Here are 97 books that Jayber Crow fans have personally recommended if you like Jayber Crow. Book DNA is a community of 13,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of A Gentleman in Moscow

Vince Strawbridge Author Of Pretty Good at Walking

From my list on what one generation hands the next.

Why am I passionate about this?

In 2018, my wife and I walked the Pacific Crest Trail southbound with our four children—Canada to Mexico, 142 days, 2,650 miles. Aiden was sixteen, Georgie eleven. You cannot walk that far with your kids without thinking hard about what you are handing them, because you are handing it to them in real time, in front of you, all day. The books I keep returning to are the ones that take that seriously: inheritance that isn't money. A father's temper. A father's schemes. A way of staying put, or not. These are five that ask those questions, and the trail sharpened them for me.

Vince's book list on what one generation hands the next

Vince Strawbridge Why Vince loves this book

House arrest in a hotel, and a man raises a daughter in it.

The Count can give Sofia nothing—no country, no freedom, no future he can guarantee—so he gives her manners, music, attention, and wit, and most of all love. It turns out those are not nothing. They're the inheritance.

I love it for the opposite reason I love McCarthy: same question, no apocalypse, just a man with four walls deciding what to pass on. If you're a parent who feels you have less to give your kids than you'd hoped, this one's a gift.

By Amor Towles ,

Why should I read it?

49 authors picked A Gentleman in Moscow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The mega-bestseller with more than 2 million readers, soon to be a major television series

From the #1 New York Times-bestselling author of The Lincoln Highway and Rules of Civility, a beautifully transporting novel about a man who is ordered to spend the rest of his life inside a luxury hotel

In 1922, Count Alexander Rostov is deemed an unrepentant aristocrat by a Bolshevik tribunal, and is sentenced to house arrest in the Metropol, a grand hotel across the street from the Kremlin. Rostov, an indomitable man of erudition and wit, has never worked a day in his life, and…


If you love Jayber Crow...

Book cover of These Blue Mountains

These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas,

A moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.

German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancĆ©, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda…

Book cover of The Road

Vince Strawbridge Author Of Pretty Good at Walking

From my list on what one generation hands the next.

Why am I passionate about this?

In 2018, my wife and I walked the Pacific Crest Trail southbound with our four children—Canada to Mexico, 142 days, 2,650 miles. Aiden was sixteen, Georgie eleven. You cannot walk that far with your kids without thinking hard about what you are handing them, because you are handing it to them in real time, in front of you, all day. The books I keep returning to are the ones that take that seriously: inheritance that isn't money. A father's temper. A father's schemes. A way of staying put, or not. These are five that ask those questions, and the trail sharpened them for me.

Vince's book list on what one generation hands the next

Vince Strawbridge Why Vince loves this book

This book is a parenting manual.

The boy is every boy. He asks if they're still the good guys. The man says yes, carrying the fire. This transaction between a father and a son, stripped of everything else: carry what you're given, keep walking toward the promise, because it's who you are.

Everything soft has been burned off this book, and what's left is a father deciding, hour by hour, what he's handing over.

By Cormac McCarthy ,

Why should I read it?

44 authors picked The Road as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE • A searing, post-apocalyptic novel about a father and son's fight to survive, this "tale of survival and the miracle of goodness only adds to McCarthy's stature as a living master. It's gripping, frightening and, ultimately, beautiful" (San Francisco Chronicle).

A father and his son walk alone through burned America. Nothing moves in the ravaged landscape save the ash on the wind. It is cold enough to crack stones, and when the snow falls it is gray. The sky is dark. Their destination is the coast, although they don't know what, if…


Book cover of East of Eden

Vince Strawbridge Author Of Pretty Good at Walking

From my list on what one generation hands the next.

Why am I passionate about this?

In 2018, my wife and I walked the Pacific Crest Trail southbound with our four children—Canada to Mexico, 142 days, 2,650 miles. Aiden was sixteen, Georgie eleven. You cannot walk that far with your kids without thinking hard about what you are handing them, because you are handing it to them in real time, in front of you, all day. The books I keep returning to are the ones that take that seriously: inheritance that isn't money. A father's temper. A father's schemes. A way of staying put, or not. These are five that ask those questions, and the trail sharpened them for me.

Vince's book list on what one generation hands the next

Vince Strawbridge Why Vince loves this book

Timshel. Thou mayest. Sin is crouching at the door. Can you deny it entry?

A whole book built on whether a son is condemned to repeat his father, and the answer Steinbeck spends six hundred pages earning is that he isn't—but it will cost him.

