Here are 100 books that Our Hospital fans have personally recommended if you like
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I've always been fascinated with how people overcome terrible circumstances ever since my childhood when my parents took me through the Tower of London and told me people survived the horrible torture devices on display. I got into reading biographies of war heroes, concentration camp survivors, and athletes who survived torture, betrayal, illness, and cruelty only to become people I admire. I became a clinical psychologist because I love inspiring others to discover their own greatness during life’s worst moments. I’ve had to learn how to find love, hope, and meaning when trauma, disability, death, and broken promises have ground me down to a bloody pulp.
This book tells the story of a teenage girl with terminal cancer who befriends a hospital chaplain and an elderly woman during her last year of life.
She asks the big questions of life and finds friendship and meaning during existential and physical struggle. You cannot help but fall in love with the characters and share their efforts to find self, meaning, and hope during great struggle.
**LONGLISTED FOR THE AUTHOR'S CLUB FIRST NOVEL AWARD**
'Emotional, involving, witty and sad. Everyone is going to love Lenni and Margot' JILL MANSELL
'Lenni and Margot are two of the most wonderful, warm, witty and wise heroines I've ever met. Beautiful and glorious' CLARE POOLEY, author of The Authenticity Project
Fiercely alive, disarmingly funny and brimming with tenderness, THE ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LENNI AND MARGOT unwraps the extraordinary gift of life, and revels in our infinite capacity for friendship and love when we need them most. _______________________________________
Life is short.
No-one knows that better than seventeen-year-old Lenni. But as…
The Victorian mansion, Evenmere, is the mechanism that runs the universe.
The lamps must be lit, or the stars die. The clocks must be wound, or Time ceases. The Balance between Order and Chaos must be preserved, or Existence crumbles.
Appointed the Steward of Evenmere, Carter Anderson must learn the…
Bad things happen to good people every day, and it seems unfair. I’ve lost friends to cancer, heart disease, and accidents, and I always wonder why it had to be someone who was decent and good and kind. At the same time, other people get away with all sorts of crimes, including murder. I can’t change the way the world works. So, in my own books and the books I like to read, the good guys might have some tough times, but in the end, they win. And the bad guys get what they deserve.
I love quirky characters like Nick Fox, a witty and sexy-as-sin thief and con artist. I lap up the sparks that fly when Kate O’Hare, an attractive, dedicated FBI agent, gets paired up with Fox, the criminal she’s determined to catch.
The stage is set for a dash of romance, which is, of course, taboo, and I’m always wondering how long Kate will hold out. I’ve read this book twice and will probably read it again, just for the fun.
As a leader of mountaineering and field science programs, I learned that Mother Earth knows a thing or two about magic. When I see the magic of nature under attack, I have the same response as when witnessing a helpless person being bullied: I want to join the fight. As a writer, my most powerful weapons are my words. And the best use of my words is in the telling of riveting stories—that both entertain and educate—in defense of the wild.
Abby’s best novel is the primer, the bible, the fountainhead of fiction addressing the destruction of nature for profit. In this case, damming the Colorado River. In fact, “monkeywrenching,” as a verb defining an action in defense of nature, has a much broader current applicability thanks to Abbey’s novel.
'Revolutionary ... An extravagant, finely written tale of ecological sabotage' The New York Times
Audacious, controversial and hilarious, The Monkey Wrench Gang is Edward Abbey's masterpiece - a big, boisterous and unforgettable novel about freedom and commitment that ignited the flames of environmental activism.
Throughout the vast American West, nature is being vicitimized by a Big Government / Big Business conspiracy of bridges, dams and concrete. But a motley gang of individuals has decided that enough is enough. A burnt-out veteran, a mad doctor and a polygamist join forces in a noble cause: to dismantle the machinery of progress through…
The Guardian of the Palace is the first novel in a modern fantasy series set in a New York City where magic is real—but hidden, suppressed, and dangerous when exposed.
When an ancient magic begins to leak into the world, a small group of unlikely allies is forced to act…
From my work as a playwright and breakbeat poet, Artistic Director of Seattle Children’s Theatre, and full-time co-parent, I've dedicated my career to crafting engaging narratives that resonate across generations. With over sixty original plays to my name, I've honed a unique approach that intertwines hip-hop rhythms with rich storytelling. My debut picture book is a testament to this approach—inviting children and parents to discover the boundless creativity that can be found in everyday spaces. It’s my hope that this book inspires families to explore their homes with fresh eyes and open hearts, turning reading into an adventure of imagination.
