Books like The Rings of Saturn: 60 fan favorites

By W.G. Sebald, Michael Hulse (translator),

Here are 60 books that The Rings of Saturn fans have personally recommended if you like The Rings of Saturn. 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 Moby-Dick

Marc Egnal Author Of A Mirror for History: How Novels and Art Reflect the Evolution of Middle-Class America

From my list on American intellectual history.

Why am I passionate about this?

Growing up in Philadelphia, with school and family visits to landmarks like Independence Hall and Betsy Ross’s house, I’ve long been interested in American history. That led me, eventually, to graduate school and my profession as a historian. At the same time, I have greatly enjoyed reading American novelists, such as Nathaniel Hawthorne, Willa Cather, and James Baldwin, as well as the works of thinkers like Ralph Waldo Emerson and W.E.B. DuBois. The sweet spot combining those two interests has been American intellectual history.

Marc's book list on American intellectual history

Marc Egnal Why did Marc love this book?

This is my candidate for the Great American Novel. Read it for its storyline and its fascinating chapters on whales. Along the way, you’ll encounter discussions about race, religion, friendship, and the virtuous life.

Some of my students ask, “Why does Melville digress so much?” My response: persist in reading this work. What at first seems extraneous becomes vital. You’ll discover a masterpiece.

By Herman Melville,

Why should I read it?

27 authors picked Moby-Dick as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Melville's tale of the whaling industry, and one captain's obsession with revenge against the Great White Whale that took his leg. Classics Illustrated tells this wonderful tale in colourful comic strip form, offering an excellent introduction for younger readers. This edition also includes a biography of Herman Melville and study questions, which can be used both in the classroom or at home to further engage the reader in the work at hand.


Book cover of The Overstory

Dennis Danvers Author Of The Soothsayer & the Changeling

From my list on transform how we see ourselves in the world.

Why am I passionate about this?

My first true religion was being a boy alone in the woods and feeling a deep connection to nature in all its aspects. I felt a connection with all life and knew myself to be an animal—and gloried in it. Since then, I've learned how vigorously humans fight our animal nature, estranging us from ourselves and the planet. Each of these books invites us to get over ourselves and connect with all life on Earth. 

Dennis' book list on transform how we see ourselves in the world

Dennis Danvers Why did Dennis love this book?

This book blew me away. I loved how it was told with a range of characters and stories converging into a single whole—like the forest and the trees. I learned more about trees than I ever thought I would care to know and loved every minute of it.

There's nothing more humbling, perhaps, than the vast forests that blanket our planet, and this novel and its unforgettable characters made me feel that in my bones. I'll never look at a tree or planet Earth quite the same way again.

By Richard Powers,

Why should I read it?

36 authors picked The Overstory as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Overstory, winner of the 2019 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction, is a sweeping, impassioned work of activism and resistance that is also a stunning evocation of-and paean to-the natural world. From the roots to the crown and back to the seeds, Richard Powers's twelfth novel unfolds in concentric rings of interlocking fables that range from antebellum New York to the late twentieth-century Timber Wars of the Pacific Northwest and beyond. There is a world alongside ours-vast, slow, interconnected, resourceful, magnificently inventive, and almost invisible to us. This is the story of a handful of people who learn how to see…


Book cover of Parable of the Sower

Alina Leonova Author Of Entanglement

From my list on if you miss early Black Mirror.

Why am I passionate about this?

I remember the first season of Black Mirror—how fascinated I was. Even though a lot of it was uncomfortable, I couldn’t look away. It was a perfect intersection of the subjects that excited my mind: technology that could exist in the future intertwined with social and political issues and human psychology. It provided a very personal look into how technology would affect people’s daily lives and how it could shape the world we live in. Well, the series has become what it has become, but I still remember the thrill of the first episodes. It always gave me food for thought. 

Alina's book list on if you miss early Black Mirror

Alina Leonova Why did Alina love this book?

It’s a fascinating book. The story takes place in 2024, and some themes seem prophetic: water shortages, soaring food prices, the resulting social chaos, and Mars exploration. There is also a president who promises to “make America great again” (the book was written in 1993). 

I liked the story, though it left a rather heavy impression on me. I couldn't put it down despite how grim it was. I was especially fascinated by its invented religion, though I’m more inclined to view it as a philosophy. It was refreshing, stimulating, and thought-provoking.

Through her dystopian vision, Octavia Butler explores the issues of inequality, poverty, slavery, politics, capitalism, religion, and human psychology. Her book is a great analysis of what human beings are capable of in crisis.

By Octavia E. Butler,

Why should I read it?

29 authors picked Parable of the Sower as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The extraordinary, prescient NEW YORK TIMES-bestselling novel.

