Books like Markings — picked by fans

While I hunted for spiritual wisdom, I also read great fiction, and sometimes, the two came together in one work of art. The protagonist of this book, whose title derives from the Upanishads, is Larry Darrell, an upper-crust young man slated for the perfect marriage and career. But WWI left him with PTSD and higher priorities.

His search for truth and meaning eventually takes him to an Indian ashram and transformation in the Himalayas. He returns to New York but resists the pull of privilege. He’ll drive a cab to pay the bills and frequent the libraries. I grew up the opposite of privileged, but Larry was nevertheless a role model. I wanted what he wanted; I was even a New York cabbie for a year. 

This book supported me when I was questioning who I was without my past mistakes.

I remember feeling uncertain, and Warren’s focus on God’s purposes gave me guidance when I needed it most. I love how practical it is—it does not just motivate, it directs.

For me, it shifted the question from “How do I fix my failures?” to “How do I live faithfully today?” That reframing was liberating.

I love this book because it trains my eye for the quiet, clever warfare that happens in ordinary thoughts.

Lewis makes temptation feel practical—a thousand tiny nudges toward distraction, resentment, self-importance, and spiritual sleep. It’s also a masterclass in how language can be used as a weapon: the enemy twists words until the soul can’t tell truth from tone.

When I’m writing about men trying to reclaim a new identity, Lewis reminds me that the battle often turns on what you believe about yourself when nobody’s watching.

The book is easy to read and features Mother Teresa’s thoughts and words along with the thoughts of the members of Missionaries of Charity, the order established by Mother Teresa in India. Mother Teresa’s life philosophy and purpose were simple, yet powerful - loving and serving each other. It is amazing to see how a simple life lived with purpose can perform great deeds in the world and become a source of inspiration to all.

It seems odd to add a novel, written in 1952, to non-fiction books delving into hot-button topics...

Better than any current book I know, East of Eden is a classic of human relationships, bringing us back to the greatest mystery of all—why human behavior is so unpredictable. Purported to be a retelling of the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, it is much more than that, in its exploration of good and evil, genetic inheritance, contextual influences, ethnic traits, human needs, and innate capacities, all elements touched on in the other four books.

In the end, Steinbeck implies that deep questions can never be predictable because they depend on the Hebrew concept “timshel," ("thou mayest"), the essential question of the day, the power of choice.

This book gets inside the mind of a 12-year-old as she tries to figure out where she belongs within the family structure. She believes that if she can only go off on the honeymoon with her brother and his new wife everything will then fit. Obviously, that is not going to be the resolution.

This book took me back to the age of 12, and I realized what thinkers 12-year-olds can be and that this is an age of starting to find our identity, to find the authentic Me. There is a curiosity, tenacity, and energy that goes into this kind of search.

In this book, a young Hasidic Jew and artist faces the conflict between his orthodoxy and his desire to explore what lies outside his orthodoxy, such as the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. He is pulled in two directions—by his parents' idea of his identity and by searching for the truth about the human condition through his art.

I read this many years ago, in my 30s, and was heartbroken by how the main character has so much integrity to keep searching and finding in spite of so many forces trying to label him and forbid him from certain explorations. I, too, was searching for my place in those years of creating a career, and it deepened the authenticity of my search. 

I visited the Anne Frank House.

I climbed the stairs to the annex. I passed by the bookcase that had hidden the family for just over 2 years. I sat on the beds, I stared at the pictures, I peered through the small window, but try as I could, I was unable to imagine the excruciating array of emotions that Anne and her family and friends must have experienced. 

In all my favourite, should this be a suitable descriptor, books about the Holocaust, I am drawn to stories of hope and optimism against the odds, and of the harsh realities of the lengths we can, must, and will go to, to both protect those we love and/or to try to secure our own survival.

For me, there is no better account of these characteristics than Anne Frank’s descriptions of life in the attic at Prinsengracht 263-267, 1016 GV Amsterdam. Rather… show more.

Perhaps the best explanation and defence of the contemporary concept of human rights. Nickel addresses theoretical problems of justifying human rights, practical problems of implementing them, and dilemmas to which they give rise. It is written with unusual clarity. On the one hand, as a philosopher he does not take for granted that human rights make sense or that all uses of the idea deserve our support. On the other hand, he does not engage in debunking the idea that has been fashionable on both the political left and right. This is a most thoughtful and balanced account and is highly recommendable to those seeking a readable introduction to the philosophy of human rights.

I particularly liked his `lawnmower theory of human rights'. One of the challenges to human rights theory is why we should think of human rights as `universal’ – as the UN and international human rights law… show more.

This book grabbed me with the horrific opening scene and made me think about how this planet is moving into a climate-threatening situation.

I loved the way Robinson made me feel what it was like to live in a heat-ravaged world. I liked the main character, the head of the Ministry for the Future, because she was believable. She was smart, compassionate, and politically savvy, the kind of person you could trust in this position.

I like that the climate threat is the canvas upon which the characters need to react. For me, it is very relevant to our current situation.