The rhythm and rhyme are masterfully tight, making it a perfect read-aloud that captures children's attention from start to finish. Jon Agee's words and images marry harmoniously and perfectly, propelling the quirky storyline.
As someone who appreciates the impactful harmony of words and visuals from my theater and hip-hop background, I find this book a delightful example of storytelling that both children and adults can enjoy.
'The Wimbledons were sleeping. It was very, very late, When Wilma heard a spooky sound, Which made her sit up straight. "That's very odd," said Walter. "I don't recognize the tune..." "It's only Stanley," Walter said. "He's howling at the moon."' Whoever heard of a dog who can sing, cook and do DIY around the house? He makes a lot of noise and mess, but he's forgiven as does mend the TV. Not until the very end do we, or the hapless Wimbledon family, see just exactly what Stanley the dog has been planning all along!
On the wall in my office, I have an old newspaper article containing a recipe for Boris Karloff's guacamole. (If you're interested, the title of the article is "Boris Karloff Mad About Mexican Food.") I keep it there because it reminds me of what I love about this genre, in that monsters can contain multitudes. They're not just evil... they can also love guacamole. A good monster novel will have you both cowering in fear and feeling a pang of empathy for the creature, making it a ton of fun to read.
This was a Covid-read for me. We spent some of Covid in Vermont, next to the Northshire Bookstore in Manchester, VT. If you’ve never been, it’s worth going just for this bookstore. Truly incredible.
Anyway, I saw this book in their sci-fi section and read the back copy and was hooked — a foul-mouthed talking crow, a post-apocalyptic wasteland, shambling human zombies. It’s told from the point of view of animals which have survived. There’s also a nice environmental message. It’s weird, odd, funny, insane, and delightful.
A humorous, big-hearted romp through the apocalypse, where even a cowardly crow can become a hero. Perfect for fans of Dawn of the Dead and Isaac Marion's Warm Bodies.
'A thoroughly enjoyable account of the end of the world as we know it. The Secret Life of Pets meets The Walking Dead.' Karen Joy Fowler
'It's transformative, poignant, and funny as hell. S.T. the irrepressible, cursing crow is my new favourite apocalyptic hero.' Helen Macdonald, New York Times bestselling author of H Is for Hawk
S.T. is a domesticated crow. He is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with…
I’ve loved children’s books for as long as I can remember. When I became a Kindergarten teacher, I often used children’s books to springboard lessons and activities with my class. Years later, when I became a mom, I wanted children’s books to be a special part of my children’s lives as well. Reading to my kids before bed became a nighttime ritual we all enjoyed. Another activity we regularly enjoyed was baking. As such, children’s books that have food at the forefront were a natural bridge to kitchen adventures with my children. Here are a few of our favorite books to help spark cooking and baking fun with your kids!
I love this story for getting kids excited to bake cookies!
I read this book to my kids before heading into the kitchen to bake homemade chocolate chip cookies just like the little mouse in the story. Just be sure to have a cold glass of milk on hand to go with the cookies! The kids love to pretend they're little mice while enjoying the cookies and see who can take the teeniest, tiniest bites of their cookies!
This book is also great for: discussing the idea of a full-circle story arc; introducing the idea of pairings; learning about cause/effect; and practicing memory recall with questions such as what happened first in the story, next, etc.
If a hungry little mouse shows up on your doorstep, you might want to give him a cookie. And if you give him a cookie, he'll ask for a glass of milk. He'll want to look in a mirror to make sure he doesn't have a milk mustache, and then he'll ask for a pair of scissors to give himself a trim....
This book is a great first introduction to Mouse, the star of the If You Give... series and a perennial favorite among children. With its spare, rhythmic text and circular tale, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie…
Aury and Scott travel to the Finger Lakes in New York’s wine country to get to the bottom of the mysterious happenings at the Songscape Winery. Disturbed furniture and curious noises are one thing, but when a customer winds up dead, it’s time to dig into the details and see…
When the society, culture, and world we live in become unrecognizable and untenable, the genre of literature that best quells anxiety is satire. As the author of Satire State, I believe laughter is essential to survival and sanity. The tightly woven fabric of a society unravels slowly and then suddenly through a consecutive series of multiple actions by malignant forces. All the while, historical memory is gradually erased, and the new fabric is the only one recognized. Satire is the only way to chronicle the malignancy and force people to think hard. The following five books of satire that address urgent issues made me laugh, cringe, think, and mutter “too real” under my breath.
A daring satire on race, politics, and cultural identity in America that somehow manages to be both outrageous and deeply sobering.