'If there is one thing scarier than a dystopian novel about the future, it's one written in the past that has already begun to come true. This is what makes Parable of the Sower even more impressive than it was when first published' GLORIA STEINEM

'Unnervingly prescient and wise' YAA GYASI

--

We are coming apart. We're a rope, breaking, a single strand at a time.

America is a place of chaos, where violence rules and only the rich and powerful are safe. Lauren Olamina, a young woman with the extraordinary power to…


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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 Solar

JoeAnn Hart Author Of Float: A Novel

From my list on climate change that you experience through story.

Why am I passionate about this?

Float started out as a comedy of manners set in a coastal Maine town, but the more I learned about fishing and the oceans, the more the characters began to struggle with questions about their responsibility to the natural world. By the time I was finished, Float had morphed into a dark comedy about plastic in the ocean, which is not just unsightly and a killer of sea animals, it is made from fossil fuels. I have stayed active in the fight against plastics ever since, and have participated in a number of programs on the intersection of the arts and climate science.

JoeAnn's book list on climate change that you experience through story

JoeAnn Hart Why did JoeAnn love this book?

I like a good satire and I love Ian McEwan. Set in academia, Professor Beard, with his Nobel prize in physics clutched to his chest, is offended by the idea that art might be as good a tool for curing a sick planet as his analytical facts. For all his scientific knowledge, he fails to understand that art has power. His younger colleague tries his best, explaining how images created by art bypass the modern cerebral cortex and go straight to our ancient limbic brain which controls memory and emotion, the part of the brain where we process value judgments, judgments that exert a strong influence on our behavior. This book makes the case for climate change as an important subject in literature, art, and music, because we need to touch hearts before we can create change. And it’s pretty funny on top of it.

By Ian McEwan,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Michael Beard is a Nobel prize-winning physicist whose best work is behind him. Trading on his reputation, he speaks for enormous fees, lends his name to the letterheads of renowned scientific institutions and half-heartedly heads a government-backed initiative tackling global warming. A compulsive womaniser, Beard finds his fifth marriage floundering. But this time it is different: she is having the affair, and he is still in love with her.

When Beard's professional and personal worlds collide in a freak accident, an opportunity presents itself for Beard to extricate himself from his marital mess, reinvigorate his career and save the world…


Book cover of Fire & Water: Stories from the Anthropocene

Carol LaHines Author Of Distant Flickers: Stories of Identity & Loss

From my list on themed anthologies.

Why am I passionate about this?

The anthology form unites diverse voices around a common theme—in the case of Distant Flickers, identity and loss. The stories in the anthology explore intense personal relationships—of mother and child, old lovers, etc. Some of the stories are in the moment and some recounted with the perspective of time, some are fable-like, some formal, and others more colloquial. Reading them the reader is struck by the variety of approaches a writer might take to a subject. The device of the contributor’s notes enables the reader to see the story behind the story and how life informs art—life furnishing the raw material or day residue of the story.  

Carol's book list on themed anthologies

Carol LaHines Why did Carol love this book?

Before becoming a published writer, I was a lawyer litigating primarily large, multi-district environmental insurance coverage cases. I became familiar with the many ways by which we damage our precious natural resources, be it groundwater or soil or the air we breathe. Beginning with Rachel Carson, we have rich literature that speaks to the degradation of the planet, including the devastating changes wrought by global warming. The stories in this anthology speak to the physical and emotional topography of our current climate crisis, from a Sami woman who studies fish populations to a Wisconsin man contemplating the animals who make his trailer a portal to a world unsullied by humans. Fish & Water is a smart collection on a topic we ignore at our peril.

By Mary Fifield (editor), Kristin Thiel (editor),

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Fire & Water as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fiction. A Sámi woman studying Alaska fish populations sees our past and future through their present signs of stress and her ancestral knowledge. A teenager faces a permanent drought in Australia and her own sexual desire. An unemployed man in Wisconsin marvels as a motley parade of animals makes his trailer their portal to a world untrammeled by humans. Featuring short fiction from authors around the globe; FIRE & WATER: STORIES FROM THE ANTHROPOCENE takes readers on a rare journey through the physical and emotional landscape of the climate crisis--not in the future; but today. By turns frightening; confusing; and…


Book cover of The Green Child

Stephen Downes Author Of The Hands of Pianists

From my list on to challenge hardcore readers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always loved challenging books. They work your brain and confront your ideas. They’re written in a foreign tongue that somehow or other we understand. In my 2019 PhD, I examined how W. G. Sebald used nostalgia and the uncanny in his four great prose fictions. My own The Hands of Pianists is greatly influenced by Sebaldian techniques. It received a rave review from arguably Australia’s best literary critic and was among five novels shortlisted for the 2022 Australian Prime Minister’s Literary Awards. Five of my short stories have been longlisted and shortlisted in recent UK competitions. Last Meal won the UK’s 2020 Fiction Factory prize.

