Here are 100 books that Our Time Is Now fans have personally recommended if you like Our Time Is Now. 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 Girl, Woman, Other

Stefania Barca Author Of Workers of the Earth

From my list on sex-race-class intersections in women’s lives.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a female grown up in a working-class neighborhood in East Naples (Italy), and as an academic researching political ecologies in Italy, Brazil, and the USA, I am especially interested in how sex/gender, class/work, and race/coloniality are intersected in people’s lives, and especially in how this shapes their perceptions and experiences of environmental problems. This approach has led me to look for the connections between labor and the environment both within and beyond waged/industrial work and formal trade unions, including the unpaid housework and subsistence production done in working-class, peasant, Black, and Indigenous communities and the social movements that represent them.

Stefania's book list on sex-race-class intersections in women’s lives

Stefania Barca Why Stefania loves this book

I read this book as a fictional rendition of 'intersectionality' theory, i.e. the idea that Black women's lives are conditioned by different power dynamics operating at once. However, this idea is beautifully interwoven in real-life events and conversations that make the book's characters alive.

I simply loved each one of them and very much enjoyed the plot as a whole. With a simple and direct, but also poetic and captivating language, the author takes you through unforeseen turns in the experience and feelings of these characters, and unexpected connections with one another. 

By Bernardine Evaristo ,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked Girl, Woman, Other as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NATIONAL BESTSELLER
WINNER OF THE BOOKER PRIZE

“A must-read about modern Britain and womanhood . . . An impressive, fierce novel about the lives of black British families, their struggles, pains, laughter, longings and loves . . . Her style is passionate, razor-sharp, brimming with energy and humor. There is never a single moment of dullness in this book and the pace does not allow you to turn away from its momentum.” —Booker Prize Judges

Bernardine Evaristo is the winner of the 2019 Booker Prize and the first black woman to receive this highest literary honor in the English language.…


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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 My Brilliant Friend

Padma Viswanathan Author Of The Charterhouse of Padma

From my list on doubling.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the child of immigrants and grew up imagining a second self—me, if my parents had never left India. Then, when I became a writer, doubles kept showing up in odd ways in my work. In my first play, House of Sacred Cows, I had identical twins played, farcically, by the same actor. My latest novel features two South Asian women: one, slightly wimpy, married to an unsympathetic guy called Mac, and another, in a permanent state of outrage, married to a nice man called Mat. My current project is a novel about mixed-race twins born in India but separated at birth.  

Padma's book list on doubling

Padma Viswanathan Why Padma loves this book

This is actually just the first book of Ferrante’s four Neapolitan novels, which tell a single riveting story of two girls, Lila and Lenù, from a depressed Naples neighborhood. Lenù is the narrator, taking us through fifty years of friendship and the latter half of the 20th century. (Her actual name is Elena, like the author—another doubling, especially since she writes under a pseudonym.)

I am a sucker for event: a lot happens and we get to know a huge cast of characters from the neighborhood. But our anchors are these two friends and rivals, vibrant and injured, striving to transcend their origins.

By Elena Ferrante , Ann Goldstein (translator) ,

Why should I read it?

28 authors picked My Brilliant Friend as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

OVER 5 MILLION COPIES SOLD IN ENGLISH WORLDWIDE

OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD IN THE UK

OVER 14 MILLION COPIES OF THE NEAPOLITAN QUARTET SOLD WORLDWIDE

NOW A MAJOR TV SERIES

GUARDIAN 100 BEST BOOKS OF THE 21st CENTURY

58 WEEKS ON THE BOOKSELLER'S TOP 20 ORIGINAL FICTION BESTSELLERS LIST

SHORTLISTED FOR WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2015

43 INTERNATIONAL RIGHTS DEALS

Now in B-format Paperback

From one of Italy's most acclaimed authors, comes this ravishing and generous-hearted novel about a friendship that lasts a lifetime. The story of Elena and Lila begins in the 1950s in a poor but…


Book cover of The God of Small Things

Stefania Barca Author Of Workers of the Earth

From my list on sex-race-class intersections in women’s lives.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a female grown up in a working-class neighborhood in East Naples (Italy), and as an academic researching political ecologies in Italy, Brazil, and the USA, I am especially interested in how sex/gender, class/work, and race/coloniality are intersected in people’s lives, and especially in how this shapes their perceptions and experiences of environmental problems. This approach has led me to look for the connections between labor and the environment both within and beyond waged/industrial work and formal trade unions, including the unpaid housework and subsistence production done in working-class, peasant, Black, and Indigenous communities and the social movements that represent them.

