The best adult books

Who picked these books? Meet our 8,069 experts.

8,069 authors created a book list with books for adults, and here are their favorite adult books.

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Listen America!

By Jerry Falwell,

Book cover of Listen America!

Frances FitzGerald Author Of The Evangelicals: The Struggle to Shape America

From the list on understanding the ethos of the Christian right.

Who am I?

I was a correspondent in Vietnam in 1966, 1971, 1973, and 1974. I worked for The New Yorker on the last three dates, and I have been back several times since the end of the war. My book, Fire in Lake won the Pulitzer Prize, the Bancroft Prize for history, and the National Book Award, among other prizes.

Frances' book list on understanding the ethos of the Christian right

Discover why each book is one of Frances' favorite books.

Why did Frances love this book?

Falwell was the first in US history to attempt to organize white evangelicals into a voting group, and this is his manifesto. It’s a must-read because he introduces all the themes of the movement ever since.

Listen America!

By Jerry Falwell,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Paperback book by Jerry Falwell that is the conservative blueprint for Americ's moral rebirth.


You Are Special

By Max Lucado,

Book cover of You Are Special: Volume 1

MelindaJoy Mingo Author Of The Colors of Culture: The Beauty of Diverse Friendships

From the list on capturing how we learn to celebrate diversity.

Who am I?

I’ve been fascinated by different cultures since I was 14 years old growing up in inner-city Chicago. My passion has given me a curious quest to travel the world and learn about different cultures. My friends have a tagline for me which is ‘From the Hood to Hanoi and All the Stops In Between’ because of my international teaching in Vietnam. As an adult who is now an international professor, sought-out global trainer, and cultural subject matter expert, my passion has increased for bringing an awareness to a broader audience about the beauty of diverse friendships. 

MelindaJoy's book list on capturing how we learn to celebrate diversity

Discover why each book is one of MelindaJoy's favorite books.

Why did MelindaJoy love this book?

I recommend this children’s book because the theme of learning how to value yourself is relevant for not only young people but also adults.

This great fictional story centered in a tiny city where people spend the day putting either dots or stars on each other depending on what they or don’t like about the person.

There is one fictional character who doesn’t allow anything to stick on her because she knows her own value and worth.

You Are Special

By Max Lucado,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Follow the young Wemmick Punchinello as he discovers the source of his worth-his Creator. This beautifully illustrated tale communicates to children that God loves them regardless of how the world evaluates them. The first in Max Lucado's Wemmicks series.


Claims to Fame

By Joshua Gamson,

Book cover of Claims to Fame: Celebrity in Contemporary America

Landon Y. Jones Author Of Celebrity Nation: How America Evolved into a Culture of Fans and Followers

From the list on celebrity culture and what it is doing to America.

Who am I?

I’ve been fascinated by celebrities and heroes ever since I was a child. That compulsion became something I wanted to understand. I got my chance as the head editor of People magazine. Over the years, I met more than my share of celebrities – Ronald Reagan, Tom Hanks, Malcolm X, and Princess Diana, to name only a few. I began to take notes about my brushes with fame and think about celebrities in history and why they have recently become so dominant in our culture. Celebrity Nation is the result. Enjoy it!

Landon's book list on celebrity culture and what it is doing to America

Discover why each book is one of Landon's favorite books.

Why did Landon love this book?

The sociologist Joshua Gamson was among the first to analyze the effects of television on our image of celebrityhood.

In Claims to Fame, he rebels against the democratization of fame and is nostalgic for the days before fame was divorced from merit.

He cites Clifford Geertz’s classic The Interpretation of Cultures to make the point that celebrities are “a powerless elite” with high status and visibility but literally no power of any kind over audiences.

And now, of course, in the age of social media, these discrepancies are magnified.

Claims to Fame

By Joshua Gamson,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Moving from "People" magazine to publicists' offices to tours of stars' homes, Joshua Gamson investigates the larger-than-life terrain of American celebrity culture. In the first major academic work since the early 1940s to seriously analyze the meaning of fame in American life, Gamson begins with the often-heard criticisms that today's heroes have been replaced by pseudoheroes, that notoriety has become detached from merit. He draws on literary and sociological theory, as well as interviews with celebrity-industry workers, to untangle the paradoxical nature of an American popular culture that is both obsessively invested in glamour and fantasy yet also aware of…


The Game

By Neil Strauss,

Book cover of The Game: Penetrating the Secret Society of Pickup Artists

Hayley Quinn Author Of Do This, Not That: Dating

From the list on crushing it at dating and feel great being single.