Stephen's book list on to challenge hardcore readers

Stephen Downes Why did Stephen love this book?

First published in 1935, The Green Child is among the strangest books you’ll ever read. It enchanted me, forcing me to believe that Olivero, a South American dictator, could fake his own assassination, return to his roots in England, and save a speechless translucent creature, the Green Child, from her sadistic husband. I revelled in the exquisite writing – Sir Herbert Read was a renowned stylist who penned the classic English Prose Style -- and the improbable’s being made real. At one time Norton Professor of Fine Arts at Harvard, Read called his novel a philosophical myth to which ‘all types of Fantasy should conform’. It was his only long fiction. One reviewer called it an ‘organic fusion of thought and imagination into a crystalline beauty’.

By Herbert Read,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The Green Child is the only novel by Herbert Read - the famous English poet, anarchist, and literary critic. First published by New Directions in 1948, it remains a singular work of bewildering imagination and radiance. The author considered it a philosophical myth akin to Plato's cave.

Olivero, the former dictator of a South American country, has returned to his native England after faking his own assassination. On a walk he sees, through a cottage window, a green-skinned young girl tied to a chair. He watches in horror as the kidnapper forces the girl to drink lamb's blood from a…


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Book cover of Norvel: An American Hero

Norvel by Kenneth F. Conklin,

NORVEL: An American Hero chronicles the remarkable life of Norvel Lee, a civil rights pioneer and Olympic athlete who challenged segregation in 1948 Virginia. Born in the Blue Ridge Mountains to working-class parents who valued education, Lee overcame Jim Crow laws and a speech impediment to achieve extraordinary success.

He…

Book cover of The Loser

Matthew Daddona Author Of The Longitude of Grief

From my list on philosophical novels I can’t stop thinking about.

Why am I passionate about this?

Philosophical novels challenge rather than appease. They subvert. They obscure. As a former acquisitions editor at major publishing houses, I am confounded by the scarcity of chances taken on books that don’t fit the status quo or, are "difficult." I am most interested in how books—even when they meander and cavort—lead to surprising and unsettling revelations. Or how they don’t lead to revelations at all but keep the reader guessing as to when some semblance of grace will be achieved. I don’t wish to sound pessimistic; if anything, I wish to be realistic. Philosophical novels are reflections of life, which is often confusing, contradictory, and, yes, difficult. With a touch of grace for good measure.

Matthew's book list on philosophical novels I can’t stop thinking about

Matthew Daddona Why did Matthew love this book?

When one reads Bernhard, one never reads anything else the same again. In fact, every story feels false by comparison. Maybe it’s because The Loser is written in one unbroken paragraph or because it repeats a line ad nauseum or because the story, in any other writer’s hands, would feel mawkish.

But this novel about a triangular intellectual relationship between piano virtuoso Glenn Gould and his two students is anything but. It’s funny, heartbreaking, and confusing. The way life is. 

By Thomas Bernhard,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked The Loser as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Thomas Bernhard was one of the most original writers of the twentieth century. His formal innovation ranks with Beckett and Kafka, his outrageously cantankerous voice recalls Dostoevsky, but his gift for lacerating, lyrical, provocative prose is incomparably his own.One of Bernhard's most acclaimed novels, The Loser centers on a fictional relationship between piano virtuoso Glenn Gould and two of his fellow students who feel compelled to renounce their musical ambitions in the face of Gould's incomparable genius. One commits suicide, while the other-- the obsessive, witty, and self-mocking narrator-- has retreated into obscurity. Written as a monologue in one remarkable…


Book cover of Mrs. Dalloway

Jesse Wolfe Author Of Love, Friendship, and Narrative Form After Bloomsbury: The Progress of Intimacy in History

From my list on love and historical progress.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an English professor, a poet, a lover of reading, and a happy husband and father. How did all this happen; what historical processes made my good fortunes possible? I get answers to these questions from great fiction and great nonfiction. It’s hard to find two more sensitive and beautifully written novels about marriage’s personal and social dimensions than Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and E. M. Forster’s Howards End. Their psychological insights are complemented by two marriage historians and one sociologist with broad knowledge about love’s evolution over the centuries. I’ve read these books multiple times and shared them with many students (and friends)! They never get old.

Jesse's book list on love and historical progress

Jesse Wolfe Why did Jesse love this book?

I love this novel because of its ravishingly beautiful prose and deep insights into sexual selfhood. Set one day in June 1923, this book takes us into the mind of its middle-aged heroine, Clarissa Dalloway, as she prepares to host a party and reminisces about her life three decades ago.

