Here are 100 books that Don't Push the Button! fans have personally recommended if you like
Don't Push the Button!.
Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.
I love being by the water. Most of my vacations are spent at tropical destinations. There’s something pretty amazing about reading a book at the water’s edge, near a palm tree, with the breeze and the salty smell of the wonderful warm air as pelicans swoop across the surface.
I love being in the Everglades of South Florida. I love the crazy characters and their wild pursuits of making money. There are a lot of 70s musical references and nostalgia for the reader.
One could really believe this may be based on true events because, after all, it’s Florida.
Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times bestselling author and actual Florida Man Dave Barry returns with a Florida caper full of oddballs and more twists and turns than a snake slithering away from a gator.
Jesse Braddock is trapped in a tiny cabin deep in the Everglades with her infant daughter and her ex-boyfriend, a wannabe reality TV star who turned out to be a lot prettier on the outside than on the inside. Broke and desperate for a way out, Jesse stumbles across a long-lost treasure, which could solve all her problems—if she can figure out how to keep it.…
When a girl in India discovers a Stone slab on a weedy patch of land she calls to her friends, "Look! Look!" The children clear away the weeds and garbage and find more stones. They called their families to come and see. Word travels to villages nearby and more and…
I’ve always been fascinated by family dynamics and have studied human development and psychology. I’m also a lifelong voracious reader and treasure my childhood reading experiences. Last but not least, I have three kids. Arguments and hurt feelings are inevitable but kids don’t love a lecture. A good story can bring understanding without being boring or pedantic. And we all know reading with your kids at bedtime is vital, but can’t we as parents ask for a little enjoyment too–maybe even a good laugh?!
The second in a long-running graphic novel series, middle schooler Greg Heffley is tormented by his older brother Rodrick who is threatening to reveal his most guarded secret, but readers are delighted every step of the way.
When my kids would choose this graphic novel to read with me at night, I knew we’d both be shaking with laughter. This is an especially great choice to lure reluctant readers – mine devoured each new one in the series and can’t get enough. The movies are hilarious too!
The highly anticipated sequel to the #1 NEW YORK TIMES bestselling book!
Secrets have a way of getting out, especially when a diary is involved.
Whatever you do, don't ask Greg Heffley how he spent his summer vacation, because he definitely doesn't want to talk about it.
As Greg enters the new school year, he's eager to put the past three months behind him . . . and one event in particular.
Unfortunately for Greg, his older brother, Rodrick, knows all about the incident Greg wants to keep under wraps. But secrets have a way of getting out . .…
I’ve always been drawn to the quiet mystery behind ordinary lives, the sense that something sacred hides in the margins. As a caregiver, teacher, and author, I’ve seen how small moments carry enormous weight. That’s why I created this book list: each title touched me deeply and helped shape my own writing, especially Midrash Whispered By Stars. I write to honor forgotten souls, overlooked stories, and the quiet transformations that happen when no one’s watching. These books aren’t just favorites, they’re part of the emotional and spiritual DNA behind everything I create.
I recommend this book because it reminded me how deeply animals weave themselves into the quiet corners of our lives.
The story follows one soul through many lifetimes, and I loved how it captured loyalty, loss, and the small sacred moments that shape us. It’s perfect for readers who believe that love often arrives in humble forms and that companionship can change the direction of a life.
It fits my theme because it shows how meaning is often found in the fringes, in the overlooked places where devotion quietly lives. And it connects to my own writing because both honor the sacred weight carried inside ordinary lives.
This is the remarkable story of one endearing dog's search for his purpose over the course of several lives. More than just another charming dog story, "A Dog's Purpose" touches on the universal quest for an answer to life's most basic question: Why are we here? Surprised to find himself reborn as a rambunctious golden-haired puppy after a tragically short life as a stray mutt, Bailey's search for his new life's meaning leads him into the loving arms of 8-year-old Ethan. During their countless adventures Bailey joyously discovers how to be a good dog. But this life as a beloved…
Discover the first adventure in the Curious Bunny series!
In Boomer Sees the Town, Boomer leaves the forest to explore the wonders, sounds, and surprises of the big city. Perfect for curious minds and early readers, this heartwarming children’s story encourages imagination, discovery, and kindness.
If one of the main reasons we marry is to raise a family, what happens to the couple once the children grow up and no longer need daily care?
A few years ago, I completed an MSc in Psychology, and my dissertation explored exactly this question. After interviewing many couples, it became clear that unless parents are emotionally prepared for life after children, the sense of loss can be overwhelming. That research raised deeper questions about why we commit—and what keeps us committed.