Who am I?

 I was the nerdy kid at school, so when I stumbled upon the world of pick-up artists, and the fact you could learn how to get better at dating, I was all over it! In time my coaching and my company grew with the ideology that we wanted to teach practical skills for dating in a way that was inclusive and ethical. 

Hayley's book list on crushing it at dating and feel great being single

Discover why each book is one of Hayley's favorite books.

Why did Hayley love this book?

Penetrating? Secret Society? Pick Up Artists? Okay you’re going to have to trust me, that despite its nebulous reputation Strauss’ voyage into the underworld of the “pua” community has some merits. Firstly, it’s a fantastically funny, twisted story. Secondly, whilst every “technique” the book advocates to hone your seduction skills is squarely on the side of skeezy, just the idea that you can learn skills for dating is cool. It gripped me 15 years ago, and started me on my quest in the dating industry. 

The Game

By Neil Strauss,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

When Neil Strauss a self-proclaimed AFC (average frustrated chump) withdraws $500 and signs-up for a workshop with notorious pick-up artist Mystery, he embarks upon a life-changing journey into the bizarre underworld of 'players'. Creating their own vernacular and codes of honour, these are men that have devoted their lives to perfecting techniques of seduction. In the course of the next two years, Neil transforms himself from a frustrated, insecure journalist into the quick thinking, smooth talking Style, a character irresistible to women. Then, as he is voted The World's Number One Pick-up Artist, he falls for a woman who could…


In Full Bloom

By Caroline Hwang,

Book cover of In Full Bloom

Sung J. Woo Author Of Everything Asian

From the list on debut novels by Korean American writers.

Who am I?

My recommendations are more like a diary of my nascent writing career. I don’t mean to get melodramatic here, but these five Korean-American authors literally (get it?) built me. None of them know this, but they were a quintet of Dr. Frankensteins who created Sung J. Woo, writer. I dared to write my first novel because these authors showed me how, in the best possible way, the only way, really: through their printed words. When I held their books in my hands, I believed a little more that I could do the same. I’ll always be proud to be in their debt.

Sung's book list on debut novels by Korean American writers

Discover why each book is one of Sung's favorite books.

Why did Sung love this book?

The year is 2003, and I’m finishing up my first year at NYU’s Creative Writing Program. And a colleague of mine tells me a recent Korean-American graduate will be publishing her first novel. He tells me that Caroline’s book is a romantic comedy in novel form. And I pause for a moment – ten years ago I could not name a single Korean American writer, and now we have our own Jennifer Weiner? How cool is that? And how cool is In Full Bloom? You probably have never heard of this novel, and now that you have, you will thank me when you race through these hilarious pages. Ginger Lee is our heroine, and yes, that type of punny humor is de rigueur in this book. I don’t know who I love more, Ginger or her mother. Probably her mother. 

In Full Bloom

By Caroline Hwang,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In Caroline Hwang's debut novel, In Full Bloom, all Ginger Lee wants is a promotion at the fashion glossy A la Mode magazine. All her mother wants is a nice, professional Korean son-in-law. Unable to keep her mother at bay, Ginger reluctantly agrees to let her play matchmaker.

At work, Ginger's efforts at advancement are thwarted by style fiends better practiced in the art of office warfare. Away from the job, she's surprised that her arranged dates are rejecting her before she gets a chance to reject them.

With wry humor, lively dialogue, and a compassionate take on being a…


A Clubbable Woman

By Reginald Hill,

Book cover of A Clubbable Woman

Catherine Maiorisi Author Of A Matter of Blood

From the list on mysteries that feature two detectives.

Who am I?

I write the NYPD Detective Chiara Corelli Mystery series featuring Corelli and her partner Detective P.J. Parker. Most mysteries have a single main character so I’m passionate about finding other authors who write mysteries with two professional investigators as main characters. It’s fascinating to see how authors writing the same type of characters handle them and what they do about character growth over the course of the series. To me, watching two characters react to each other, seeing their relationship change over the course of a book or a series is much more interesting than reading about a single detective.

