Here are 100 books that Groceries by Herbert Scott fans have personally recommended if you like Groceries by Herbert Scott. 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 Satan Says

Elizabeth Zelvin Author Of The Old Lady Shows Her Mettle

From my list on poetry books about real life.

Why am I passionate about this?

A poet for fifty years, I'm proud to say that nobody's ever said, "I didn't understand your poem." The rhythms, images, and words in these books are in plain English. They have feeling and authenticity in common. They make connections. After a reading once, a woman said, "I feel as if I know your whole family." I feel the same about the authors of these books. I'm also interested in my quirky kind of American Jewishness at a time when it's in the news but complicated and misunderstood. Some of the books I chose reflect that.

Elizabeth's book list on poetry books about real life

Elizabeth Zelvin Why Elizabeth loves this book

I love this book because it goes straight for the gut. 

These poems tell the truth no matter what. I never have to wonder what they mean. I love how authentic the poet is and how she gives everyday life a mythic quality, whether she's talking about her eggs and childbirth, or her awful parents, or going fishing with her kids. 

By Sharon Olds ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

This 45th anniversary hardback collector's edition of the bestselling debut collection of poetry by Sharon Olds includes a new interior design and an introduction by Diane Seuss. Satan Says received the inaugural San Francisco Poetry Center Award in 1980.


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Book cover of The High House

The High House by James Stoddard,

The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.

The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.

Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…

Book cover of The Art of Blessing the Day

Elizabeth Zelvin Author Of The Old Lady Shows Her Mettle

From my list on poetry books about real life.

Why am I passionate about this?

A poet for fifty years, I'm proud to say that nobody's ever said, "I didn't understand your poem." The rhythms, images, and words in these books are in plain English. They have feeling and authenticity in common. They make connections. After a reading once, a woman said, "I feel as if I know your whole family." I feel the same about the authors of these books. I'm also interested in my quirky kind of American Jewishness at a time when it's in the news but complicated and misunderstood. Some of the books I chose reflect that.

Elizabeth's book list on poetry books about real life

Elizabeth Zelvin Why Elizabeth loves this book

I love this book because it's about being a Jewish American woman in the same everyday way that I am.

There are so few books about that experience, not being religious, but about a culture and a spirit and little things that are woven into the fabric of life: Yiddish words and certain foods and ethics and values that we don't even think about.

When I read these poems, they lift me up and make me feel at home at the same time. You don't have to be Jewish to love them! And that's a Jewish joke.

By Marge Piercy ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A prize-winning collection of old and new poems that celebrate the Jewish experience, about which the poet Lyn Lifshin writes: "An exquisite book. The whole collection is strong, passionate, and poignant, but the mother and daughter poems, fierce and emotional, with their intense ambivalence, pain and joy, themes of separation and reconnecting, are among the very strongest about that difficult relationship."

Lifshin continues, "These striking, original, beautifully sensuous poems do just that. Ordinary moments--a sunset, a walk, a private religious ritual--are so alive in poems like 'Shabbat moment'  and 'Rosh Hodesh.' In the same way that she celebrates ordinary moments,…


Book cover of The Awful Rowing Toward God

Elizabeth Zelvin Author Of The Old Lady Shows Her Mettle

From my list on poetry books about real life.

Why am I passionate about this?

A poet for fifty years, I'm proud to say that nobody's ever said, "I didn't understand your poem." The rhythms, images, and words in these books are in plain English. They have feeling and authenticity in common. They make connections. After a reading once, a woman said, "I feel as if I know your whole family." I feel the same about the authors of these books. I'm also interested in my quirky kind of American Jewishness at a time when it's in the news but complicated and misunderstood. Some of the books I chose reflect that.

Elizabeth's book list on poetry books about real life

Elizabeth Zelvin Why Elizabeth loves this book

I love this book because it was the first book of poetry I ever read that made me realize I could get it, that poems could be about me, women, feelings, relationships, my experience. It blew my mind.

I was an English major, and when the professors talked about modern poetry by men, I always felt baffled. These were poems I could understand and relate to. I read them shouting with joy, even though they were not happy poems.

It was okay to write and read poems about all kinds of feelings, and they didn't have to be in mysterious language. The language of these poems is wonderful, but it's also clear.