From the first page I was caught up in the whirlwind of Toby’s post-marriage Manhattan—dating apps, sexting and catching up on years of fidelity—which all seems to be going very well until his ex-wife vanishes.
Then Toby Fleishman has to start getting to know Rachel Fleishman all over again, and in that search, himself.
The quirky narrative shifts from biting to moving to philosophical. Sharply observed and wildly entertaining.
'Sharp and wicked, insightful and funny, and then suddenly so touching' DAVID NICHOLLS
'It is a Great Novel . . . It has depth, wit, nuance and life. Heartbreaking and funny' NIGELLA LAWSON
'This is the novel of the summer . . . There is no one that this book isn't for. I can't believe it's a first novel. Pure brilliance' INDIA KNIGHT, THE SUNDAY TIMES
'Could be one of the books of my entire lifetime. I've never felt so seen' GRACE DENT, GUARDIAN
'This book is a work of utter perfection' ELIZABETH GILBERT
For me, the most affecting stories are those that are leavened with a sardonic sensibility. Italo Calvino, one of my favorite writers, notes “th[e] particular connection between melancholy and humor,” speaking of how great writing “foregrounds [with] tiny, luminous traces that counterpoint the dark catastrophe.” I’ve always veered toward the great literary comic writers—from Cervantes to Laurence Sterne to Pynchon, with a particular reverence for Nabokov. For me, there is no greater exposition of the underbelly of love and madness than Lolita; of artistic obsession than Pale Fire. Nabokov believed that the best writing places the reader under a spell, enchanting them with the magic of words — and I concur!
Eddy Bale becomes a crusader for children after the death of his own young son and decides to take a group of terminally ill children to Disneyland for a holiday. The antic hyperbolic tone of the narration is utterly at odds with the grave subject matter and the novel is as hilarious as it is heartbreaking.
Abandoned by his wife and devastated by the death of his twelve-year old son, Eddy Bale becomes obsessed with the plight of terminally ill children and develops a plan to provide a last hurrah dream vacation for seven children who will never grow-up. Eddy and his four dysfunctional chaperones journey to the entertainment capital of America--Disney World. Once they arrive, a series of absurdities characteristic of an Elkin novel--including a freak snowstorm and a run-in with a vengeful Mickey Mouse--transform Eddy's idealistic wish into a fantastic nightmare.
I am a writer with a passion for historical fiction. My latest novel, For Those In Peril, is the first in a series of naval thrillers, partly inspired by my own family’s World War II experiences. My grandfather even makes a cameo as the gruff Liverpudlian chief engineer on the SS John Holt. As a journalist for more than 20 years, I had many rich opportunities to talk to the elderly members of our communities – most memorably, taking a pair of D-Day veterans back to the beaches of Normandy. It’s an honour to keep their memories alive.
From the pen of Pulitzer Prize-winning Herman Wouk, this is an engrossing World War II naval drama centred on Willie Keith, a privileged young officer serving aboard the USS Caine.
I found myself unable to put the book down, reading long into the night. As the ship endures the erratic leadership of Captain Queeg, tensions rise, culminating in a controversial mutiny during a violent typhoon. The subsequent court-martial examines themes of duty, morality, and psychological strain under pressure.
Wouk’s richly detailed narrative explores the complexities of command and the fine line between loyalty and rebellion in the heat of conflict. His writing style makes it a real page-turner. Through Willie’s personal growth and shifting loyalties, the novel delivers a powerful meditation on honour, leadership, and the human cost of war.
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and a perennial favorite of readers young and old, Herman Wouk's masterful World War II drama set aboard a U.S. Navy warship in the Pacific is "a novel of brilliant virtuosity" (Times Literary Supplement).
Herman Wouk's boldly dramatic, brilliantly entertaining novel of life--and mutiny--on a Navy warship in the Pacific theater was immediately embraced, upon its original publication in 1951, as one of the first serious works of American fiction to grapple with the moral complexities and the human consequences of World War II.
In the intervening half century, The Caine Mutiny has sold millions…
My love for strange women began with a love of the tomboy, growing up in the ‘80s and 90’s with characters like Pippi Longstocking and George from The Famous Five. They’re young women who broke the rules of decorum or gender presentation—and they just always seemed to be having a lot more fun. Or at least more interesting experiences. This love of rebels and unruly women has stuck with me, and I think our depiction of women like this has become deeper and more varied. I just love a character who’s a bit of an odd duck, is irrepressible or voracious, or just plain messy. Nice is boring—give me the chaos.