Catherine's book list on mysteries that feature two detectives

Discover why each book is one of Catherine's favorite books.

Why did Catherine love this book?

I seem to be addicted to long-running series with British detectives, though not all written by British authors, and A Clubbable Woman is the first book in this twenty-one-book series by Reginald Hill.

When I began to write fiction and worked on creating Corelli and Parker, Hill was one of the authors I looked to for inspiration. Although his Yorkshire detectives, the abrupt and rude Detective Superintendent Andrew "Andy" Dalziel and the educated, calm, and well-mannered Detective Sergeant Peter Pascoe, did not fit my vision for my own characters, I enjoyed their antics and read the entire series. The books are fun and challenging and this is a great beginning.

A Clubbable Woman

By Reginald Hill,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Detective Superintendent Andy Dalziel investigates a murder close to home in this first crime novel featuring the much-loved detective team of Dalziel and Pascoe.

'So far out in front that he need not bother looking over his shoulder' Sunday Telegraph

Home from the rugby club after taking a nasty knock in a match, Sam Connon finds his wife more uncommunicative than usual. After passing out on his bed for a few hours, he comes downstairs to discover communication has been cut off forever - by a hole in the middle of her forehead.

Andy Dalziel, a long-standing member of the…


The Bishop's Pawn

By Steve Berry,

Book cover of The Bishop's Pawn

Cathy O'Bryan Author Of A Child of the Cold War: Code Name: Kitten

From the list on the Cold War, Nazi hunting, and growing up with spies.

Who am I?

As a wife of 38 years, mother of two fine adults, teacher of 30 years in art, speech, theatre, art…well painter, and now author, I enjoy hearing about others' stories. Purely by accident, I wrote a small personal story and found that people wanted more… so I wrote more and shazam I had a book. My first book is about childhood experiences and growing up in my normal world. For me it was normal but the outsiders looking in today would see anything but normal. My parents’ careful actions sheltered my sister and me from the outside world's bad influences until things blew up. Then with care they showed us their world of Nazi hunting.

Cathy's book list on the Cold War, Nazi hunting, and growing up with spies

Discover why each book is one of Cathy's favorite books.

Why did Cathy love this book?

I really enjoy all of Steve Berry’s books but this one stuck with me. This adventure of Cotton Malone examines the death of Martin Luther King from a very different perspective. As a teenager at the time of King's demise, I was intrigued by his spin. Rarely do I feel compelled to do research after I read his books because he does it for you at the end of his books. This one had me looking for some of Rev King's speeches and reading for myself. Pick this one up you won’t want to put it down.

The Bishop's Pawn

By Steve Berry,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The first case of New York Times bestseller Steve Berry’s iconic hero, Cotton Malone.

History notes that the ugly feud between J. Edgar Hoover and Martin Luther King, Jr., marked by years of illegal surveillance and the accumulation of secret files, ended on April 4, 1968 when King was assassinated by James Earl Ray. But that may not have been the case.

Now, fifty years later, former Justice Department agent, Cotton Malone, must reckon with the truth of what really happened that fateful day in Memphis.

It all turns on an incident from eighteen years ago, when Malone, as a…


Proust's Way

By Roger Shattuck,

Book cover of Proust's Way: A Field Guide to in Search of Lost Time

Eric Karpeles Author Of Paintings in Proust: A Visual Companion to in Search of Lost Time

From the list on Marcel Proust and expanding your grasp of him.

Who am I?

I first read Swann’s Way when I was seventeen. Throughout the following five decades, In Search of Lost Time has always remained within reach, a parallel universe more enriching than words can express. As a painter, I’m drawn to Proust’s subtle use of paintings to reveal and mystify the relationship between what we see and what we know. I’ve spoken on Proust at Berkeley, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and Houston, and was invited to give the annual Proust lecture at the Center for Fiction in New York as well as the Amon Carter Lecture on the Arts at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin.

Eric's book list on Marcel Proust and expanding your grasp of him

Discover why each book is one of Eric's favorite books.

Why did Eric love this book?

"Like the Bible, In Search of Lost Time embodies its own sources, myths, and criticism. Like an archaeological site, the novel has come to stand for a state of civilization.” Roger Shattuck is masterful in reach and insight; his “field guide” is aptly named. The reader journeys alongside him to traverse the vast and incomparable terrain of a seven-volume novel. Full of wit and provocation, he leads us through thick and thin, and best of all, he allows our own reading of the great work to revive within us, illuminating the very experience of reading that Proust so brilliantly mined.

