East Texas home when he discovers a cache of love letters by a murdered girl, comes to understand how love affects the lives of those closest to him, and experiences his first encounters with blues music, racism, and lost dreams. 20,000 first printing.


Book cover of The Bromance Book Club

Michelle Angelle Author Of Dear Pink: A Romantic Comedy

From my list on best stage-stealing sidekicks.

Why are we passionate about this?

A sidekick is someone who knows you better than you know yourself. Someone who will travel 750 miles on your wedding day, and then help you escape out of a window before you make a huge mistake. A sidekick is someone who will have your back, even when youā€™re making some of the most ridiculous decisions of your life. We're best friends, writing partners, and each otherā€™s sidekicks. We write books that reward every struggle with a happy ending because life is not always kind. We create characters who inspire us to keep laughing and encourage readers to laugh with us. Hereā€™s hoping everyone has a humorous sidekick in his or her life.

Michelle's book list on best stage-stealing sidekicks

Michelle Angelle Why did Michelle love this book?

This is the first book in the series and by far the best one. Lyssa Kay Adams flips the typical all-female book club dynamic on its back and upside down in the most surprising way in this romance. Not only are all the book club members men, but they are ā€œmanlyā€ men who are secretly using steamy Harlequin romances as relationship manuals. Their book club quickly develops into a support group where the men are free from societal restraints to become honest and vulnerable with one another. The result is hilarious and charming. Itā€™s a wonder why this Bromance Book Club isnā€™t a real trend among men. If only every woman could have a Bromance Book Club for her partner.

By Lyssa Kay Adams,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Bromance Book Club as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first rule of book club: You don't talk about book club.

Nashville Legends second baseman Gavin Scott's marriage is in major league trouble. Heā€™s recently discovered a humiliating secret: his wife Thea has always faked the Big O. When he loses his cool at the revelation, itā€™s the final straw on their already strained relationship. Thea asks for a divorce, and Gavin realizes heā€™s let his pride and fear get the better of him. 

Welcome to the Bromance Book Club.

Distraught and desperate, Gavin finds help from an unlikely source: a secret romance book club made up of Nashville'sā€¦


Book cover of White Teeth
Book cover of Full Dark House
Book cover of The Nickel Boys

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,845

readers submitted
so far, will you?

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in missing persons, London, and presidential biography?

Missing Persons 312 books
London 872 books