Books like The Mount — picked by fans

Part graphic novel, part brain teaser, The Lying Carpet is about a statue of a little girl that awakens in a grand, strange house. Her name is Faith and she wishes to know how she came to be, and the only one who can tell her is a lying carpet in the shape of a tiger who offers her numerous and confounding possibilities. A great introduction to philosophy and a story for readers of all ages, a book to be opened again and again and again. A timeless classic.

My son’s a young adult now, but I treasure the memories of the hours we spent reading together. We went down all the well-trodden paths and shared countless joyful hours with J.K. Rowling and Dav Pilkey and The Mysterious Benedict Society, but the creativity of this book is exceeded only by its humor. Also, it clocks in at around 700 pages, so it’ll entertain you and your children for a good while. I always enjoy a laugh as a reader, and if my work elicits a chuckle from you, then I feel my mission is complete.

This was the first fantasy recommendation I ever got from my dad. He saw me taking an interest in stories with castles, knights, wizards, and kings and knew just the book from his favorite author to put in my hands.

I hadn’t had any experience with Stephen King before this, and I found that his prose was friendly and familiar to me; the story itself is good, a solid entry into the genre, and I found the intrigues of the villain to be the most interesting part of the story. It turns out that the King (ha) of horror can write a fine fantasy story, too.

With the subtitle Solve The World's Most Challenging Puzzle, how could one resist a dive into this fantastic world? Each page number represents a different room in a strange mansion with clues and riddles littered throughout. At less than 100 pages, one might think it’s quite simple, when in fact there are people still lost within the maze, unable to escape - very few have managed to find their way to the center and out again without looking up the correct path. Good fantasy is always immersive, but rarely like this.

Barry Cunliffe is a celebrated British archaeologist who specializes in both Europe’s and Britain’s origins.

Admittedly, Barry gets into the weeds a bit which can be challenging for those just looking for an introduction, but what he does better than most is connect the dots that bind Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North Africa together.

Most histories of Europe pretend that Europe is an island, separate from Asia and everything else, as if it developed in a vacuum – but Barry reminds us that Charlemagne and Columbus are only part of the full European story.

Barry is a great place to start to understand the Eastern European, Asian, and Middle Eastern side of your British or Irish heritage – and yes, they are connected in some very direct ways.  

This book introduced me to the concept of joy spotting and changed the way I see the world. Well-researched and hugely engaging, I was fascinated to discover why I’m consistently drawn to certain color combinations, patterns, and environments. Full of ‘aha’ moments, I loved connecting the dots (in my case, multi-colored) and clarifying what and where truly brings me joy.

Few books have impacted my life and creativity so much and on such an ongoing basis. But since reading this book, I’ve embraced my love of color throughout my home, garden, and wardrobe and embedded the concept of joy spotting at the heart of my work. I highly recommend it! 

Becoming Animal changed the way I look at my habitat. I hope it does the same for you. In his philosophical musings, David Abram contemplates why nature is something we look at, not something we are. He suggests our calloused coldness and ordered separation from other species allows us to subdue the wild-ness, but it comes with a numbing feeling of solitude. I too believe our disconnect with natural systems fuels many human ailments (physical and psychological). I love Abram’s suggestion that we change the spelling of Earth to Eairth to acknowledge that we, and the air we breathe, are part of this planet, not separate from it. 

I loved this book because it’s hugely informative and completely inspiring.

It charts the way in which nature restores the author after he has slid into a period of severe depression, one where the entire foundation of his existence—a unique bond with the natural environment, established in childhood—suddenly seems pointless and irrelevant. He moves to East Anglia and, with the support of friends, slowly recovers a sense of meaning as he starts to write again about the changing seasons. 

There is a wonderful eloquence to the way that he describes his regeneration. Nature is never a question of dry facts, it is a living, sensual experience that elevates the human soul. You also feel you’re in the presence of a very special observer, one who really understands the ancient rhythms of the universe in a way that few do.

The book is an educational experience that also manages to be… show more.

E. O. Wilson, who recently died, has been a preeminent biologist for decades and this book is a gift for anyone who wants to truly understand the basis of modern biology.

I have tried for years to convince people to read Charles Darwin’s books, but I’ve had little or no success. Dr. Wilson has probably introduced more people to Darwin than anyone, except possibly Richard Dawkins.

This is a large book because it contains most of Darwin’s works, but Wilson’s arrangement and commentary make it a great read for anyone who wants to understand where we came from and how we got here.  

I read this book in college and it helped change my life, showing me the glories of science in a historical perspective. 

Beautifully illustrated and written, the book inspired me to appreciate the history of marvelous discoveries—from tools, fire, agriculture, metal, numbers, mathematics, writing and printing to astronomy, biology, and electronics—that advanced humans, making us the preeminent species on earth.