Book cover of False Starts

Book description

Malcolm Braly spent the better part of his life behind bars. Arrested for a botched teenage burglary, he made one mistake after another, always returning to the institution that turned a sensitive young man into a hardened con. This is his story, an indictment of both his own failings and…

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

Why read it?

1 author picked False Starts as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I love this book because it resonates with my sense of self-discovery and how society often muddles it.

It took me a lifetime of questioning who I was to finally discover the motivations behind why I was behaving in certain ways, or why I was getting involved with certain people and certain activities.

While none of what I have done in life was illegal, the sense of identity confusion remains, and reading about Malcolm finding who he is was most gratifying and inspiring.

If you love False Starts...

Book cover of The Rosewood Penny

The Rosewood Penny by J.S. Fields,

2023 Queer Indie Award Nominee!

The dragons of Yuro have been hunted to extinction.

On a small, isolated island, in a reclusive forest, lives bandit leader Marani and her brother Jacks. With their outlaw band they rob from the rich to feed themselves, raiding carriages and dodging the occasional vindictive…

Want books like False Starts?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 73 books like False Starts.

Browse books like False Starts

Book cover of The Things They Carried
Book cover of The Suicide Index: Putting My Father's Death in Order
Book cover of The Stranger in the Woods: The Extraordinary Story of the Last True Hermit

Share your top 3 reads of 2025!

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

1,340

readers submitted
so far, will you?

📚 If you like False Starts, you might also like...

Book cover of Murder, Lies and Chocolate

Murder, Lies and Chocolate by Sally Berneathy,

Book 2, Death by Chocolate series.

Rodney Bradford comes into Lindsay's restaurant, offers to buy her small house for double its value, eats her brownies, and drops dead on the sidewalk in front. Next, her almost-ex-husband offers to sign the divorce papers, but only if she'll give him her small,…

Book cover of Tangle of Time

Tangle of Time by Maureen Thorpe,

A spellbinding journey through time and cultures.

When Annie Thornton, midwife and apprentice witch, falls through time to a 15th-century Yorkshire village with her telepathic cat, Rosamund, she befriends Will and Jack, two soldiers returning from the French Wars. Mistress Meg, Annie’s ancestral aunt living in the 15th century, is…

5 book lists we think you will like!