Here are 7 books that Johnny Delivers fans have personally recommended if you like Johnny Delivers. 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 Dayspring

K.R. Wilson Author Of Call Me Stan: A Tragedy in Three Millennia

From K.R.'s 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Novelist Reader History enthusiast Occasional composer Sometime chorister

K.R.'s 3 favorite reads in 2025

K.R. Wilson Why K.R. loves this book

If you’re a dour biblical literalist, Anthony Oliveira’s Dayspring may not be for you. But if your conception of the divine is expansive enough to contain multitudes, this cheeky, earthy, mystical, queer, wildly poetic postmodern riff on the gospels might be the delight you’ve been looking for.

By Anthony Oliveira ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE 2024 DAYNE OGILVIE PRIZE FOR LGBTQ2S+ EMERGING WRITERS • One of Indigo's Top 10 Literary Fiction Books of 2024 and Top 100 Books of 2024 • One of CBC's Best Canadian Fiction of 2024

A singular, stunning debut that transcends and transfigures genre—at once a bold retelling of biblical tales and an unforgettable contemporary coming-of-age story, connected in collapsing time across millennia.

There are few love stories in the holy books. Love is what ruins. Love is what costs. Love is a flaming sword at our backs, a garden left to ruin and to…


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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 R.I.P. Scoot

K.R. Wilson Author Of Call Me Stan: A Tragedy in Three Millennia

From K.R.'s 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Novelist Reader History enthusiast Occasional composer Sometime chorister

K.R.'s 3 favorite reads in 2025

K.R. Wilson Why K.R. loves this book

Austin is living in a former mop factory when an eyeless street cat adopts him. Then it dies. Then shit gets weird. Sara Flemington’s novel R.I.P. Scoot has a sense of humour so dry it’d snap if you stepped on it. So I don’t recommend that. But I do recommend the book. Very much.

By Sara Flemington ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked R.I.P. Scoot as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Dashiell Hammett's Red Harvest and Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time meet The Big Lebowski in this literary mystery that asks us to examine what stories, real or fiction, become the metaphors we use for working through our own challenges and uncertainties.

Twentysomething Austin lives alone in a crumbling office-turned-studio apartment of a former mops, brushes and brooms factory in Toronto. After a deformed and lice-ridden cat turns up at his door, then abruptly dies three weeks later, Austin begins to find frightening coincidences connecting him to a squatter living in his local Walmart, a…


Book cover of This Is How You Lose the Time War

Jett Harriss

From Jett's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Jett loves this book

The writing was just absolutely beautiful.

By Amal El-Mohtar , Max Gladstone ,

Why should I read it?

29 authors picked This Is How You Lose the Time War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

WINNER OF The Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella, the Reddit Stabby Award for Best Novella AND The British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novella

SHORTLISTED FOR
2020 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award
The Ray Bradbury Prize
Kitschies Red Tentacle Award
Kitschies Inky Tentacle
Brave New Words Award

'A fireworks display from two very talented storytellers' Madeline Miller, author of Circe

Co-written by two award-winning writers, This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space.

Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It…


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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 The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Aida Mkuzi

From Aida's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Unknown Author Why Aida loves this book

I loved how raw and real the emotions were, how real the book and it's feelings were

By Stephen Chbosky ,

Why should I read it?

20 authors picked The Perks of Being a Wallflower as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

A modern cult classic, a major motion picture and a timeless bestseller, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply affecting coming-of-age story.

Charlie is not the biggest geek in high school, but he's by no means popular.

Shy, introspective, intelligent beyond his years, caught between trying to live his life and trying to run from it, Charlie is attempting to navigate through the uncharted territory of high school. The world of first dates and mixed tapes, family dramas and new friends. The world of sex, drugs, and music - when all one requires to feel infinite is that…


Book cover of The Martian

Giancarlo Genta Author Of The Red Domes of Acheron

From my list on human Mars exploration.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have been an enthusiast of aviation, space, and science fiction since I was a child. I graduated in aerospace engineering while the Apollo missions reached the Moon, but then in the post-Apollo days, I worked mostly in the mechanical engineering field. In the 1990s, as a professor of machine design, I could return to aerospace. Later, as a member of the International Academy of Astronautics, I led a study group on human Mars exploration and wrote some research books in this field and a few science fiction novels. I have always been fascinated by the idea that humans can become a multi-planetary species, returning to the Moon and going beyond.

