Here are 96 books that Home Game fans have personally recommended if you like Home Game. 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 The Autobiography of Malcolm X

Dorsey Nunn Author Of What Kind of Bird Can't Fly: A Memoir of Resilience and Resurrection

From my list on the strength it takes to be Black in America.

Why am I passionate about this?

I began advocating for the rights of California prisoners and their families while incarcerated. As co-director of Legal Services for Prisoners with Children (LSPC), in 2003, I cofounded All of Us or None (AOUON), a grassroots movement of formerly incarcerated people working on their own behalf to secure their civil and human rights. AOUON is now the policy and advocacy arm of LSPC, which I have led as executive director since 2011. Collective victories include ending indefinite solitary confinement in California, expanding access to housing and employment for formerly incarcerated people, and restoring the vote to those on parole and probation. 

Dorsey's book list on the strength it takes to be Black in America

Dorsey Nunn Why Dorsey loves this book

This was a book I first read nearly fifty years ago after my childhood friend Nate Harrington taught me to read while we were in prison together at 18 and 19 years old. As part of our commitment to helping each other return to our communities as an asset and not a liability, the men in prison taught each other political education classes, which included reading key texts like Malcolm X’s autobiography.

This book gave me an indication that I could do something different with my life. That moment occurred when it was revealed that Malcolm was known as “Detroit Red” on the streets of New York City–but when he went to prison and found a true education, he also embraced a new identity and new way of life. He died as Malcolm. His journey indicated that I could make a transition, too. It also helped me recognize that If…

By Malcolm X , Alex Haley ,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked The Autobiography of Malcolm X as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

ONE OF TIME’S TEN MOST IMPORTANT NONFICTION BOOKS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

In the searing pages of this classic autobiography, originally published in 1964, Malcolm X, the Muslim leader, firebrand, and anti-integrationist, tells the extraordinary story of his life and the growth of the Black Muslim movement. His fascinating perspective on the lies and limitations of the American Dream, and the inherent racism in a society that denies its nonwhite citizens the opportunity to dream, gives extraordinary insight into the most urgent issues of our own time. The Autobiography of Malcolm X stands as the definitive statement of a movement…


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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 To Kill a Mockingbird

Donald McPhail Author Of The Guest From Johannesburg

From my list on modest heroes.

Why am I passionate about this?

Success isn’t about money. It’s about character and personal experiences. I accept Viktor Frankl’s conclusion that fulfillment comes from having a purpose, caring for others, and living life with love. From my earliest movie heroes like Lash LaRue, Tom Mix, and Roy Rogers, to John Wayne, Cary Grant, and George Clooney, my favorite heroes have been modest and kind. Book heroes like Donna Leon’s Inspector Guido Brunetti, Louise Penny’s Armand Gamache, and John Le Carre’s George Smiley are modest and kind. This returns us to Lou Gehrig, my authentic, real-life hero. His early influence is clear in my heroic Duff Malone character.

Donald's book list on modest heroes

Donald McPhail Why Donald loves this book

I related to Atticus Finch.

He was the dad everyone wished they had. He was also a lot like my old high school football coach. There is authentic love and warmth when he and Scout are together. And there is honesty and spine when Atticus is in the courtroom, defending those who have been wrongly accused.

This beloved book has inspired generations of readers around the world. It is a morality tale about a rough and imperfect country, written in a way that has inspired idealists to stay the course in our fight for justice. We may be flawed, but we can still be strong.

By Harper Lee ,

Why should I read it?

46 authors picked To Kill a Mockingbird as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit 'em, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird.'

Atticus Finch gives this advice to his children as he defends the real mockingbird of this classic novel - a black man charged with attacking a white girl. Through the eyes of Scout and Jem Finch, Lee explores the issues of race and class in the Deep South of the 1930s with compassion and humour. She also creates one of the great heroes of literature in their father, whose lone struggle for justice pricks the conscience of a town steeped…


Book cover of Dad Is Fat

Craig Melvin Author Of Pops: Learning to Be a Son and a Father

From my list on for families dealing with addiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

My name is Craig Melvin and I’m an anchor on NBC’s Today show. I’m also a father to my two young kids, Delano and Sybil. Being a dad is so important to me because when you’re a parent, you’re charged with shaping and molding a solid human being whose empathetic, compassionate, and responsible. I don’t take the responsibility lightly. Of the many jobs I have, it’s the most important.  

