Here are 100 books that Observer fans have personally recommended if you like
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I’ve been told I’m a visionary, but labels are of little significance to me. What I know for sure is that I’m a storyteller of the visionary variety, who has won numerous awards in that genre. Dating back to cave dwellers, myth-tellers, and folk minstrels, visionary authors have been consciously or unconsciously laying paths and building bridges between paradigms for eons. Such bridges are constructed of new language, perilous journeys, and transformative visions. My particular stories connect the path of perceived human limitations to true, unlimited potential. My characters are quirky, endearing, and often funny. They are each of us stumbling through an infinite, low-lying thicket for higher purpose. Until one day, we look up.
Okay, you got me. This is not a book of fiction, although cynics may disagree. It’s a book of quantum possibility based on hard science and evolved visionary theory.
Like all of my stories, Biocentrism places consciousness at the center of its premise, presenting an important new human/world/cosmic view of well, everything. Like its author, Robert Lanza, I believe that consciousness is the essential fabric of mind, soul, and matter. Everything arises from it. Nothing is conceived without it.
The characters in my stories are always guided toward the higher aspects of their awareness in order to create new realities. Waking up to the understanding of a consciousness-centric existence changes not only us, but everything we know. Everything we thought we knew. And most importantly, forms the basis of everything we do from this point forward.
Biocentrism, as well as Lanza’s other books, provide a scientific foundation for what…
Robert Lanza is one of the most respected scientists in the world--a US News & World Report cover story called him a "genius" and a "renegade thinker," even likening him to Einstein. Lanza has teamed with Bob Berman, the most widely read astronomer in the world, to produce Biocentrism, a revolutionary new view of the universe. Every now and then a simple yet radical idea shakes the very foundations of knowledge. The startling discovery that the world was not flat challenged and ultimately changed the way people perceived themselves and their relationship with the world. For most humans of the…
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…
I’ve been a fan of horror—specifically, supernatural horror—for as long as I can remember. Though the topic of life after death is perhaps one of the most long-standing debates in existence, almost every family has a story or two about things that can’t be explained. I’ve turned my lifelong interest in death, the occult, and how the two can coexist, into slow-burn horror stories for people who like a little weird with their fear. Stories that explore the beautiful complexity of queer people. Stories for the strange at heart.
I originally picked up this book because I really like the author. Seanan McGuire never disappoints. Parasite is part one of a series, and is a completely fresh take on what some people might call zombies (although there is a lot of room for speculation there). The characters were compelling, and the plot kept me reading when I should have been doing countless other things. I love everything I’ve ever read by McGuire (alternate pen name Mira Grant), and this book was no different.
From New York Times bestselling author Mira Grant comes a vision of a decade in the future, where humanity thrives in the absence of sickness and disease.
We owe our good health to a humble parasite — a genetically engineered tapeworm developed by the pioneering SymboGen Corporation. When implanted, the Intestinal Bodyguard worm protects us from illness, boosts our immune system — even secretes designer drugs. It's been successful beyond the scientists' wildest dreams. Now, years on, almost every human being has a SymboGen tapeworm living within them.
But these parasites are getting restless. They want their own lives .…
Suspense thrillers were staple “reading food” in my college and young adult days, and my love for them continues. I always craved thrillers that are based on WWII, the Cold War, and secret scientific advances and that offered fresh historical perspectives and dared to challenge popular narratives while delighting the readers with dexterously woven fictional tales. And then, most importantly, it is the feeling the author has conducted genuine, painstaking research bringing out captivating, reasoned nuggets of history that I find most satisfying.
I love thrillers that meld ancient history and modern settings. This book is that rare page-turner wherein an amazing story takes place in Egypt that revolves around the pursuit and plunder of Pharaohs’ treasures buried in the pyramids.
Reading Sphinx, I immensely delighted in how the master storyteller and physician Robin Cook, taking a slight detour from his normal “medical/hospital” based stories, produced a mesmerizing tale that was as gripping as his other works.
New York Times bestselling author mines the mysteries of Egypt’s magnificent past to deliver a one-of-a-kind thriller packed with compelling realism and unrelenting suspense.
Traveling to Egypt is a dream come true for Erica Baron. An Egyptologist, she longs to walk among the temples and monuments of its long-dead civilizations. But when she stumbles upon a clue to a legendary treasure, the most fearful curse of the ancient world and the most savage menace of the modern one threaten to destroy her. It was the magic and mystery of an empire long past that drew Erica to explore, but now,…
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…
I am a pediatric emergency physician turned author, and I am passionate about sharing an insider’s view of the emergency room, as well as addressing larger health issues that should be more visible to the general public. The emergency room is a world unlike any other, filled with humor, drama, emotions, and energy twenty-four hours a day, and I like to bring that energy to my stories. I’ve worked in many different medical settings, and every day, I find a new story that is worth sharing.
I love this book because it features an ordinary radiology resident, Dr. George Wilson, who gets caught up in an international conspiracy. Stories that feature an ordinary person faced with extraordinary circumstances and overcoming them are always going to keep my attention.