Stefania's book list on sex-race-class intersections in women’s lives

Stefania Barca Why Stefania loves this book

This is a novel that I have read again over the years, gifted to my loved ones, and recommended to my friends. Set in Kerala (India) between the early 1960s and early 1990s, the book tells the story of the ill-fated love between an upper caste woman and a lower caste man, set against the grain of parallel stories and events involving other members of the two characters' families and village.

What struck me was the profound humanity with which the motivations and worldviews of all characters are depicted and the author's ability to illustrate the chain of suffering that connects them as related to larger social schemes–such as post-colonial relations between the British and the Indian branch of the family.

By Arundhati Roy ,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked The God of Small Things as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'They all broke the rules. They all crossed into forbidden territory. They all tampered with the laws that lay down who should be loved, and how. And how much.'

This is the story of Rahel and Estha, twins growing up among the banana vats and peppercorns of their blind grandmother's factory, and amid scenes of political turbulence in Kerala. Armed only with the innocence of youth, they fashion a childhood in the shade of the wreck that is their family: their lonely, lovely mother, their beloved Uncle Chacko (pickle baron, radical Marxist, bottom-pincher) and their sworn enemy, Baby Kochamma (ex-nun,…


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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 Art of Joy

Stefania Barca Author Of Workers of the Earth

From my list on sex-race-class intersections in women’s lives.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a female grown up in a working-class neighborhood in East Naples (Italy), and as an academic researching political ecologies in Italy, Brazil, and the USA, I am especially interested in how sex/gender, class/work, and race/coloniality are intersected in people’s lives, and especially in how this shapes their perceptions and experiences of environmental problems. This approach has led me to look for the connections between labor and the environment both within and beyond waged/industrial work and formal trade unions, including the unpaid housework and subsistence production done in working-class, peasant, Black, and Indigenous communities and the social movements that represent them.

Stefania's book list on sex-race-class intersections in women’s lives

Stefania Barca Why Stefania loves this book

Censored and despised as lascivious for a long time, only published thirty years after its writing, and ten after the author's death, this is a true masterpiece of feminist writing, embodying a genuine and refreshing rebellion against Italian society and its gender order throughout most of the 20th century. 

Set in Sicily, the story follows the entire life of a woman born in 1900, living through the belle epoque, the fascist era, two world wars, and the post-war republic, until her elder age in the 1970s. Born a proletarian, she challenges all kinds of rules and constraints to become a noblewoman–though exercising nobility in a completely free and unconventional way.

With a simple but elegant writing style, Sapienza took me to unexplored territories again and again until I felt like I was not the person I was before anymore.

By Goliarda Sapienza , Anne Milano Appel (translator) ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Goliarda Sapienza's The Art of Joy was written over a nine year span, from 1967 to 1976. At the time of her death in 1996, Sapienza had published nothing in a decade, having been unable to find a publisher for what was to become her most celebrated work, due to its perceived immorality. One publisher's rejection letter exclaimed: 'It's a pile of iniquity.' The manuscript lay for decades in a chest finally being proclaimed a "forgotten masterpiece" when it was eventually published in 2005.

This epic Sicilian novel, which begins in the year 1900 and follows its main character, Modesta,…


Book cover of Dads Don't Babysit

Han-Son Lee Author Of You’re Going to Be a Dad!

From my list on modern day fatherhood.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m the founder of DaddiLife—the leading online platform that focusses on modern day dads, who are becoming more equalised in their day to day parenting. We’ve covered a range of different areas from early stage post partum and mental health for dads, through to new research projects on dads at work and young fathers. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt over my time as a father myself is that there’s no such thing as perfect parenting, but there are lots of insights that can challenge our fatherly approaches for the better, both at home and at work.

Han-son's book list on modern day fatherhood

Han-Son Lee Why Han-son loves this book

I call this book ‘the big so what of modern day fatherhood’ as it’s the ultimate destination for where modern day dads can go and what we can achieve. 

James and David have crafted a compelling argument not just about how the world sees dads and the language used, but also sets a pathway toward true gender equality by challenging us about how dads can unlock so much more change across pretty much every facet of society, economics, and more.