By Anne Sexton ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From Wikipedia: Sexton's eighth collection of poetry is entitled The Awful Rowing Toward God. The title came from her meeting with a Roman Catholic priest who, although unwilling to administer last rites, told her "God is in your typewriter." This gave the poet the desire and willpower to continue living and writing. The Awful Rowing Toward God and The Death Notebooks are among her final works and both centre on the theme of dying.


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Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!

On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…

Book cover of The Widows' Handbook

Elizabeth Zelvin Author Of The Old Lady Shows Her Mettle

From my list on poetry books about real life.

Why am I passionate about this?

A poet for fifty years, I'm proud to say that nobody's ever said, "I didn't understand your poem." The rhythms, images, and words in these books are in plain English. They have feeling and authenticity in common. They make connections. After a reading once, a woman said, "I feel as if I know your whole family." I feel the same about the authors of these books. I'm also interested in my quirky kind of American Jewishness at a time when it's in the news but complicated and misunderstood. Some of the books I chose reflect that.

Elizabeth's book list on poetry books about real life

Elizabeth Zelvin Why Elizabeth loves this book

I loved this anthology of poems for its authenticity and depth of feeling.

It was written by and for widows—of all genders and ages, in all kinds of committed relationships. The anthology demonstrates that there are an infinite number of ways to grieve and survive.

I have given this book as a gift to a number of friends dealing with the loss of a spouse or partner (not necessarily right away!), and they have told me they got a lot of comfort from it.

I think the quality of the poems and how different from every other every voice and experience described is give the book as a whole enormous power. It says, "This is something we all go through, we can each find our own way to grieve, and we are not alone." 

By Lise Menn (editor) , Jacqueline Lapidus (editor) , Ruth Bader Ginsburg (foreword)

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The Widows' Handbook is the first anthology of poems by contemporary widows, many of whom have written their way out of solitude and despair, distilling their strongest feelings into poetry or memoir. This stirring collection celebrates the strategies widows learn and the resources they muster to deal with people, living space, possessions, social life, and especially themselves, once shock has turned to the realization that nothing will ever be the same. As Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says in her foreword, losing one's partner is "a loss like no other.",

The Widows' Handbook is a collection of poetry from…


Book cover of Pablo Neruda: Poet of the People

Elizabeth Brown Author Of Like a Diamond in the Sky: Jane Taylor's Beloved Poem of Wonder and the Stars

From my list on children’s books about writers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an author and a college writing professor with an MFA in Creative Writing. Additionally, I am involved in and teach other art forms and the humanities including music, film, and literature. I enjoy researching and writing about literary figures, musicians, and other creatives, all of which have been a focus in my children’s books.

Elizabeth's book list on children’s books about writers

Elizabeth Brown Why Elizabeth loves this book

Monica Brown’s picture book biography of Pablo Neruda is a wonderfully written account of his life and the creation of his beautiful writing and poems that sing, even under the weight of tremendous struggles. The lyrical text soars on the page while Julie Paschkis’ colorful illustrations capture the heart and soul of the poet of the people. This is a must-read!

By Monica Brown , Julie Paschkis (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Pablo Neruda as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 6, 7, 8, and 9.

What is this book about?

A stunning picture book biography from Monica Brown and illustrator Julie Paschkis about one of the world's most enduring and popular poets, Pablo Neruda

Once there was a little boy named Neftalí who loved wild things wildly and quiet things quietly. From the moment he could talk, he surrounded himself with words. Neftalí discovered the magic between the pages of books. When he was sixteen, he began publishing his poems as Pablo Neruda.

Pablo wrote poems about the things he loved―things made by his friends in the café, things found at the marketplace, and things he saw in nature. He…


Book cover of Letters to a Young Poet

Wayne Krantz Author Of An Improviser's OS

From my list on what makes all creativity the most powerful force.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm a guitar player, a writer of music and a bandleader. I've made 12 records—working on my 13th—have written 2 books, and made an app called "Humanome," which is a metronome that intentionally doesn't keep steady time. I have a Patreon page and a YouTube channel. I've devoted most of my life so far to playing music, touring, practicing—lots and lots of practicing—and more or less thinking about music non-stop. As a player, I care strongly about improvising—the spontaneous creation of music—and as a writer, I care deeply about melody, rhythm, and form. I get a lot of inspiration from visual art and from soulfulness in all its forms.

Wayne's book list on what makes all creativity the most powerful force

Wayne Krantz Why Wayne loves this book

Simply one of the most enlightening, nourishing books any artist of any discipline can read. It first acknowledges the cultural and individual value of "finding your own voice" and then proceeds, in the most straightforward, stirring way, to provide clues for how to do so.

know almost nothing of poetry, but Rilke, like other great artists, transcends his medium. It wasn't necessary for me to know or care anything about that art to be moved deeply by his personal commitment and soulful knowledge of his craft. A winner.