This could be a polarizing book, but if you’ve picked this recommendation list from all the others and have gotten this far, there’s a good chance you’re also into books about young women making questionable choices. The protagonist, Hera, is starting a relationship with her older colleague at her workplace, where she’s an online comment moderator.
The story is written from Hera’s point of view, who has a sense of ironic self-awareness but is also desperate to feel something, which is probably what leads her into a course of action she knows is going to bite her in the arse, eventually.
A BEST BOOK OF 2024 IN STYLIST, DAILY MAIL, THE I, IRISH TIMES, SUNDAY TIMES AND RED
A GUARDIAN SUMMER READING PICK 'One of the best books you will read all year' ELIZABETH DAY 'Brilliant. What a writer' NIGELLA LAWSON 'Incredibly funny' CAITLIN MORAN 'Wonderful' GILLIAN ANDERSON 'This year's Sorrow and Bliss. Hilarious and heartbreaking' DAILY MAIL 'The book of the summer' IN STYLE
Hera is in her mid-twenties, which seems young to everyone except people in their mid-twenties.
Since leaving school, she has been trying to kick and scream into existence a life she cares about, but with little…
I am a mom, like any other mom, raising two young boys with big feelings. Those feelings grow and change and adapt as they age, but they are always strong. My experience raising them has inspired me to seek out books about managing those emotions and to write my own series about finding the joy in the chaos of kids’ “big feelings.”
I love the clever rhymes and hilarious antics in the Pig the Pug books, especially this one. This Halloween-themed story is fun to read over and over again. My sons get the biggest kick out of how naughty Pig the Pug behaves when he confronts the unsuspecting grownups who cross him on Halloween night. (My favorite line might be, “It filled him with feelings that had to be vented.”)
Ultimately, the story teaches kids good manners in the cleverest way by showing how monstrous Pig’s own manners are on Halloween night and the consequences of those actions. (Spoiler alert: the ending involves an upset tummy with disastrous results!)
Pig the Pug celebrates Halloween in this picture book from #1 New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Aaron Blabey.
Pig was a pug
and I'm sorry to say,
on Halloween night
he'd get carried away...
Pig, the world's greediest pug, is on the rampage for TREATS! TREATS! TREATS! But don't even think about being stingy with the goodies, because this candy-fueled glutton has some terrible tricks up his sleeve...
Rich with author-illustrator Aaron Blabey's signature rhyming text and unforgettable illustrations, Pig the Monster is a laugh-out-loud story that follows the eight previous books in the series (Pig the Pug, Pig the…
In 2008, I accidentally started watching The West Wing, and it changed my life–leading me ultimately to start writing seriously and then to move to DC, where I lived for ten years. I would not have ever guessed that a TV show could have such an impact, but I repeatedly met people in DC who had similar stories. I wrote an essay about the fandom for my literary journalism class during my MFA, and that became the starting point for my anthology. I interviewed dozens of fellow fans, many of whom had moving stories of the show’s impact on their lives. It was a really special experience.
If I had to name my one favorite thing about The West Wing, which is nigh on impossible, I would probably, in the end, say that it was the relationship between Josh and Donna, including their more light-hearted shared moments.
This book, written by Al Gore’s daughter (who knows the DC of which she writes), captures some of that flavor in a book that was marketed as Bridget Jones meets The West Wing, which I would say is entirely accurate.
Working as a health-care analyst for Ohio Senator Robert Gary, idealistic young intern and hypochondriac Samantha Joyce struggles to balance her seventy-hour work week, a constantly shifting set of neuroses, and a new romance as she makes her way through the labyrinthine complexities of life in the nation's capital. A first novel. Reprint.
As a kindergarten teacher and mom, I have dealt with messy kids. It’s part of who they are! These books are a funny, enjoyable way to try to get kids to enjoy clean up time, and understand that messes are normal!
I love the rhyming, the guessing game, and the unexpected twist. It’s perfect for sparking conversations about taking responsibility—without ever sounding preachy. Plus, it’s set on a farm, so animal lovers are in for a treat!
There are messes all over the farm. This cute rhyming book visits different areas of the farm where there are messes galore! Readers can guess what animal made the mess! But be careful! It’s not what you think!
Mud splattered everywhere, tangled-up wool in huge piles, and carrot tops strewn about--what in the world is happening in this animal village? It's quite a mystery! But thanks to rhyming clues, everyone will be able to easily guess the animal culprits--or will they? In this laugh-out-loud, expectation-defying picture book, Laura Gehl (May Saves the Day and The Hiking Viking) uses a rhyming mystery to help readers adjust their outlook, keep an open mind, and learn not to make assumptions.