By David Freed , James Millar ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Dads Don't Babysit as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

By turns informative and irreverent this book takes a new approach to tackling gender inequality in the home and at work, focusing on dads being entitled to a bigger role in parenting. It presents the barriers men face to being active dads - from sexist security guards to Tory MPs and even Homer Simpson - and, crucially, it outlines how to tackle them for the good of men, women and children. In Dads Don't Babysit two dads outline some of the biggest problems facing families that want dad to get his turn at raising the kids, and offer a range…


Book cover of Brain-Based Parenting: The Neuroscience of Caregiving for Healthy Attachment

Darcia Narváez Author Of Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture, and Wisdom

From my list on neuroscientific parenting.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am passionate about raising each human being for lifelong wellbeing and a full set of intelligences. High-income nations don’t do this so much anymore. I conduct empirical studies with children, parents, and other adults to examine how early experience affects capacities for getting along in life and with others. My book has won awards for its holistic view, integrating neuroscience, anthropology, and developmental science. This work led me to start the Evolved Nest website with lots of resources for parents and for all who care about human wellbeing. Humanity is facing many challenges and we need everyone’s gifts to be well grown to help us solve the problems we face.

Darcia's book list on neuroscientific parenting

Darcia Narváez Why Darcia loves this book

My students love this book. It takes the inside perspective of both the parent and the child in stressful situations and guides the reader on how to act in a way that builds connection and relationship. It is easy to read with lots of real-life examples.

By Daniel A. Hughes , Jonathan Baylin ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Brain-Based Parenting as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this groundbreaking exploration of the brain mechanisms behind healthy caregiving, attachment specialist Daniel A. Hughes and veteran clinical psychologist Jonathan Baylin guide readers through the intricate web of neuronal processes, hormones and chemicals that drive-and sometimes thwart-our caregiving impulses, uncovering the mysteries of the parental brain.

The biggest challenge to parents, Hughes and Baylin explain, is learning how to regulate emotions that arise-feeling them deeply and honestly while staying grounded and aware enough to preserve the parent-child relationship. Stress, which can lead to "blocked" or dysfunctional care, can impede our brain's inherent caregiving processes and negatively impact our ability…


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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 Diapers to Dorms: Raising Kids You Actually Like, Who Others Like, and Who Like Themselves

Dawn Thomas-Cameron Author Of The Path to Perfection: Parenting without a roadmap: tales from a (non) perfect parent

From my list on honest, real life, emotion evoking parents.

Why am I passionate about this?

I started this book in 2007. It was a compilation of stories from my experience as a parent; there was no structure to it at all. When my second husband passed in 2017, an ad appeared in Facebook for Author Academy Elite (AAE). I knew it was my late husband giving me that one final push to get the book done. As a (non) perfect parent of three children, I felt my experience could benefit others as I am continuing my journey along my Path to Perfection. As a person who has struggled with depression for her entire life, I can honestly say that parenting is hard. We are all doing the best we can with what we have. And that’s why I think you’ll enjoy these books!

Dawn's book list on honest, real life, emotion evoking parents

Dawn Thomas-Cameron Why Dawn loves this book

This unique book is from a father's perspective, which you don't see very much these days. The lessons in this book are told through humorous stories, which we can all relate to. It tackles topics like building your confidence as a parent, recognizing the fact your children are different and identifying what’s important during each stage of a child’s life. The book is more of a “how-to” manual. It is rooted in Christianity.

By Randy Pardue ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

YOU NEED A PLAN BECAUSE THERE ARE NO DO-OVERS IN PARENTING!Let’s be honest, raising kids is hard. At any given stage of parenting, we find ourselves frustrated at not being confident about what we should be doing. We wonder if we are too hard or too soft on our toddler. We’re not sure we are teaching our grade schoolers everything they need to succeed, and we feel like we’re losing control of our high schooler. We ask ourselves questions like, “Am I good enough?” “Am I doing the right things?” “Do my kids love me?”We all intend to raise good…


Book cover of The Enchanted Hour: The Miraculous Power of Reading Aloud in the Age of Distraction

Rebecca Rolland Author Of The Art of Talking with Children: The Simple Keys to Nurturing Kindness, Creativity, and Confidence in Kids

From my list on having great conversations with kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a speech pathologist, as well as a fiction writer and poet, I’ve been fascinated by language ever since I learned how to speak. Once I had kids, I was amazed to listen in on their conversations, which often surprised me in all the ways they were discovering and thinking about the world. I began researching how the adults in their lives could best help them express themselves—and how we can best understand them. Along the way, I realized that having these sorts of conversations can enhance our family lives and let us have more fun. I hope this list starts up some great conversations for you!