This story takes me back to my medical school days and makes me wonder what I would have done if I had been faced with a similar situation. Any Robin Cook story is a winner, but this is my favorite by far.
A doctor's life gets turned upside by a dangerous new technology in this thought-provoking medical thriller from #1 New York Times bestselling author Robin Cook.
George Wilson, M.D., a radiology resident in Los Angeles, is about to enter a profession on the brink of an enormous paradigm shift, foreshadowing a vastly different role for doctors everywhere. The smartphone is poised to take on a new role in medicine, no longer as a mere medical app but rather as a fully customizable personal physician capable of diagnosing and treating even better than the real thing. It is called iDoc.
I’m an award-winning author of three books on near-death experiences across cultures and throughout history. I’ve had a lifelong interest in the ancient world, anthropology, myth, religions – and extraordinary phenomena such as near-death experiences. So it was natural to combine these interests, which I first did while studying Egyptology. While reading the ancient texts describing otherworld journeys after death, I was reminded of NDEs and their counterparts in medieval visionary literature. This sent me on a decades-long “otherworld journey” of my own, earning various degrees, fellowships, and awards. In addition to my other books, I’m now embarking on a second PhD project, on NDEs in Classical antiquity.
This long-lost early book on near-death experiences was written around the same time as Raymond Moody’s classic Life After Life, but totally independent of any knowledge of that more famous work.
Hampe was a German philosopher, and while the book made a huge splash in Germany it’s practically unknown to the English-speaking world, even though an excellent translation was published in the 1970s (finally now reprinted).
Hampe is a deep thinker though has a very engaging style. Knowing that he had his own NDE makes the book poignant and moving to read. What I find most interesting about it is the very different approach he took compared to Moody.
Rather than looking at the phenomenon as a scientific puzzle and focusing on the possibility that NDEs are evidence for an afterlife, Hampe was interested in their metaphysical implications.
"If dying is not oppression, my knowledge that I am going to die will no longer oppress me. Instead of making me feel melancholy it will expand and deepen me."
Simultaneous with Raymond Moody's landmark book Life After Life, Johann Christoph Hampe independently "discovered" near-death experiences in the 1970s. Though both authors explored the phenomenon as possible evidence for life after death, Hampe took a very different approach and produced a profound, thoughtful, meditative exploration of "dying before we die." Hampe wrote To Die is Gain after he himself recovered from temporary clinical death caused by a serious illness and…
I’m an award-winning author of three books on near-death experiences across cultures and throughout history. I’ve had a lifelong interest in the ancient world, anthropology, myth, religions – and extraordinary phenomena such as near-death experiences. So it was natural to combine these interests, which I first did while studying Egyptology. While reading the ancient texts describing otherworld journeys after death, I was reminded of NDEs and their counterparts in medieval visionary literature. This sent me on a decades-long “otherworld journey” of my own, earning various degrees, fellowships, and awards. In addition to my other books, I’m now embarking on a second PhD project, on NDEs in Classical antiquity.
This is the most comprehensive book on Native American afterlife beliefs ever written.
What makes it especially interesting is that the author focuses on myths and legends of afterlife journeys – what he called “Orpheus myths.” He looks at them from many perspectives – historical and cultural – but most importantly experiential.
Writing almost 20 years before the popularization of near-death experiences in the Western world, Hultkrantz identified NDEs as a different type of experience from dreams or shamanic visions – and found that indigenous people did, too.
He also suggested that such experiences contributed to afterlife beliefs – that is, that they weren’t simply culturally created “stories” or hallucinations. Readable and entertaining as well as scholarly, it’s wonderful that this book is back in print after languishing in obscurity for decades!
"Visionaries who have made their way to the realm of the dead and then returned have told of its secrets."
In this scholarly but highly readable book, the famed anthropologist and historian of religions Åke Hultkrantz takes us on an in-depth exploration of Native American afterlife journey myths and shamanism. Anticipating the western "discovery" of near-death experiences by nearly 20 years, Hultkrantz recognized them as phenomena distinct from other extraordinary experiences such as dreams and vision quests. Equally remarkable, Hultkrantz found that Native American afterlife myths were actually influenced by NDEs and shamanic otherworld journeys. Weaving this discovery together with…
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…
Gamelit’s a big focus and passion of mine because it is the genre I didn’t know existed nor that I needed when I got started as a writer. I was always a sci-fi and fantasy guy and the most GameLit thing I experienced prior were anime like Sword Art Online or So I’m a Spider So What. Once I found gems like Dungeon Crawler Carl, Cradle, and others, I was reading everything I could in the genre. Not only that, but I’m writing in the space too, with six books out under my name, another five under a pen name, and many more to come.
Savage Dominion is just plain fun and worth the read. But you know how it’s even better? On audio, narrated by Luke Daniels. Seriously, pick up the audio if you can. Luke’s narration alone is worth every penny.
Here we have a big, dumb nerd who honestly wasn’t hero material but when a wolf shows up to ruin his already bad date, our man sacrifices himself. This doesn’t go unnoticed and he is given the chance to become an eternal, basically a demi-god. Only he ends up being one for the “baddies” according to the solar court.