Proust's Way

By Roger Shattuck,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Proust's Way as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For any reader who has been humbled by the language, the density, or the sheer weight of Marcel Proust's In Search of Lost Time, Roger Shattuck is a godsend. Winner of the National Book Award for Marcel Proust, a sweeping examination of Proust's life and works, Shattuck now offers a useful and eminently readable guidebook to Proust's epic masterpiece, and a contemplation of memory and consciousness throughout great literature. Here, Shattuck laments Proust's defenselessness against zealous editors, praises some translations, and presents Proust as a novelist whose philosophical gifts were matched only by his irrepressible comic sense. Proust's Way, the…


An American Sunrise

By Joy Harjo,

Book cover of An American Sunrise: Poems

Sheila Williams Author Of The Secret Women

From the list on about adventurous, brave, soulful women.

Who am I?

I'm a storyteller whose daydreams begin with “once upon a time”. I worked as a corporate paralegal and always thought that legal pads could be put to better use by writing a novel. Someone said that women learn best by observing the lives of women. I'm inspired by women who have stepped off the path as well as by those who have maintained it. My learning began by observing the women in my family, African American women who walked their paths, chosen and unchosen, with grace, style, and courage, sometimes, in heels. The stories of women, fictional narratives as well as biographies, poetry, and historical accounts, illuminate these strong souls.

Sheila's book list on about adventurous, brave, soulful women

Discover why each book is one of Sheila's favorite books.

Why did Sheila love this book?

The current United States Poet Laureate. She is an artist and not just of words. Harjo plays a mean saxophone. And writes poetry to send the soul soaring. Reminding me of the sky, the soil, the roots. My roots. “Do you know how to make a peaceful road through human memory?” Harjo’s Muscogee roots have their beginnings in the soil that nurtured some of my Georgia-born ancestors. What can I say? I feel the words.

An American Sunrise

By Joy Harjo,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In the early 1800s, the Mvskoke people were forcibly removed from their original lands east of the Mississippi to Indian Territory, which is now part of Oklahoma. Two hundred years later, Joy Harjo returns to her family's lands and opens a dialogue with history. In An American Sunrise, Harjo finds blessings in the abundance of her homeland and confronts the site where her people, and other indigenous families, essentially disappeared. From her memory of her mother's death, to her beginnings in the native rights movement, to the fresh road with her beloved, Harjo's personal life intertwines with tribal histories to…


Finding Chika

By Mitch Albom,

Book cover of Finding Chika: A Little Girl, an Earthquake, and the Making of a Family

Keith Madsen Author Of The Sons and Daughters of Toussaint

From the list on the life and history of Haiti.

Who am I?

From the time I heard of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti that killed over 200,000 people, my heart was drawn to that country. From 2012 to 2017 I lead five mission trips to Cap Haitian, where we toured mission work, helped Haitians build an elementary school, and met so many of these beautiful people. I ate the great cooking of “Mama Jo” who, along with her husband, hosted us. I gave “horsey” rides to children at a Port-au-Prince orphanage; and shared in prayer and singing with churches near Cap Haitian. In short, I fell in love with these people. How could I not write a novel of hope about them? 

Keith's book list on the life and history of Haiti

Discover why each book is one of Keith's favorite books.

Why did Keith love this book?

This is an incredibly touching book! Mitch Albom is the author of other excellent books, but Finding Chika has become my favorite. The story of how he and his wife brought a little Haitian child into their orphanage in Haiti, and then eventually when it was discovered she had brain cancer, into their own home, was hard to put down. As an author who has visited Haiti many times and played with children orphaned by the 2010 earthquake, I strongly empathized with this story of a suffering Haitian child. Albom’s prose is flawless, and his ability to draw in the reader is inspiring, and you will not regret checking this book out. 

Finding Chika

By Mitch Albom,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

FROM THE MASTER STORYTELLER WHOSE BOOKS HAVE TOUCHED THE HEARTS OF OVER 40 MILLION READERS

'Mitch Albom sees the magical in the ordinary' Cecilia Ahern
__________

Chika Jeune came into Mitch Albom's life by chance. Growing up in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 Haiti Earthquake, at three years old she tragically lost her mother and was brought to the orphanage run by Mitch and his wife, Janine.