Rebecca's book list on having great conversations with kids

Rebecca Rolland Why Rebecca loves this book

This book, a nonfiction book for adults, is a kind of ode to the read-aloud. But it’s not the typical parenting book. Filled with case studies, book recommendations, and poetic language, Gurdon shows how those read-alouds are far more impactful than you might think, in bringing you closer as a family. It’s so easy to think “reading time” for school-aged kids needs to mean them reading alone or to you, but in fact, kids of all ages, and even adults, benefit from being read aloud to. With my ten-year-old daughter, we’ve had fun taking turns reading to each other or to her brother. She’s often proud of how her reading skills help put him to sleep!

By Meghan Cox Gurdon ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

'As soon as I began to read, I was filled with that kind of engrossed blossoming that happens somewhere inside of you when you start a really nourishing book.' - Pandora Sykes

A conversation-changing look at the social, familial, neurological, and psychological benefits of reading aloud, especially for parents and children.

A miraculous alchemy occurs when one person reads to another, transforming the simple stuff of a book, a voice, and a bit of time into complex and powerful fuel for the heart, brain, and imagination.

Grounded in the latest neuroscience and behavioural research, and drawing widely from literature, The…


Book cover of Oh Crap! Potty Training

Kara Michelle Liu Author Of When You Were in My Belly

From my list on to give at a baby shower.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a mom who always dreamed of becoming a writer, but was too scared to try until I met my baby. The overwhelming urge to express my love for her in what I have always considered the most sacred way, through writing, became too much to contain. I wanted to create a meaningful experience not only for my child, but for all children; one where they could be nestled in their parents’ arms, engaged in the most significant pastime, and where they could understand for the first time how much they were loved from the very beginning.

Kara's book list on to give at a baby shower

Kara Michelle Liu Why Kara loves this book

I know, I know  – potty training might seem a long time off, but before your expecting friend knows it, the need to begin potty training will be upon them, and trust me it is not for the faint of heart. What better way to face potty training than to laugh through each chapter of this hilarious, brilliant book? With the six-step process shared in the book, we were easily able to get our daughter ready for daycare in plenty of time. So tell your friend to set it aside and believe me they will thank you later.

By Jamie Glowacki ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Oh Crap! Potty Training as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"Straight up, parent tested, and funny to boot, Jamie gives you all the information you need." -Amber Dusick, author of Parenting: Illustrated with Crappy Pictures

A proven six-step plan to help you toilet train your preschooler quickly and successfully, from potty-training expert, Pied Piper of Poop, and social worker Jamie Glowacki.

Worried about potty training? Let Jamie Glowacki, potty-training expert, show you how it's done. Her 6-step, proven process to get your toddler out of diapers and onto the toilet has already worked for tens of thousands of kids and their parents. Here's the good news: your child is probably…


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Book cover of Old Man Country

Old Man Country by Thomas R. Cole,

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…

Book cover of Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting: Five Strategies That End the Daily Battles and Get Kids to Listen the First Time

Andrew G. Marshall Author Of I Love You, But I'm Not in Love with You: Seven Steps to Putting the Passion Back Into Your Relationship

From my list on raising emotionally rounded children.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a marital therapist with thirty-five years of experience helping couples fall back in love and deal with the fall out from infidelity. I trained with RELATE – the UK’s largest couple counselling charity – and have a private practice in Berlin and lead a team of therapists based in the UK. I have heard over a thousand couples argue – more often than not – about their children. So I am always looking for books that will give a wider perspective and practical advice on how to be a parent without exhausting your marriage and forgetting to still be lovers.

Andrew's book list on raising emotionally rounded children

Andrew G. Marshall Why Andrew loves this book

How do you get your children out of the door without stressing out them, yourself, and everybody else in the house. This book is full of strategies like not having to ask twice, preparing for success, starting new rules, and the joys of descriptive praise. I find that if parents argue better and communicate more effectively with each other that has a knock-on effect on the children but it works equally well the other way round. If you can communicate more calmly with your children, you can use the skills with your partner too.

By Noel Janis-Norton ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLING GUIDE TO THE 5 MUST-KNOW PARENTING STRATEGIES

Tired of nagging, pleading, negotiating, or yelling just to get your kids to do the simple things you ask? You don't need to be a Tiger Mom or a Helicopter Parent. There is a better way.

Calmer, Easier, Happier Parenting brings the joy back into family life and helps parents to raise confident, responsible adults.

Based on her forty-plus years of experience, behavioral specialist Noel Janis-Norton outlines a clear, step-by-step plan that will help any parent raise a child to be cooperative and considerate, confident and self-reliant. Transform your family…


Book cover of Girl, Woman, Other
Book cover of My Brilliant Friend
Book cover of The God of Small Things

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5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in parenting, gender roles, and caregiver?

Parenting 410 books
Gender Roles 128 books
Caregiver 52 books