By Rainer Maria Rilke , Stephen Mitchell (translator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Letters to a Young Poet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The ten letters collected here are arguably the most famous and beloved letters of our century. Written when Rainer Maria Rilke was himself still a young man with most of his greatest work before him, they are addressed to a student who had sent Rilke some of his work, asking for advice about becoming a writer. The two never met, but over a period of several years Rilke wrote him these ten letters, which have been enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of readers for what Stephen Mitchell calls the "vibrant and deeply felt experience of life" that informs them.


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Book cover of Trusting Her Duke

Trusting Her Duke by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke with rigid opinions, a Lady whose beliefs conflict with his, a long disputed parcel of land, a conniving neighbour, a desperate collaboration, a failure of trust, a love found despite it all.

Alexander Cavendish, Duke of Ravensworth, returned from war to find that his father and brother had…

Book cover of Chaucer: A European Life

ffiona Perigrinor Author Of Life in a Medieval Gentry Household: Alice de Bryene of Acton Hall, Suffolk, C.1360-1435

From my list on medieval life and widows who prefer independence to remarriage.

Why am I passionate about this?

I didn’t enjoy my first degree in Modern History and Political Science and it took twenty-five years and another MA in Women’s History, Gender, and Society, before my enthusiasm was rekindled. I’ve always believed it’s important to know where we come from, as well as the history of our country, and I don’t just mean wars, laws, and politics – but the lives of ordinary people, men, women, and children, because finally, we discover that our hopes, aspirations, and challenges are not so very different to the people who lived 500 years ago. I’m also passionate about the reality of women’s lived experience in all periods of history.

ffiona's book list on medieval life and widows who prefer independence to remarriage

ffiona Perigrinor Why ffiona loves this book

I love this book despite feeling frustrated by the excessive detail. Turner brings Chaucer’s cosmopolitan world and diverse literary works to life by focusing on places and spaces significant to him. I especially enjoyed the chapter on Households, where Chaucer was sent to serve in his adolescence, like many of his contemporaries, as page-boy, valet, entertainer, general factotum. I also learnt about his international travels, as a diplomat, prisoner of war, member of Parliament, and the sadness of his unfulfilled private life.

The last two chapters recount Chaucer’s final year living in the precincts of Westminster Abbey, his sudden death, relatively obscure burial, subsequent reburial in Poet’s Corner, and elevation as Father of English Literature, which Turner controversially challenges, placing him in a European cultural background.

By Marion Turner ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

An acclaimed biography that recreates the cosmopolitan world in which a wine merchant's son became one of the most celebrated of all English writers

Geoffrey Chaucer is often called the father of English literature, but this acclaimed biography reveals him as a great European writer and thinker. Uncovering important new information about Chaucer's travels, private life, and the circulation of his writings, Marion Turner reconstructs in unprecedented detail the cosmopolitan world of Chaucer's adventurous life, focusing on the places and spaces that fired his imagination. From the wharves of London to the frescoed chapels of Florence, the book recounts Chaucer's…


Book cover of In Byron's Wake

Diane Atkinson Author Of Rise Up, Women! The Remarkable Lives of the Suffragettes

From my list on women’s history.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been researching, curating, and writing women’s history for 30 years. I curated the suffragette exhibition Purple, White, and Green at the Museum of London. I wrote The Suffragettes in Pictures; Love and Dirt: The Marriage of Arthur Munby and Hannah Cullwick; Elsie and Mairi Go To War: Two Extraordinary Women on the Western Front; The Criminal Conversation of Mrs Norton, and Rise Up, Women! The Remarkable Lives of the Suffragettes. I am a public historian, devoted to sharing my research and writing with all. I am a keen podcaster, Youtuber, and guest on television and radio. You could say I’m a heroine addict. I hope you love my recommendations.

Diane's book list on women’s history

Diane Atkinson Why Diane loves this book

At last! A book that places Byron’s wife, Annabella Milbank, and mathematician daughter, Ada Lovelace, centre-stage instead of the dusty wings of all previous books about this notorious and complicated man. It is the perfect book for anyone interested in Byron and his world, and more importantly for readers keen to consider a more nuanced account of his wife and daughter.