Craig's book list on for families dealing with addiction

Craig Melvin Why Craig loves this book

Jim Gaffigan is one of the funniest comedians out there, and he’s always one of our favorite in-studio guests. This book uses Gaffigan’s classic sense of humor to describe what it is like to be a dad to his five children. Beyond being extremely funny and a solid memoir, it reveals the underbelly of fatherhood, as only Jim Gaffigan can.

By Jim Gaffigan ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Dad Is Fat as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Jim Gaffigan never imagined he would have his own kids.

Though he grew up in a large Irish-Catholic family, Jim was satisfied with the nomadic, nocturnal life of a standup comedian, and was content to be "that weird uncle who lives in an apartment by himself in New York that everyone in the family speculates about." But all that changed when he married and found out his wife, Jeannie "is someone who gets pregnant looking at babies."

Five kids later, the comedian whose riffs on everything from Hot Pockets to Jesus have scored millions of hits on YouTube, started to…


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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 Don't Make Me Stop This Car!

Craig Melvin Author Of Pops: Learning to Be a Son and a Father

From my list on for families dealing with addiction.

Why am I passionate about this?

My name is Craig Melvin and I’m an anchor on NBC’s Today show. I’m also a father to my two young kids, Delano and Sybil. Being a dad is so important to me because when you’re a parent, you’re charged with shaping and molding a solid human being whose empathetic, compassionate, and responsible. I don’t take the responsibility lightly. Of the many jobs I have, it’s the most important.  

Craig's book list on for families dealing with addiction

Craig Melvin Why Craig loves this book

No list of books for Dads would be complete without this one from my buddy, Al Roker. In Don’t Make Me Stop This Car, Al looks at the highs and lows of being a parent. Not only does it have his classic Roker charm and sense of humor, but he also writes about his experiences with infertility treatments and adoption. It’s become a favorite because he’s been a great friend and mentor to me. 

By Ali Stroker ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Don't Make Me Stop This Car! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The famed weatherman on NBC's Today show offers a collection of essays, some serious, some humourous, offering his thoughts on parenting and life in general that draw on his experiences as the father of two girls and his own childhood as the oldest of six children. 200,000 first printing.


Book cover of The Dead Father

James W. Morris Author Of Rude Baby

From my list on literary fiction to laugh out loud.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a kid, I wrote a series of plays with my family as characters. Everyone (even the dog and cat) had lines that demonstrated their quirks, except me—the sane and reasonable one. When I performed these playlets for my mother (performing all parts, since no one else would co-operate) she laughed so hard she cried, and it’s fair to say my subsequent writing career has been an attempt to recapture the feelings that experience generated. Beginning as a joke writer (including a stint working for Jay Leno), I now focus on literary fiction, though humor is always a part of my work.

James' book list on literary fiction to laugh out loud

James W. Morris Why James loves this book

I studied the post-modernists in college, and find Barthelme to be the funniest and most likable of that group. His collection of short fiction, Sixty Stories, is my desert island book, but he also wrote a few novels that I like, especially The Dead Father. The dead father looms large in the ethos of his society, and is also literally big—3,200 cubits long. And the dead father is not really dead—though all agree he’s past his prime. So, a road trip is organized: nineteen of his followers attach a cable to drag the massive, complaining figure to a cliff at the edge of the world. A truly witty and absurd little book.

By Donald Barthelme ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The Dead Father is a gargantuan half-dead, half-alive, part mechanical, wise, vain, powerful being who still has hopes for himself--even while he is being dragged by means of a cable toward a mysterious goal. In this extraordinary novel, marked by the imaginative use of language that influenced a generation of fiction writers, Donald Barthelme offered a glimpse into his fictional universe. As Donald Antrim writes in his introduction, "Reading The Dead Father, one has the sense that its author enjoys an almost complete artistic freedom . . . a permission to reshape, misrepresent, or even ignore the world as we…


Book cover of Dad's Playbook: Wisdom for Fathers from the Greatest Coaches of All Time

Shoshana S. Bennett Ph.D. Author Of Postpartum Depression for Dummies

From my list on for dads and dads-to-be.

Why am I passionate about this?

After life-threatening postpartum depression in the 1980s, I became a pioneer of maternal mental health in the U.S. I’ve helped moms and moms-to-be finally receive the support they deserve. Between masters’ degrees, Ph.D., teaching credentials, and becoming licensed as a clinical psychologist, I wrote four books and enjoy interviews on radio and TV. Training health professionals and my clients to develop a wellness strategy for motherhood has been my life’s passion. A few years ago I realized that during this movement, dads’ experiences had been disregarded and minimized, and my mission then shifted to parental mental health. Dad’s worries and needs are important too.