Chika made a quick impression. Brave and self-assured, she delighted those around her. But everything changed when Chika was diagnosed with a terminal disease that no doctor in Haiti could treat.

This…


Gone Girl

By Gillian Flynn,

Book cover of Gone Girl

Philippa East Author Of I'll Never Tell

From the list on dark psychology in thriller fiction.

Who am I?

Before becoming a psychological thriller writer I trained as a Clinical Psychologist, and I continue to practice as a therapist alongside my writing. Clinical Psychologists work in the field of mental health, bringing me into regular contact with the more difficult, distressed, or disturbed aspects of human psychology. Similarly, my novels typically explore the darker sides of what it means to be human, including themes of guilt, loss, fractured relationships, and trauma. The books on my list delve into this compelling and fascinating territory, and have inspired me as both a psychologist and a storyteller.

Philippa's book list on dark psychology in thriller fiction

Discover why each book is one of Philippa's favorite books.

Why did Philippa love this book?

I admit: Gone Girl was my gateway drug into psychological thrillers, a genre I remain addicted to this day.

Before that, I mostly read literary fiction and Penguin Classics, (which was fine, but a little dull). I consider Gone Girl an absolute masterwork and must have read it at least five times, studying every detail of how she pulled it off!

Flynn turns Amy’s utterly taboo actions into a highly-astute commentary about women’s experiences in modern society, articulating and expressing suppressed aspects of the female psyche in a way that I found incredibly validating. IMO, her “Cool Girl” manifesto ought to be a warning to us all!

Gone Girl

By Gillian Flynn,

Why should I read it?

19 authors picked Gone Girl as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE ADDICTIVE No.1 BESTSELLER AND INTERNATIONAL PHENOMENON
OVER 20 MILLION COPIES SOLD WORLDWIDE
THE BOOK THAT DEFINES PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER

Who are you?
What have we done to each other?

These are the questions Nick Dunne finds himself asking on the morning of his fifth wedding anniversary, when his wife Amy suddenly disappears. The police suspect Nick. Amy's friends reveal that she was afraid of him, that she kept secrets from him. He swears it isn't true. A police examination of his computer shows strange searches. He says they weren't made by him. And then there are the persistent calls on…


Track of the Cat

By Nevada Barr,

Book cover of Track of the Cat

Chris Goff Author Of A Parliament of Owls

From the list on mysteries on rogue women spending time outdoors.

Who am I?

I grew up in a small, rural, mountain community in Colorado, which is where I learned to love the outdoors. I explored every inch of “my mountain” with my dog, Blueberry. I skied by age three, and my father taught me to fish, shoot a rifle and drive a Jeep before I turned twelve. And I loved to read. To my good fortune, a small stone house at the bottom of our hill housed the public library. The librarian was my best friend. My favorites were mysteries, suspense, and thrillers with strong female characters, which is how I came to be a mystery writer and a founding member of the Rogue Women Writers.

Chris' book list on mysteries on rogue women spending time outdoors

Discover why each book is one of Chris' favorite books.

Why did Chris love this book?

I love this character! Anna Pigeon is a self-effacing loner, who struggles with personal issues. Don’t we all? Fleeing New York to escape painful memories, she takes a position as a Park Ranger for the National Park Service in the remote backcountry of Guadalupe Mountains National Park in Texas. Who hasn’t wanted to run away? But when a fellow ranger is killed and his death chalked up to a mountain lion attack, Anna is convinced the cat is not to blame. The politics and prejudices of the locals endanger the protected cats, and that it’s up to her to protect them. Barr does a brilliant job of making you feel Anna’s pain, anger, and fear, which makes the triumphs all sweeter.

Track of the Cat

By Nevada Barr,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

THE FIRST ANNA PIGEON NOVEL-WINNER OF THE AGATHA AWARD.

The fascinating hero of Nevada Barr's award-winning series-park ranger Anna Pigeon-has brought an unyielding love of nature and sense of fair play to the mystery genre. Track of the Cat is the acclaimed novel that first introduced readers to Anna, as a woman looking for peace in the wilderness-and finding murder instead...