By Miranda Seymour ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In 1815, the clever, courted, and cherished Annabella Milbanke married the notorious and brilliant Lord Byron. Just one year later, she fled, taking with her their baby daughter, the future Ada Lovelace. Byron himself escaped into exile and died as a revolutionary hero in 1824, aged 36. The one thing he had asked his wife to do was to make sure that their daughter never became a poet.

Ada didn't. Brought up by a mother who became one of the most progressive reformers of Victorian England, Byron's little girl was introduced to mathematics as a means of calming her wild…


Book cover of Langston's Train Ride

Lisa Rogers Author Of 16 Words: William Carlos Williams and the Red Wheelbarrow

From my list on biographies to inspire young poets.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love sharing poetry with children! I became inspired to write poetic picture books during my 20-year career as an elementary school librarian. In class, we often read aloud, discussed, and performed poems. My students considered word choices, identified alliteration, metaphor, and simile, and developed a sophisticated vocabulary of “beautiful” words. They delighted in using their senses to write about special places and moments and did research to create and illustrate fact-based poems about people and animals. In exploring poetry and biographies of poets, students found inspiration and used their authentic voices to craft their own funny, engaging, and thoughtful poetry.

Lisa's book list on biographies to inspire young poets

Lisa Rogers Why Lisa loves this book

If you doubt poetry’s power to sweep you up and bring you to tears, you must read Burleigh’s deep dive into Langston Hughes’ inspiration for his famous poem, “The Negro Speaks of Rivers”. You’ll take this story to heart and keep it there. I got the chills from the author’s note, which explains that Burleigh’s goal was to explore “the moment when Langston Hughes came to believe in himself as a writer” – and have that moment inspire others. In vibrant, poetic prose perfect for reading aloud, Burleigh begins with Hughes celebrating his first book.

In a flashback, Hughes, on a train, muses over his personal history. As the train crosses the Mississippi, he reaches further back into his people’s history, until he entwines those strands into one gorgeous, resonant work of art.

By Robert Burleigh , Leonard Jenkins (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Langston's Train Ride as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 8, 9, 10, and 11.

What is this book about?

Robert Burleigh's inspiring text captures the magical moment when Langston Hughes came to believe in himself as a writer, as he first wrote "The Negro Speaks of Rivers."

Clackety clack clack clack...
Can you hear the rhythm of the train?
Langston Hughes did. Traveling to see his father in 1920, as he listened to the sounds of the train -- metal on metal, wheels on rails -- Hughes's imagination took flight. On that ride, he was inspired to write his first famous poem, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers."
This picture book tells the story of Langston Hughes's rise to accomplishing…


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Book cover of Aggressor

Aggressor by FX Holden,

It is April 1st, 2038. Day 60 of China's blockade of the rebel island of Taiwan.

The US government has agreed to provide Taiwan with a weapons system so advanced that it can disrupt the balance of power in the region. But what pilot would be crazy enough to run…

Book cover of The Last Time They Met

Cindy McKinley Alder Author Of One Smile

From my list on books with surprise endings.

Why am I passionate about this?

I read every single day without fail. So I have read a lot of books over the years. I am always so impressed with- and love- a good, twisty, surprise ending. From children’s books to middle grade to adult… surprise me at the end, and I’m in! (Extra points for making me cry a little bit!) If you, too, love a good twist at the end of a story, give these books a try!

Cindy's book list on books with surprise endings

Cindy McKinley Alder Why Cindy loves this book

This book was absolutely stunning. Beautiful writing, beautiful settings, beautiful love. It is very unique in that it tells the love story of Linda and Thomas backward. At first, we meet them in middle age. Then, in their twenties, they live in Africa. Oh, I was so enthralled with their journey there. I feel like I saw it as a movie, so rich were the details. Then, at the end we see them as teenagers.

The ending of this book was so shocking to me that I actually cried. I have read it several more times over the years, knowing full well what the ending will bring me, and still, my heart breaks! 

By Anita Shreve ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From the last time Linda and Thomas meet, at a charmless hotel in a distant city, to the moment, thirty-five years earlier, when a chance encounter on a rocky beach binds them fatefully together, this hypnotically compelling novel unfolds a tale of intense passion, drama, and suspense. The Last Time They Met is a singularly ambitious and accomplished work by one of today's most widely celebrated novelists.


Book cover of Satan Says
Book cover of The Art of Blessing the Day
Book cover of The Awful Rowing Toward God

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