Shoshana's book list on for dads and dads-to-be

Shoshana S. Bennett Ph.D. Why Shoshana loves this book

I found this book enlightening. After all, great dads are leaders and coaches – they use motivation, direction, care, mentoring, and discipline. This parenting expert author gathers together and incorporates the wisdom and knowledge of some of the most famous sports coaches of all time and artfully applies it directly to fatherhood. 

By Tom Limbert ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

This gift book for dads collects together 100 of the best quotes from the greatest coaches of all time, including John Wooden, Vince Lombardi, Tommy Lasorda, Phil Jackson, and many more, and then applies the lessons to fatherhood. Illustrated throughout with photos of famous coaches, with a foreword by Steve Young.


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Book cover of The Duke's Christmas Redemption

The Duke's Christmas Redemption by Arietta Richmond,

A Duke who has rejected love, a Lady who dreams of a love match, an arranged marriage, a house full of secrets, a most unneighborly neighbor, a plot to destroy reputations, an unexpected love that redeems it all.

Lady Charlotte Wyndham, given in an arranged marriage to a man she…

Book cover of New Fathers, Mental Health and Digital Communication

Mark Williams Author Of Fathers and Perinatal Mental Health: A Guide for Recognition, Treatment and Management

From my list on for new fathers about their mental health.

Why am I passionate about this?

Mark Williams is a keynote speaker, author, and international campaigner. In 2004 he himself experienced depression and suffered in silence for years until he entered community mental health services. He founded International Fathers Mental Health Day and #Howareyoudad campaign to make sure all parents are having support for the whole family. In 2020 Mark published the report called "Fathers Reaching Out - Why Dads Matter" to explain the importance of paternal mental health which has far better outcomes for the whole family and the development of the child when we include fathers. Mark is also an ambassador for Mothers For Mothers Charity.

Mark's book list on for new fathers about their mental health

Mark Williams Why Mark loves this book

This book explores the experiences of new fathers struggling with mental health difficulties and focuses on the role of digital media as part of their approaches to coping. Hodkinson and Das show how the ways new fathers are positioned by society can make it hard for them to recognize their struggles as legitimate, or reach out for help. The book explores a range of different uses of digital communication by struggling fathers, from selective forms of disconnection, to the seeking out of online information or support.

By Paul Hodkinson , Ranjana Das ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked New Fathers, Mental Health and Digital Communication as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This book explores the experiences of new fathers struggling with mental health difficulties and focuses on the role of digital media as part of their approaches to coping. Hodkinson and Das show how the ways new fathers are positioned by society can make it hard for them to recognize their struggles as legitimate, or reach out for help. The book explores a range of different uses of digital communication by struggling fathers, from selective forms of disconnection, to the seeking out of online information or support. The authors highlight the significance even of the smallest digital acts as part of…


Book cover of Faith of Cranes: Finding Hope and Family in Alaska

Dave Atcheson Author Of Dead Reckoning: Navigating a Life on the Last Frontier, Courting Tragedy on Its High Seas

From my list on true Alaskan stories of adventure and inspiration.

Why am I passionate about this?

To me there is a connection to something larger than myself, an overriding sense of spirit that I only seem to encounter in the outdoors, beneath the canopy of old-growth forest, or within the gaze of ancient snow-capped peaks. Since arriving in Alaska over 30 years ago it is something I have continually sought among this state’s striking landscape and in many of my own adventures here. It's an attitude, a sensibility I also seek in the stories I read, an authenticity tied to place, but also an inclination toward hope and optimism, even a tenuous one, that we can all relate to; a sentiment I have always tried to incorporate into my own writing.

Dave's book list on true Alaskan stories of adventure and inspiration

Dave Atcheson Why Dave loves this book

Faith of Cranes leans more on the inspiration than being an outright adventure, but an adventure it is. It’s a quiet, lilting, beautifully written memoir about home and community, and a former wildlife biologist’s attempt to recover his own sense of hope amidst the ravages of climate change. His story is adeptly tied to the history and lifecycle of the sandhill cranes he chronicles throughout the book, as well as his community, its natural beauty and the eccentric neighbors he shares it with. Ultimately, with the birth of his daughter, his hope is restored, at least to a point.  

By Hank Lentfer ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

 

Faith of Cranes weaves together three parallel narratives: the plight and beauty of sandhill cranes, one man's effort to recover hope amid destructive climate change, and the birth of a daughter.