Patrolling the remote West Texas backcountry, Anna's first job as a national park ranger is marred by violence she thought she had left behind: the brutal death of a fellow ranger. When the cause of death is chalked up…


The Dirty Girls Social Club

By Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez,

Book cover of The Dirty Girls Social Club

Tace Hedrick Author Of Chica Lit: Popular Latina Fiction and Americanization in the Twenty-First Century

From the list on the writing and marketing of chica lit.

Who am I?

As a university professor, I often teach popular women’s writing, and I realized that I needed to teach Latinx popular fiction as well. Women’s popular writing in the United States reflects but also shapes the way women see themselves in a global neoliberal world. After I had written an article on class and Chicanx and Latinx fiction, I also realized that class and race are key to thinking about how Latinas/Chicanas both create and follow market trends in an effort to “better” themselves in addition to showing how various Latinas/Chicanas see each other in terms of race, ethnicity, and gender.  

Tace's book list on the writing and marketing of chica lit

Discover why each book is one of Tace's favorite books.

Why did Tace love this book?

This is the book that started the Chica Lit subgenre (about thirty-something Latinas negotiating their lives, romances, and careers). I have many problems with it, but I like her humor and much of her making fun of stereotypes of Latinas is spot on. It also shows us the breadth of Latina lives, from the white, privileged Latina to the Afro-Latina struggling along. It’s the lynchpin of my book, since this is where it all started, for me and for the subgenre. It’s important to understand the messages popular Latinx literature gives us about gender and about Latinidad. 

The Dirty Girls Social Club

By Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Alisa Valdés-Rodríguez's vibrant, can't-put-it-down novel of six friends--each one an unforgettable Latina woman in her late '20s--and the complications and triumphs in their lives

Inseparable since their days at Boston University almost ten years before, six friends form the Dirty Girls Social Club, a mutual support and (mostly) admiration society that no matter what happens to each of them (and a lot does), meets regularly to dish, dine and compare notes on the bumpy course of life and love.

Las sucias are:

--Lauren, the resident "caliente" columnist for the local paper, which advertises her work with the line "her casa…


Letters From Long Binh

By Randy Mixter,

Book cover of Letters From Long Binh: Memoirs Of A Military Policeman In Vietnam

Larry L. Deibert Author Of Combat Boots dainty feet Finding Love In Vietnam

From the list on stories of Vietnam veterans.

Who am I?

My expertise with the topic is that I served for over 22 months in the army, where I learned many things people do not learn in normal life. I belong to several Vietnam veteran organizations, and I am the first president of the Lehigh Northampton Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

Larry's book list on stories of Vietnam veterans

Discover why each book is one of Larry's favorite books.

Why did Larry love this book?

Randy was a military policeman with the 615th MP Company in Vietnam in 1967, The 615th patrolled the entire Long Binh complex, which was approximately 50 miles around, with over 30,000 men stationed on the post. His letters offered the reader an honest appraisal of the life of a Military Policeman 10,000 miles from home.

Letters From Long Binh

By Randy Mixter,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Letters From Long Binh as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

I boarded the plane to Vietnam at exactly midnight on January 1st, 1967. I was a 19 year old soldier with pen and paper in hand.
I began to write.
“Letters from Long Binh gives the reader an honest appraisal of the everyday life of an MP in Vietnam. Sometimes poignant,sometimes humorous, but always gripping, the book is written with a deep sense of respect for his fellow brothers-in-arms in a war-torn country.”

Lou Fantauzzi - Vietnam 1966-67


Save Me The Waltz

By Zelda Fitzgerald,

Book cover of Save Me The Waltz

Elisabeth Sharp McKetta Author Of Awake with Asashoryu and Other Essays

From the list on memoirs with myth at the heart.

Who am I?

From a very early age, I was interested in both magical stories (untrue) and life writing (true). As a writer, I love combining the two. In both fairy tales and memoirs, somebody goes into the woods and comes out wiser. At both Harvard and Oxford, I teach writing courses on Mythic Memoir. I tell my two children as many fairy tales as I know, and then I make up more. In 2022 I published my first collection of personal essays, Awake with Asashoryu, eleven short memoirs from my life, each with a myth or fairy tale at the heart.

Elisabeth's book list on memoirs with myth at the heart

Discover why each book is one of Elisabeth's favorite books.

Why did Elisabeth love this book?