I didn't read this book again until recently. I came back to it as a father of four and found it, or I, had changed: Adam Trask's great sin isn't cruelty; it's that he cannot see his sons clearly. That's the one that scares me. He shapes them anyway. A warning and a blessing to fathers.

By John Steinbeck ,

Why should I read it?

22 authors picked East of Eden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

California's fertile Salinas Valley is home to two families whose destinies are fruitfully, and fatally, intertwined. Over the generations, between the beginning of the twentieth century and the end of the First World War, the Trasks and the Hamiltons will helplessly replay the fall of Adam and Eve and the murderous rivalry of Cain and Abel.

East of Eden was considered by Steinbeck to be his magnum opus, and its epic scope and memorable characters, exploring universal themes of love and identity, ensure it remains one of America's most enduring novels. This edition features a stunning new cover by renowned…


If you love Wendell Berry...

Book cover of Getting Dressed in the Dark

Getting Dressed in the Dark by Gabriella D'Italia,

How do you know the truth after the story you most trust disappears?

Self-betrayal, polyamory, adultery, and an unconventional life in a one-room, rural Maine schoolhouse ends in a crisis mirroring the larger, societal polarization and collapse of meaning.Ā Compass shattered, an artist's wisdom guides a course home, revealing a…

Book cover of The Big Rock Candy Mountain

Vince Strawbridge Author Of Pretty Good at Walking

From my list on what one generation hands the next.

Why am I passionate about this?

In 2018, my wife and I walked the Pacific Crest Trail southbound with our four children—Canada to Mexico, 142 days, 2,650 miles. Aiden was sixteen, Georgie eleven. You cannot walk that far with your kids without thinking hard about what you are handing them, because you are handing it to them in real time, in front of you, all day. The books I keep returning to are the ones that take that seriously: inheritance that isn't money. A father's temper. A father's schemes. A way of staying put, or not. These are five that ask those questions, and the trail sharpened them for me.

Vince's book list on what one generation hands the next

Vince Strawbridge Why Vince loves this book

Bo Mason drags his wife and two sons around the West chasing the next sure thing—Montana, Saskatchewan, Utah. Stegner grew up in that family, and you can tell: nobody writes the father this honestly who hasn't been the son.

What stops it being a simple indictment is Elsa, and the fact that the boys get something real out of the hard country even while it's costing them. I moved my family 2,650 miles on an idea of mine. The difference I'd claim is that mine was for them—and this book is the one that makes me check that claim. They are adults now, and I've checked with them.

If you've ever asked a family to follow you somewhere, Bo Mason and I are the warning.

By Wallace Stegner ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Big Rock Candy Mountain as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Bo Mason, his wife, Elsa, and their two boys live a transient life of poverty and despair. Drifting from town to town and from state to state, the violent, ruthless Bo seeks out his fortune - in the hotel business, in new farmland and eventually, in illegal rum-running through the treacherous back roads of the American Northwest.

In this affecting narrative, Wallace Stegner portrays more than thirty years in the life of the Mason family as they struggle to survive during the lean years of the early twentieth century.

Wallace Stegner was the author of, among other works of fiction,…


Book cover of The Guide

Neil Deuchar Author Of The Sannyasin

From my list on spiritual fiction feel in love with the world.

Why am I passionate about this?

Born into an atheist family and a psychiatrist by background, I identified as a Christian in mid-life then became an interfaith minister. I believe everyone has a birthright to discover their own personal nature and purpose and although religion can help, it’s probably only a phase through which a properly evolved consciousness passes. You can read all the non-fiction and sacred texts you like, but I find spiritual fiction to be the best medium to explore and share fundamentals like this.

Neil's book list on spiritual fiction feel in love with the world

Neil Deuchar Why Neil loves this book

A cynical and brilliant exposĆ© of an apparent holy man who goes from tour guide to guru in a way that, although a work of fiction, reminds me of so many religious people I’ve come across who pretend to be something they’re not. It also has a big sense of humor and made me laugh out loud several times.

Published in 1959, it was very ahead of its time and is still the best spiritual fiction novel to come out of India.

By R. K. Narayan ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Raju's first stop after his release from prison is the barber's shop Then he decides to take refuge in an abandoned temple. Raju used to be India's most corrupt tourist guide - but now a peasant mistakes him for a holy man. Gradually, almost grudgingly, he begins to play the part. He succeeds so well that God himself intervenes to put Raju's new holiness to the test.


