Books like Although the Day is Not Mine to Give, I'll Show You the Morning Sun — picked by fans

I’ve never read a series that made me feel both highly spiritual and completely grounded like Michael Newton’s Soul series did. These books shifted everything for me. They helped me see that my struggles—and even the difficult people in my life—from a higher perspective. This is when I began to understand that this life isn’t supposed to be all rainbows and butterflies.

Life here on Earth is a school, and we’re all here to learn. These books helped me remember that we’ve all played every role—every gender, every skin color, the villain, and the hero. I come back to them when I need perspective, when I forget that challenges are part of the soul’s evolution, and when I need a reminder to not take things here too seriously. They didn’t just change how I think—they changed how I feel about being human.

Dr. Kay Scarpetta isn’t a professional detective – she’s the Chief Medical Examiner for Virginia. But that doesn’t mean she doesn’t get to be embroiled in all kinds of bizarre murder cases – including the baffling death of an innocent young girl which results in Kay having to visit the gruesome pathologist’s playground known as the Body Farm. Kay is tough, a good shot (which comes in handy in this case, I can tell you), and willing to use her incredible forensic skills to bring the guilty to justice.

I read this book for background for my first novel, in an effort to understand why some physicians (very few, thank goodness) kill. What I discovered in this book is what I experienced in real life working for eleven years in healthcare: hospitals are breeding grounds for medical error and cover-ups. Physician, protect thyself, so to speak. The number of times this insane MD (Michael Swango) was allowed to continue practicing when he could have been stopped is appalling, but not surprising to those inside healthcare.

Four Funerals, No Marriage by Mike Keren is a poignant, funny, deep dive into elderly caretaking, and the toll and lessons learned from it. The author is a psychologist and is somehow able to analyze his feelings/actions while immersed in the daily responsibilities of taking care of several ailing relatives. His writing is smooth, easy to read, and packed with incredible insight. I found myself simultaneously laughing and crying, and always entertained.

(Admittedly a series, not one book.) These represented a memorable introduction for me to the notion of patron species “uplifting” (genetically engineering) client species to improved sentience. A key example is the uplifting of dolphins by humans. We are introduced to many variants of dolphin evolutionary efforts, and the struggles involved in uplifting. There are also many examples of aliens uplifting other aliens, so you won’t be disappointed by the variety offered by David Brin. Added to that, I contacted him after publishing my first book, and he was gracious and encouraging in his reply, so I’m biased.

Isaac Asimov rarely wrote about aliens, but this Hugo and Nebula award-winning novel contains an astounding thought experiment, not only imagining a truly alien species but placing them in a different universe with different physical laws from our own.

I first read this novel as a teenager and was blown away by Asimov’s ability to make me understand and care about the fate of such vastly different alien creatures that possessed three distinct sexes and derived their life energy from photosynthesis.

The fact that the novel inextricably links the fate of these creatures with the fate of our own universe gave me a greater appreciation of how truly diverse life can be. A fact–along with the lessons I learned from the other novels listed here–that continues to inform my own writing on aliens and alien cultures. 

I love this book because I became deeply involved with every one of the characters and how they were changed by their interactions with one another and by the results of their first experience with another salient species. The book involves the age-old questions of faith, God, religion, and humanity. Beautiful and haunting.

Having read this as a teenager, I found the intricate plot mesmerizing and I was intrigued by the deeper themes approached in the book. I read it in my mother tongue, Romanian. Humanity, religion, good and evil, smoke and mirrors. Everything is wrapped up in a science fiction context and a multi-layered fantasy filled with spirituality and insight.

I don't want to give any spoilers, but I loved how one person, fairly regular, always becomes the Messiah, no matter how many times the experiment is repeated.

Sun and Moon is a simple story. Moon is bored with the night sky and the darkness with nothing to see and suggests a swap for a day to Sun. Sun says any swap must be permanent and suggest Moon takes a closer look at the world at night before making a decision. Moon is amazed by the things he sees, the colors, the people and animals, and night activities. The luminous illustrations are quite exquisite, and they are the reason I have chosen this book. They are very detailed and slanted so we view them as through the moon. Children wear quaint old-fashioned clothes. We see them flying through magical dreams. We see scampering raccoons and fireflies gleaming like stars. By the end of the book we are as entranced as the moon is.

An easy vacation read is my go-to, so this book was perfect. I also read this during lockdown, when a vacation was only a fantasy anyway. It will not disappoint, the sun is real, the life is real and the need for love is compelling. Kat is a cute character I can relate to because I also moved to a country where it is summer all year round, but the sun doesn’t take your worries away.