Technically a novel, but rooted so specifically in the details of Zelda’s life that her family members all recognized themselves and their town in her writing. A surrealist and poetic coming-of-age story written by the wife of Jazz Age writer F. Scott Fitzgerald during an eight-week period when she was living in a mental hospital. An imperfect and fascinating way to narrate a life.

Save Me The Waltz

By Zelda Fitzgerald,

Why should I read it?

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


The Field Study Handbook

By Jan Chipchase,

Book cover of The Field Study Handbook

Gregg Bernstein Author Of Research Practice: Perspectives from UX researchers in a changing field

From the list on understanding user research.

Who am I?

After a career that took me from designer to design professor, I’ve spent the past decade leading user research practices for growing product organizations. I’m excited about user research because it positions us closer to the people we design for, and challenges us to capture and explain complex scenarios in service to them. Though there are many books that teach user research, my list of recommendations is meant to demonstrate why we research, how we make sense of what we learn, and where research might take us.

Gregg's book list on understanding user research

Discover why each book is one of Gregg's favorite books.

Why did Gregg love this book?

The Field Study Handbook is both a guide to international field research and a beautiful work of art. Jan Chipchase comprehensively covers every possible consideration for the planning and execution of global field research, including such topics as travel logistics, lodging guidance, division of labor, and working with local guides. Jan’s deep experience from the front lines of field research comes across on every beautifully illustrated page.

The Field Study Handbook

By Jan Chipchase,

Why should I read it?

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


The Explorers

By C.M. Kornbluth,

Book cover of The Explorers

Theodore Irvin Silar Author Of Five Moral Tales

From the list on short story novel collections.

Who am I?

I have a Ph.D. in English from Lehigh University, where I studied and published articles on Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, one of the greatest short fiction collections. I have written and published a number of short stories myself. I even won a contest for one of them. The tale told around the campfire is probably the oldest literary form there is, much older than the novel. The best short fiction, I believe, can “pack everything that a novel can hold into a story,” as Jorge Luis Borges said, and this is the kind of short fiction I believe I have found.

Theodore's book list on short story novel collections

Discover why each book is one of Theodore's favorite books.

Why did Theodore love this book?

I first read The Explorers when I was a child. I delighted in it then and still do. Its style got to me first. A real literary style. Some of the stories are hard-boiled, Raymond Chandler in space. Some poetic. But so much better than most clunky SF. And also, so unconventional This is not Azimov. Rather than space opera, we get a scientist drunk, bemoaning his “contributions” to space flight. Instead of wondrous inventions, we get cheesy computer art. Brainless generals celebrate nuclear war. Well-written, unusual, simultaneously funny and sad, The Explorers is a masterpiece of 50s SF.

The Explorers

By C.M. Kornbluth,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Ballantine Books, 1963. Mass market paperback, stated 2nd printing (with cover exactly as shown here, cover code #F708, and 50 cent cover price). Collects 9 stories: Gomez (1954); The Mindworm (1950); The Rocket of 1955 (1939); The Altar at Midnight (1952); Thirteen O'Clock (1941); The Goodly Creatures (1952); Friend to Man (1951); With These Hands (1951); That Share of Glory (1952). Foreword by longtime collaborator Frederik Pohl.


Reinhart Wolf

By F. Chueca Goitia,

Book cover of Reinhart Wolf: Castillos

Frédéric Chaubin Author Of Stone Age: Ancient Castles of Europe

From the list on making a modern book about ancient castles.

Who am I?

For more than twenty years I was the Editor in Chief of the French magazine Citizen K. I’ve been dedicating myself to more personal projects. I’m keen on connecting words and pictures. Fond about Architecture and History I did after long investigations in the former Soviet Union, a book dedicated to the late Soviet Architecture. CCCP was published in 2011 by Taschen. Through my text and photographs I featured in it a set of extraordinary and ignored buildings. Luckily, this achievement having met with success, it brought me to a new photographic project. With Stone Age, published in 2021, I gathered through 400 pages more than 200 primitive castles selected all around Europe.

Frédéric's book list on making a modern book about ancient castles

Discover why each book is one of Frédéric's favorite books.

Why did Frédéric love this book?