Book cover of J.D. and the Great Barber Battle

Heather Alexander Author Of Project Startup

From my list on kids starting businesses.

Why am I passionate about this?

I write both fiction and nonfiction for kids and with Eat Bugs, I got to combine both loves. The book was inspired by two real-life female entrepreneurs, who literally cooked up an edible bug business in their college dorm room. After I watched them land a deal on Shark Tank, we met and I reimagined their story as if they’d started their business in sixth grade. I’ve always been fascinated by entrepreneurs who have the courage and tenacity to follow their dreams–no matter how wacky the idea may seem.

Heather's book list on kids starting businesses

Heather Alexander Why Heather loves this book

Third-grader J.D. has the entrepreneurial and problem-solving spirit I adore. Great at cutting hair, he starts a barbershop in his bedroom! But when the town barbershop loses business because J.D’s charging less than they do, they challenge him to a barber battle. The story made me laugh out loud and cheer for J.D.

By J. Dillard , Akeem S. Roberts (illustrator) ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked J.D. and the Great Barber Battle as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 6, 7, and 8.

What is this book about?

Eight-year-old J.D. turns a tragic home haircut into a thriving barber business in this hilarious new illustrated chapter book series

J.D. has a big problem--it's the night before the start of third grade and his mom has just given him his first and worst home haircut. When the steady stream of insults from the entire student body of Douglass Elementary becomes too much for J.D., he takes matters into his own hands and discovers that, unlike his mom, he's a genius with the clippers. His work makes him the talk of the town and brings him enough hair business to…


If you love Jayber Crow...

Book cover of Let Them Tell You

Let Them Tell You by Nancy Lord,

Nancy Lord, one of Alaska’s best-known writers, has been writing fiction and nonfiction in Alaska for more than fifty years. Let Them Tell You gathers selected stories from her three previous short fiction books, each first published in a different decade, alongside newer work, some published in journals and some…

Book cover of Village School

Angela Hodgkins Author Of Strength-based Practice with Children and Families

From my list on why working with young children is awesome.

Why am I passionate about this?

My professional background is in working with children, my career began as an NNEB nursery nurse and I did many jobs (nanny, childminder, preschool, reception class, after school club, primary school, special school, and in learning support). I then trained as a teacher of adults and went on to be a college lecturer. I am now a senior university lecturer, but my heart has always been in the early years. I am passionate about highlighting the incredible work that is going on in the early years and in schools and have a strength-based, empowering, and optimistic view, which I try to instill in my students. Working with young children is a privilege and a joy.

Angela's book list on why working with young children is awesome

Angela Hodgkins Why Angela loves this book

Reading this book, and others in the series, is like a warm hug! It details a view of a small village school in the 1960s and it is just such a joy to read.

The stories about the school and the children are touching, funny and emotional. This book is a great example of social history and it just makes you want to work in a tiny village school and to be around children like these. It’s such a fulfilling read. Village Christmas is wonderful too, I read it in December every year.

By Miss Read ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The very first Miss Read novel - set in 1950s England, perfect nostalgia for fans of CALL THE MIDWIFE or Gervase Phinn.

'An affectionate, humorous and gently charming chronicle ... sometimes funny, sometimes touching, always appealing' New York Times

Fairacre is a village of cottages, a church and the school - and at the heart of the school, its headmistress, Miss Read.

Through her discerning eye, we meet the villagers of Fairacre and see their trials and tribulations, from the irascible school cleaner Mrs Pringle, to the young schoolchildren with their scraped knees, hopeful faces and inevitable mischief.

Miss Read…


Book cover of Cold Sassy Tree

Christy Cashman Author Of The Truth About Horses

From my list on coming of age YA books with strong voices.

Why am I passionate about this?

Books were a way to navigate life, my love for my horse, and just being an awkward feeling person. For me, the most powerful thing that stories provide is revealing that everyone is awkward. No one really feels like they fit in, have everything figured out, and know what this whole, crazy existence is about. A book offers a perspective that makes me see my world just a little more clearly. When I find relatable characters in books, I feel comforted because it makes me realize that no one is all good and no one is all bad. We are flawed and beautiful all at once, just like the characters that draw me into their worlds.