CLICK HERE to download the first chapter from Faith of Cranes


"Faith of Cranes is a love song to the beauty and worth of the lives we are able to lead in the world just as it is, troubled though it be. Lentfer's storytelling achieves its joys and universality not via grand summations but via grounded self-giving, familial intimacy, funny friendships, attentive griefs, and full-bodied immersion in the Alaskan…


Book cover of The Life of Dad: The Making of a Modern Father

Mark Williams Author Of Fathers and Perinatal Mental Health: A Guide for Recognition, Treatment and Management

From my list on for new fathers about their mental health.

Why am I passionate about this?

Mark Williams is a keynote speaker, author, and international campaigner. In 2004 he himself experienced depression and suffered in silence for years until he entered community mental health services. He founded International Fathers Mental Health Day and #Howareyoudad campaign to make sure all parents are having support for the whole family. In 2020 Mark published the report called "Fathers Reaching Out - Why Dads Matter" to explain the importance of paternal mental health which has far better outcomes for the whole family and the development of the child when we include fathers. Mark is also an ambassador for Mothers For Mothers Charity.

Mark's book list on for new fathers about their mental health

Mark Williams Why Mark loves this book

Dr Machin draws on her research and the latest findings in genetics, neuroscience and psychology to tell the story of fatherhood. She will show the extraordinary physiological changes a man undergoes when he becomes a father, investigate how a man’s genes can influence what sort of father he will be, and will show how a dad makes a unique contribution to his child’s life, helping to foster independence of mind and spirit.

By Dr. Anna Machin ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

THE STORY OF FATHERHOOD AND WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A FATHER TODAY, BASED ON A DECADE-LONG STUDY OF NEW AND EXPECTANT FATHERS.

Becoming a father is one of most common but also one of the most profoundly life-altering experiences a man can have. It is up there with puberty, falling in love and experiencing your first loss. Fifty years ago a father's role was assumed to be clear: he went to work; he provided the pay cheque; and he acted as a disciplinarian when he got home. But today a father's role is much more fluid and complex.

Dr…


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

This book follows the journey of a writer in search of wisdom as he narrates encounters with 12 distinguished American men over 80, including Paul Volcker, the former head of the Federal Reserve, and Denton Cooley, the world’s most famous heart surgeon.

In these and other intimate conversations, the book…

Book cover of 10:04

Laurence Scott Author Of Picnic Comma Lightning: The Experience of Reality in the Twenty-First Century

From my list on touching the reality of modern life.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a literary scholar by training (my doctorate is in comparative literature), but the more I experienced and thought about how digital technologies were “rewiring” me, the more connections I made to earlier cultural ideas about personhood, privacy, isolation, and community. My first book, The Four-Dimensional Human, used this training to observe digital life from an outsider’s perspective. It was shortlisted for the UK’s largest international non-fiction prize and named a WIRED Book of the Decade. Picnic Comma Lightning continues this project to explore digital realities and illusions, and the books I’ve recommended here have all influenced my own desire to capture the particular poetry of these bizarre, networked times. 

Laurence's book list on touching the reality of modern life

Laurence Scott Why Laurence loves this book

I go to Ben Lerner’s writing for the shimmering atmospheres of his fictional universes. 10:04 is set in contemporary New York City and follows the narrator-writer through his urban routines. But between his health scares, relationship worries, and professional commitments, the novel thrums with a strange, uneasy beat as the narrator questions the fabric of modern life in a large city. He feels the sublime abundance of the commodities that surround him, whose very abundance is precarious. The book meditates on the fragility of the global supply chains that bring cans of ground coffee onto supermarket shelves and into our baskets. There is also a superstorm approaching, which threatens the city’s power. Lerner is wonderful on twenty-first-century, first-world malaise.

By Ben Lerner ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked 10 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A stunning, urgent, and original novel from Ben Lerner (The Topeka School and Leaving the Atocha Station) about making art, love, and children during the twilight of an empire.

Winner of The Paris Review's 2012 Terry Southern Prize

A Finalist for the 2014 Folio Prize and the NYPL Young Lions Fiction Award

In the last year, the narrator of 10:04 has enjoyed unlikely literary success, has been diagnosed with a potentially fatal medical condition, and has been asked by his best friend to help her conceive a child. In a New York of increasingly frequent superstorms and social unrest, he…


Book cover of The Autobiography of Malcolm X
Book cover of To Kill a Mockingbird
Book cover of Dad Is Fat

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in dads, Boston, and addiction?

Dads 63 books
Boston 198 books
Addiction 60 books