So Maulkin has to overcome everyone thinking he’s the devil, learn how this new world of his works, and all of that while being more brawns than brains in one of the funniest characters I’ve read in a good long while.
Maulkin didn't know dying would mean a new eternity of dungeon delving, monster slaying, and glory hunting. If he had, he wouldn't have been so worried about kicking the bucket on a date gone even more wrong than usual.
Reborn in the wild world of Amaranth, Maulkin finds himself in a hulking demi-human body with a sword of a size to match. Marked as an Eternal, a fledging immortal of boundless potential, Maulkin soon discovers he's been given a mission by the elder pantheon of this new realm:
Grow stronger. Ascend to godhood. Spread chaos in their name.
I’ve always been interested in the bigger questions of life, spirituality, and the way our minds work, but it wasn’t until I came up close and personal with grief that I really delved into reading more about death and the afterlife. After my husband died, I read just about every book I could find on the topic, especially those that taught me more about the greater mysteries of love, loss, mental illness, and myself.
I read this book as fiction, being that it is written by a psychic, and I’m still not convinced that anyone knows what exists on the other side. As such, I was fascinated by the wonders and possibilities that are put forth and it was extremely encouraging to me during my time of grief.
My young daughters also loved the “book about heaven” and would insist on me reading parts of it to them at bedtime after their dad died.
Renowned psychic, spiritual teacher, and #1 New York Times bestselling author of End of Days Sylvia Browne has changed millions of lives with her unique gifts. Now, she leads readers on an adventure of the spirit: a surprising glimpse into the next world, where their loved ones patiently await them.
Take a journey you will never forget and discover the answer to life’s greatest question:
“What’s on The Other Side?”
In this extraordinary and inspirational book, Sylvia reflects upon her past experiences, hypnosis sessions, and research to tell the truth about The Other Side. She explains the process of leaving…
I grew up with the cartoon Beetlejuice, fascinated by the composed Lydia running around a bright and insane afterlife. Any cheerfully gothic story I would latch on with glee. Perhaps this is why fantasy has always been my favourite genre, and why I cannot help but mix dark and light, and why my first novel naturally took place in the afterlife. I wrote my first book for my brother, because he was as interested as me in all the weird in the world, but unlike me, he had dyslexia and hated reading. He received the story in instalments and to my amazement and pride, he just gobbled them up.
Like all of Neil Gaiman’s works, this comic book is haunting and meaningful. Laced with DC references, philosophy, and nightmares, we lose ourselves in its strange world, or should I say, worlds? We follow Tim, a 13-year-old on the brink of becoming one of the greatest magic wielders of all time. But magic comes at a cost, and perhaps he should know that, or at least that’s what the four unlikely guides of our hero believe. And here starts the trip into magic and its many worlds, including a great meeting with Death herself in the afterlife.
This must be my favourite personification of Death ever, managing to be both fun and kind. This is a great meaty adventure comic that really makes you travel and gives you an experience like no other. Don’t expect childishness here, and don’t put it in the hands of too young an audience as…
What do two dead boys and a normal 13-year-old have in common? The ability to save the world. Charles and Edwin are dead. They re also detectives. Tim Hunter is alive. He could be the world s greatest mage once he masters magic. And that s just the beginning. Readers can now enjoy The Books of Magic #1-32, The Children s Crusade #1-2, Vertigo Gallery: Dreams and Nightmares #1, Vertigo Preview #1, Vertigo Visions - Doctor Occult #1, Who s Who #15, Arcana Annual #1, Mister E #1-4, and The Books of Faerie: Auberon s Tale #1-3 all in one…
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…
As someone who has experienced a lot of loss in my life, I’ve done a good amount of research and exploration into the soulful nature in all of us (the living and the dead) through reading nonfiction (Laura Lynn Jackson, Brian Weiss, Edgar Cayce, Jane Roberts, John Edward and Suzane Northrop among them) and fiction that deals with strong soulful connections. Through my own work as an author, I seek to provide the message love, in any form, transcends life and death. We only have to be open to the possibility to know it and experience it. Nothing is a coincidence and we are all connected. I hope these selections open you to the possibility.
This book, written by psychic medium Laura Lynn Jackson, was gifted to me shortly after the unexpected passing of my sister.
The book validated for me what I already believed: everything happens in the time it’s meant to and everything (and everyone) is connected. Jackson reports story after story about how souls in the afterlife remain connected to their loved ones on earth.
And, for those who are open to the possibility, signs (and messages) are provided when most needed.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A renowned psychic medium teaches us how to recognize and interpret the life-changing messages from loved ones and spirit guides on the Other Side.
“A collection of incredible stories . . . that speak to the universe’s endless capacity for magical moments.”—Goop
Laura Lynne Jackson is a psychic medium and the author of the New York Times bestseller The Light Between Us. She possesses an incredible gift: the ability to communicate with loved ones who have passed, convey messages of love and healing, and impart a greater understanding of our interconnectedness. Though her abilities are…