Christy's book list on coming of age YA books with strong voices

Christy Cashman Why Christy loves this book

The voice of the main character Will Tweedy pulled me right in. I was drawn into the world of rural Georgia in the turn of the century as if it was yesterday. I could see, smell, taste, and feel everything Olive Ann Burns described. The main character brought me along on his journey in a Huck Finn sort of way that made me feel like his best buddy.Ā 

By Olive Ann Burns ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Cold Sassy Tree as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The one thing you can depend on in Cold Sassy, Georgia, is that word gets around—fast. When Grandpa E. Rucker Blakeslee announces one July morning in 1906 that he's aiming to marry the young and freckledy milliner, Miss Love Simpson—a bare three weeks after Granny Blakeslee has gone to her reward—the news is served up all over town with that afternoon's dinner. And young Will Tweedy suddenly finds himself eyewitness to a major scandal. Boggled by the sheer audacity of it all, and not a little jealous of his grandpa's new wife, Will nevertheless approves of this May-December match and…


Book cover of Lime Creek

Tim Slover Author Of The Christmas Chronicles: The Legend of Santa Claus

From my list on Christmas stories to read at a fireside.

Why am I passionate about this?

When our two boys hit their difficult years around age seven or eight and the other kids at school were starting to doubt Santa Claus, they began to ask questions about how he operated. Luckily I had answers, which became, eventually, The Christmas Chronicles. Now that I was outed as a Santa supporter, I started doing Christmas readings here and there, including every year on a radio holiday show for Access Utah, a PBS affiliate. That’s given me the delightful task of seeking out all kinds of Yuletide literature. These are a few of my favorites. 

Tim's book list on Christmas stories to read at a fireside

Tim Slover Why Tim loves this book

Henry is a poet, lyricist, novelist, and rancher from Woody Creek, Colorado. His whole memoir/novel, Lime Creek, is a miniature masterpiece, but I want to draw your attention to the part of it about Christmas. He and John Denver—Denver called Henry his brother—created Christmas gatherings in a barn for several years. In this excerpt set in Wyoming, he imagines one of those gatherings through the eyes of a young boy, Luke. Luke is there with his younger brother, Whitney, his older brother, Lonny, and his mother and father, Elizabeth and Spencer. And the two younger brothers are inspired to try an experiment from an old, old tradition, that on Christmas Eve, animals are given the gift of speech.Ā 

By Joe Henry ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Lime Creek as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this wonderful work of fiction, Joe Henry explores the complex relationship between a father and his sons, whose deep connections to one another, to the land, and to the creatures that inhabit it give meaning to their lives.

Spencer Davis, his wife, Elizabeth, and their sons, Luke, Whitney, and Lonny, work with horses and with their hands. They spend long relentless days cutting summer hay and feeding it to their cattle through fierce Wyoming winters. The family bears witness to the cycle of life, bringing foals into the world and deciding when to let a favored mare pass on…


Book cover of Tess of the D'Urbervilles

Essie Fox Author Of The Fascination

From my list on inspirational and eerie Gothic.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a writer of dark historical novels, I'm always drawn to other books that reflect my gothic themes. I think this interest first began when I read Wuthering Heights, soon afterwards studying the Victorian Sensation novels at university. These vividly described and densely plot-driven stories, often with shocking twists and vivid casts of characters, would thrill and entrance me. Afterwards I'd look out for any newly published books by contemporary writers dealing with similar ideas. I can't describe how it felt when I wrote one myself and saw it on the bookshop shelves. 

Essie's book list on inspirational and eerie Gothic

Essie Fox Why Essie loves this book

Coming from Herefordshire on the border with Wales, my own novels are often steeped in the natural reflections of eerie rural isolation, with the folklore and pagan customs of those places existing hand in hand with the newer forms of Christianity. Perhaps this is why I connect so passionately with the novels that are set in Thomas Hardy's Wessex.

And what a spell beautiful Tess was to weave around my heart. This profoundly moving novel will never be forgotten.

By Thomas Hardy , Simon Gatrell (editor) , Juliet Grindle (editor)

Why should I read it?

6 authors picked Tess of the D'Urbervilles as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'She looked absolutely pure. Nature, in her fantastic trickery, had set such a seal of maidenhood upon Tess's countenance that he gazed at her with a stupefied air: "Tess- say it is not true! No, it is not true!"'

Young Tess Durbeyfield attempts to restore her family's fortunes by claiming their connection with the aristocratic d'Urbervilles. But Alec d'Urberville is a rich wastrel who seduces her and makes her life miserable. When Tess meets Angel Clare, she is offered true love and happiness, but her past catches up with her and she faces an agonizing moral choice.

Hardy's indictment of…


Book cover of A Gentleman in Moscow
Book cover of The Road
Book cover of East of Eden

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