Giancarlo's book list on human Mars exploration

Giancarlo Genta Why Giancarlo loves this book

I liked both this book and the movie, even if it has practically just one character. The castaway is so well described that after a few pages, the reader feels like a long-time friend and gets emotionally involved in the story.

I felt like traveling with him across half the planet to reach the Schiaparelli crater, which may mean a possibility of returning home. The other characters who risk their lives to save him also become friends, working with the reader on this common goal.

By Andy Weir ,

Why should I read it?

26 authors picked The Martian as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he won't have time to starve to death. The damaged machinery, unforgiving environment, or plain-old human error are…


Book cover of Dear Rachel Maddow

Wayne Ng Author Of Letters from Johnny

From my list on epistolary books written from the gut.

Why am I passionate about this?

As long as I can remember, I wrote letters. I still have an ongoing stamp to envelope relationship with a bud I met in Australia in the 80s. Sending postcards also became a thing for me, too. As a reader and writer, I love tight, intimate, highly personal narratives where the characters aren’t on paper but in your head. I’ve been a social worker for more than thirty years, so emotional vulnerability is my jam. I gravitate towards quick, easily digestible lengths of many epistolary forms, whether written in a diary, letter, journal, email, text, video, or combinations. The protagonist in my latest novel, Letters From Johnny, writes to legendary Toronto Maple Leafs Captain - Dave Keon - to work out his feelings.

Wayne's book list on epistolary books written from the gut

Wayne Ng Why Wayne loves this book

This is a stellar example of YA pushing boundaries with a simple twist to epistolary devices. The protagonist Brynn, seeks answers and a place to vent through letters to Rachel Maddow. While this starts off as an assignment, the book’s hilarity is immediate, and her vulnerability and voice are quickly established. At times raw and edgy (trigger warnings of family violence and homophobia), Kisner morphs this coming of age story into several directions, not the least of which are a treatise on political representation, class, and diversity. Queer and teens with disabilities will find ample representation and prominence. 

By Adrienne Kisner ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dear Rachel Maddow as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Brynn Harper's life has one steadying force - Rachel Maddow. She watches her daily, and after writing to Rachel for a school project, Brynn drafts emails to Rachel but never sends them. Brynn tells Rachel about breaking up with her first girlfriend, about her brother Nick's death, her passive mother and even worse stepfather, about how she's stuck in remedial courses at school and is considering dropping out.

Then Brynn is confronted with a moral dilemma. One student representative will have a voice among administration in the selection of a school superintendent. Brynn's nemesis John believes only honors students are…


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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 Dear Martin

Wade Hudson Author Of Defiant: Growing Up in the Jim Crow South

From my list on for young readers on growing up Black in the US.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a youngster growing up in the segregated South, I didn’t have access to books about Black history, culture, and experiences. Although I attended all-Black schools, the curriculum and the books in our libraries were mostly selected by an all-White school board. So, I didn’t know that much about the history of my own people. I would not begin to learn that until I attended college. When I married and had children of my own, my wife and I still had problems finding a variety of books for children and young readers for our own children to read. So, we started our own publishing company to address the need for these books.

Wade's book list on for young readers on growing up Black in the US

Wade Hudson Why Wade loves this book

Nic Stones’s first book is a classic. When an altercation between a retired white police officer and his best friend turns violent, Justyce, a Black teenager, is forced to examine what it means to be a Black in America.

Writing letters to the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in a journal that Justyce keeps helps him come to terms with this challenging reality.

By Nic Stone ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Dear Martin as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

'Absolutely incredible, honest, gut-wrenching! A must-read!' Angie Thomas, author of The Hate U Give
' Painfully timely and deeply moving, this is the novel the next generation should be reading' Jodi Picoult
'Justyce's story is earnest, funny, achingly human, and unshakably hopeful. I am forever changed.' Becky Albertalli, author of Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda
'Raw and gripping' Jason Reynolds, author of Long Way Down
'A powerful, wrenching, and compulsively readable story that lays bare the history, and the present, of racism in America' John Green, author of The Fault in our Stars

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Raw, captivating, and undeniably real,…


Book cover of Dayspring
Book cover of R.I.P. Scoot
Book cover of This Is How You Lose the Time War

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