As a teenager, she loved a daring, aristocratic woman (Sally), a passionate but troubled man (Peter), and a comparatively boring but dependable man (Richard, to whom she has long been married). What did love mean to her thirty years ago, and what does it mean now? Did she make the right romantic choice, given the constraints of her society? Virginia Woolf leaves her readers space to ponder these questions for themselves.

By Virginia Woolf,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Mrs. Dalloway as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The working title of Mrs. Dalloway was The Hours. The novel began as two short stories, "Mrs. Dalloway in Bond Street" and the unfinished "The Prime Minister". It describes Clarissa's preparations for a party she will host in the evening, and the ensuing party. With an interior perspective, the story travels forward and back in time and in and out of the characters' minds to construct an image of Clarissa's life and of the inter-war social structure.


In October 2005, Mrs. Dalloway was included on Time's list of the 100 best English-language novels written since Time debuted in 1923.


Book cover of The Storyteller of Jerusalem: The Life and Times of Wasif Jawhariyyeh, 1904-1948

Graham Addison Author Of Raiders of the Hidden Ark: The story of the Parker expedition to Jerusalem

From my list on helping understand Jerusalem.

Why am I passionate about this?

I've always loved history and it was the subject I took my degree in. After a career in business I've come back to history. I have an interest in how Britain has shaped our world; it has influenced more parts of the world than any other nation, sometimes for the better, but often for the worse. Jerusalem is the most pivotal city in the world and Britain has played a role in its long history. One part of this history is what led me to tell the story of an incredible British-led expedition to Jerusalem at the start of the 20th century, which sought the Ark of the Covenant.

Graham's book list on helping understand Jerusalem

Graham Addison Why did Graham love this book?

Wasif Jawhariyyeh was a musician and composer belonging to the Greek Orthodox community of Jerusalem who lived in the city during the late Ottoman and Mandatory eras. 

He was acquainted with many of the ruling families in the city and worked within the British administration. This book chronicles his life and provides a vivid depiction of the city throughout the Ottoman and Mandate periods until 1948 when he went into exile. 

The book offers a captivating perspective on the lives of the city's inhabitants during those times and the amalgamation of diverse populations. Jawhariyyeh occasionally reminisces through a nostalgic lens, suggesting that issues between various groups only arose after the British arrival. 

Nonetheless, the book provides an insightful and engaging glimpse into the city's social fabric.

By Wasif Jawhariyyeh, Salim Tamari (editor), Issam Nassar (editor) , Nada Elzeer (translator)

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The memoirs of Wasif Jawhariyyeh are a remarkable treasure trove of writings on the life, culture, music, and history of Jerusalem. Spanning over four decades, from 1904 to 1948, they cover a period of enormous and turbulent change in Jerusalem's history, but change lived and recalled from the daily vantage point of the street storyteller. Oud player, music lover and ethnographer, poet, collector, partygoer, satirist, civil servant, local historian, devoted son, husband, father, and person of faith, Wasif viewed the life of his city through multiple roles and lenses. The result is a vibrant, unpredictable, sprawling collection of anecdotes, observations,…


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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 Warriors of God: Richard the Lionheart and Saladin in the Third Crusade

Daniel Greene Author Of Northern Wolf

From my list on military history fiction books set in the pre-1900s.

Why am I passionate about this?

History was one of my majors in college and it’s something that I’ve always gravitated back to despite venturing off into various non-history-related careers. When I chose to become an author, it was only natural that I would find myself writing in the military historical fiction genre. I found these works not only inspiring, but both time and money well spent. While they range widely outside of modern conflicts, they shine a light on the grim times and places of long ago. I believe my award-winning Northern Wolf Series will do the same for you as its cavalry-focused novels bring to life lesser-known engagements of the American Civil War.

Daniel's book list on military history fiction books set in the pre-1900s

Daniel Greene Why did Daniel love this book?

Warriors of God is an up-close and very personal deep dive with two legendary players during the Third Crusade, Richard the Lionheart and Saladin as they battle for the Holy Land. We dive headfirst into each ruler’s accession to power and how they clashed over the sands of the Levant. The novel is as gripping as it is profound, and I would highly recommend it to anyone seeking to further their knowledge and understanding of the crusades and their impact on our world today. However, it should be noted that while “history” tends to cross the line into fiction at times. Warriors of God is the only non-fiction history novel on this list. I feel that the narrative and story are strong enough to be read for knowledge and entertainment.

By James Reston,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Warriors of God as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The story of the Third Crusade, and the two men who dictated its outcome: Saladin, hero of the Islamic world and Richard the Lionheart. Richard and the King of France led a European army of several hundred thousand warriors, but Saladin's manoeuvres resulted in the crusaders retreat and the demise of the Third Crusade,


Book cover of Moby-Dick
Book cover of The Overstory
Book cover of Parable of the Sower

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