I had already included some Spanish castles in my project when I heard about the Reinhard Wolf book and discovered his unsettling pictures. This German artist had photographed the same castles half a century before me, using the same analogic films and the same traditional view cameras, composing frames that I had reproduced without knowing his work. It seems that buildings, like human beings, have a good profile which a photographer cannot miss. The other surprise came from the unexpected feeling that my photographs had been shot prior to Reinhart Wolf’s. Because the castles had meantime been restored, their walls being refreshed, the course of time seemed reversed: they appeared in an earlier condition through my camera than photographed 50 years before, when partly ruined. Having in mind that photography is much about time and traces, the discovery was puzzling. By chance the scope of my personal project was not…

Reinhart Wolf

By F. Chueca Goitia,

Why should I read it?

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


Sea Change

By Sylvia Earle,

Book cover of Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans

Maddalena Bearzi Author Of Dolphin Confidential: Confessions of a Field Biologist

From the list on the ocean and its inhabitants.

Who am I?

I'm a passionate scientist, conservationist, and published author. I'm the President of the nonprofit Ocean Conservation Society and I hold a Ph.D. in Biology and a Post-Doc from UCLA. My research on dolphins off California represents one of the longest studies worldwide. I'm the co-author of Beautiful Minds: The Parallel Lives of Great Apes and Dolphins and author of Dolphin Confidential: Confessions of a Field Biologist. As a photo-journalist, I've written for many national and international media, including National Geographic; I currently write essays for Medium and other publications. I live in Los Angeles with my husband. When I’m not writing, I can be found with dolphins out on the ocean, traveling, or walking my mutt.

Maddalena's book list on the ocean and its inhabitants

Discover why each book is one of Maddalena's favorite books.

Why did Maddalena love this book?

“Her Deepness” Sylvia Earle is an authority on ocean explorations, so this is another must-read for all ocean lovers. Sea Change recounts Earle’s decades dedicated to the discovery of the sea. With contagious enthusiasm and vivid prose, this internationally renowned author and scientist narrates her many underwater adventures while urging readers to respect the oceans and their creatures.

Sea Change

By Sylvia Earle,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In 1952, at age sixteen, Sylvia Earle - then a budding marine biologist - borrowed a friend's copper diving helmet, compressor, and pump and slipped below the waters of a Florida river. It was her first underwater dive. Since then, Earle has descended to more than 3,000 feet in a submersible and, despite beginning at a time when few women were taken seriously as marine scientists, has led or participated in expeditions totaling more than 7,000 hours underwater, and counting.

Equal parts memoir, adventure tale, and call to action, Sea Change: A Message of the Oceans has become a classic…


Lingerie Wars

By Janet Elizabeth Henderson,

Book cover of Lingerie Wars

Katerina Simms Author Of Sapphires and Secrets

From the list on contemporary romance that are a little bit extra.

Who am I?

I have a little secret. I was late to the romance table. Though I grew up with a romance reading mother, my initial interests lay in the fantastical worlds of Paulo Coelho, Anne Rice, and David Gemmel. Romance seemed forbidden, and I didn’t touch the genre until my late twenties, when a nasty breakup sent my disillusioned heart looking for more. And what a revelation! Romance taught me to expect more from myself and my relationships. At the close of one creative career, it lit an unstoppable passion to become a contemporary romance author. And here I am, a decade on, writing romance and sharing my book recommendations with you!

Katerina's book list on contemporary romance that are a little bit extra

Discover why each book is one of Katerina's favorite books.

Why did Katerina love this book?

The first feeling that comes to mind when describing this book is fun!

From the small Scottish town to the wacky side characters, there’s just something so charming about Lingerie Wars. Oh, and the premise is gold!

Beefy Alpha hero, somehow pulled into a competition against the heroine over who can sell the most underwear?

I’m giggling as I write this. I’ve actually read the entire Invertary series, and will probably again!

Lingerie Wars

By Janet Elizabeth Henderson,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"With all the things going on in the world, this was just what I needed. I enjoyed this book so much. It's a laugh out loud romantic romp through a small town full of quirky characters." Amazon ★★★★★ It's going to be HOT in the Highlands this Christmas!

A former special forces officer. An ex-model. And a bet that could cost one of them their lifelong dream...

Kirsty Campbell's modeling career ended after a car crash left her scarred and gave her fiancé slash manager the chance to run off with her life savings. Silver lining? She found out he…