Beatty’s voice is like Richard Pryor meets Zora Neale Hurston—sharp, fearless, acerbic, wickedly funny, and incredibly smart.
Notably, although Beatty is an American writer, his book was published in the UK (likely because America prefers to live in denial about race) and went on to win the Booker Prize in 2016.
'Outrageous, hilarious and profound.' Simon Schama, Financial Times
'The longer you stare at Beatty's pages, the smarter you'll get.' Guardian
'The most badass first 100 pages of an American novel I've read.' New York Times
A biting satire about a young man's isolated upbringing and the race trial that sends him to the Supreme Court, The Sellout showcases a comic genius at the top of his game.
Born in Dickens on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles, the narrator of The Sellout spent his childhood as the subject in his father's racially charged…
I never actually stopped reading children’s literature. Even as a grown-up, I figured out a way to read picture books every day. After earning a master’s degree in education, I found myself back in the library reading to students. I love reading funny books; they are more engaging and more likely to get kids reading and keep them reading. I love humor and think it is perfect in the shorter format of picture books.
I love to read this as the school year is beginning. Children can identify with feeling different on the first day of school.
I love how Penelope (the main character who happens to be a T Rex) is blithely oblivious to the impact she has on the students around her. The tables are turned when she crosses paths with a hungry goldfish.
It's the first day of school for Penelope Rex, and she can't wait to meet her classmates. But it's hard to make human friends when they're so darn delicious! That is, until Penelope gets a taste of her own medicine and finds she may not be at the top of the food chain after all. . . . Readers will gobble up this hilarious new story from award-winning author-illustrator Ryan T. Higgins.
I believe that laughter is the best way into a person’s heart and also into their head. Life is beautiful, but it is also incredibly fragile. Satire and humor are effective ways to raise the level of awareness of destructive behaviors and/or controversial topics that are otherwise difficult or unpleasant to address. I think satire and humor make it easier to hold up a mirror and look critically at our own beliefs and our actions.
I love the fact that this book intertwines humor and satire around subjects of religion, weapons of mass destruction, and human indifference and indolence. I love that it, sadly, also has parallels to the world we currently live in.
Good satire never grows irrelevant, and Cat’s Cradle is as relevant (and funny) today as it was when it was written.
One of America's greatest writers gives us his unique perspective on our fears of nuclear annihilation
Experiment.
Told with deadpan humour and bitter irony, Kurt Vonnegut's cult tale of global destruction preys on our deepest fears of witnessing Armageddon and, worse still, surviving it.
Solution.
Dr Felix Hoenikker, one of the founding fathers of the atomic bomb, has left a deadly legacy to the world. For he is the inventor of ice-nine, a lethal chemical capable of freezing the entire planet. The search for its whereabouts leads to Hoenikker's three eccentric children, to a crazed dictator in the Caribbean, to…
Magical realism meets the magic of Christmas in this mix of Jewish, New Testament, and Santa stories–all reenacted in an urban psychiatric hospital!
On locked ward 5C4, Josh, a patient with many similarities to Jesus, is hospitalized concurrently with Nick, a patient with many similarities to Santa. The two argue…
I am a mom, like any other mom, raising two young boys with big feelings. Those feelings grow and change and adapt as they age, but they are always strong. My experience raising them has inspired me to seek out books about managing those emotions and to write my own series about finding the joy in the chaos of kids’ “big feelings.”
I love the clever rhymes and hilarious antics in the Pig the Pug books, especially this one. This Halloween-themed story is fun to read over and over again. My sons get the biggest kick out of how naughty Pig the Pug behaves when he confronts the unsuspecting grownups who cross him on Halloween night. (My favorite line might be, “It filled him with feelings that had to be vented.”)
Ultimately, the story teaches kids good manners in the cleverest way by showing how monstrous Pig’s own manners are on Halloween night and the consequences of those actions. (Spoiler alert: the ending involves an upset tummy with disastrous results!)
Pig the Pug celebrates Halloween in this picture book from #1 New York Times bestselling author-illustrator Aaron Blabey.
Pig was a pug
and I'm sorry to say,
on Halloween night
he'd get carried away...
Pig, the world's greediest pug, is on the rampage for TREATS! TREATS! TREATS! But don't even think about being stingy with the goodies, because this candy-fueled glutton has some terrible tricks up his sleeve...
Rich with author-illustrator Aaron Blabey's signature rhyming text and unforgettable illustrations, Pig the Monster is a laugh-out-loud story that follows the eight previous books in the series (Pig the Pug, Pig the…
