Here are 74 books that The Nurse fans have personally recommended if you like The Nurse. Book DNA is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Cabal

David Schembri Author Of Beneath the Ferny Tree

From my list on horror fiction providing the most fun being scared.

Why am I passionate about this?

I wasn’t a fan of reading when I was young. I was a lazy reader. Subjects and genres were always chosen for me during education, until I hunted for my own. I used to write a lot more than reading in early high school. I wrote a horror journal, submitted to my English teacher every week. He told me that my writing was good but advised me that reading the genre could help develop my ideas. Funny, a young teenager couldn’t work that out? So, off I went to the local bookstore and bought my first horror novel. I devoured it within a week. I've been a reader and writer of horror ever since.

David's book list on horror fiction providing the most fun being scared

David Schembri Why David loves this book

A book I’d wanted to read for a long time, but it wasn’t until later in life I was able to get it. When I was just on the early stages of my writing career, my now longtime friend, Marty, said he had a spare copy of Cabal laying around and offered to send it to me. Marty was my writing mentor at the time as he’d been writing horror for many years previous, and his work is inspiring. So, knowing I was getting a book in the mail from my mentor, to whom I hadn’t met in person yet, was very exciting. The book itself was a tired secondhand copy (which I was told it was) yet this gave it more special meaning. Even the cover was a little torn and it was a pocket edition. So, I sat back with this little book, which I still have as…

By Clive Barker ,

Why should I read it?

3 authors picked Cabal as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A fabulous journey through the mind of the master of dark imaginative fiction, Clive Barker.

The nightmare had begun....

Boone knew that there was no place on this earth for him now; no happiness here, not even with Lori. He would let Hell claim him, let Death take him there.

But Death itself seemed to shrink from Boone. No wonder, if he had indeed been the monster who had shattered, violated and shredded so many others' lives.

And Decker had shown him the proof - the hellish photographs where the last victims were forever stilled, splayed in the last obscene…


If you love The Nurse...

Book cover of December on 5C4

December on 5C4 by Adam Strassberg,

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…

Book cover of Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales

J Igarashi Author Of Wilde World

From my list on children’s books with magical realms, that let you bring back treasure.

Why am I passionate about this?

My favorite books as a child were the ones where kids went off on wild, impossible adventures alone, figuring things out, learning important lessons, and finding they were more capable than they thought. Wisdom, truth, insight, inspiration… those are the treasures found in these fantastical places. I’ve written (and told) stories all my life, but it wasn’t until I was in my fifties that my goal of publishing a book was realized. And now I have four more coming out (Lord willing!) within the next year and a half. It’s never too late. Unless you’re dead, then you blew it. So don’t stop trying, whatever your goals are.

J's book list on children’s books with magical realms, that let you bring back treasure

J Igarashi Why J loves this book

Not the new, watered-down versions, mind you. The original, dark ones that you read now and think, “Who in their right mind would let a kid read this?”

These stories were insane, and I couldn’t get enough of them. And the thing about these stories is that they’re real. There are monsters living among us (we read about them in the news). There’s a reason to be cautious and aware of our surroundings. Life isn’t all sunshine and lollipops, and I think it’s not a bad idea to let kids know that bad things happen, but that children can be stronger than they think. After all, Hansel and Gretel sent the witch into the oven instead of themselves.  

By Jacob Grimm , Wilhelm Grimm ,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Brothers Grimm: The Complete Fairy Tales is a collection of more than 200 tales by Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm.

FREE AUDIOBOOKS INCLUDED.

The Brothers Grimm, Jacob Ludwig Karl Grimm (1785–1863) and Wilhelm Carl Grimm (1786–1859), were Hessian academics, philologists, cultural researchers, lexicographers and authors who together collected and published folklore during the 19th century. They were among the first and best-known collectors of German and European folk tales.

Among the most popular tales: "Cinderella" ("Aschenputtel"), "The Frog Prince" ("Der Froschkönig"), "The Goose-Girl" ("Die Gänsemagd"), "Hansel and Gretel" ("Hänsel und Gretel"), "Rapunzel", "Little Red Riding Hood" ("Rotkäppchen"), "The Wolf and…


Book cover of Just After Sunset

Harmony Stalter Author Of Big Book of Shorts

From my list on things that go bump in the night.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been fascinated with the macabre and things that go bump in the night. My parents took me to see my first horror movie when I was a month old. It was the 1974 version of It’s Alive. I have been a horror lover ever since. I read my first Stephen King novel, Pet Semetary, at age nine. Then I moved on to Salem’s Lot and The Shining, devouring all three books before I was ten. I have had experiences of things moving in my bedroom when I am the only one there. I believe in the things that go bump in the night. 

Harmony's book list on things that go bump in the night

Harmony Stalter Why Harmony loves this book

We all know King is the master of horror. Most of his books are novels of one story but I love his short stories. They are fast-paced and leave you wondering what lurks around the corner. King talks about struggling as a writer and barely making it in the beginning. He sold his stories to men’s magazines to make ends meet when he was first starting out. It gives hope to us who feel like we will never make it. 

By Stephen King ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Just After Sunset as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'A gripping and satisfyingly scary' (Sunday Telegraph) bumper collection of RIVETING, DARK STORIES from the No. 1 bestselling master of the form, now with a stunning new cover look.

Just after sunset, as darkness grips the imagination, is the time when you feel the unexpected creep into the every day. As familiar journeys take a different turn, ordinary objects assume extraordinary powers.

A blind intruder visits a dying man - and saves his life, with a kiss.

A woman receives a phone call from her husband. Her late husband.

In the emotional aftermath of her baby's sudden death, Emily starts…


If you love Amy Cross...

Book cover of Everyday Medical Miracles: True Stories from the Frontlines in Women’s Health Care

Everyday Medical Miracles by Joseph S. Sanfilippo (editor),

Frontiers of Women from the healthcare perspective. A compilation of 60 true short stories written by an extensive array of healthcare providers, physicians, and advanced practice providers.

All designed to give you, the reader, a glimpse into the day-to-day activities of all of us who provide your health care. Come…

Book cover of The Essential Edgar Allan Poe Collection: His Best-Loved Tales and His Complete Poems

Harmony Stalter Author Of Big Book of Shorts

From my list on things that go bump in the night.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been fascinated with the macabre and things that go bump in the night. My parents took me to see my first horror movie when I was a month old. It was the 1974 version of It’s Alive. I have been a horror lover ever since. I read my first Stephen King novel, Pet Semetary, at age nine. Then I moved on to Salem’s Lot and The Shining, devouring all three books before I was ten. I have had experiences of things moving in my bedroom when I am the only one there. I believe in the things that go bump in the night. 

Harmony's book list on things that go bump in the night

Harmony Stalter Why Harmony loves this book

This book has all of his tales and poems in it. Even his poems get your heart racing and reference things that go bump in the night. Never read it before bed, you will be listening for every little sound, wondering just what may be coming to visit you in the dark.

By Edgar Allan Poe ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Essential Edgar Allan Poe Collection as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Masterful Genius Work Historical Spooky

From Edgar Allan Poe - "Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night."

The Essential Edgar Allan Poe Collection Contains 76 Poems Written by Poe from 1824 - 1849, as well as 23 of his most Popular and Well-Loved Stories and Tales.

Tales In This Collection Includes:

Morella The Devil in the Belfry The Fall of the House of Usher The Murders in the Rue Morgue The Masque of the Red Death The Pit and the Pendulum The Black Cat The Tell-Tale Heart The Purloined…


Book cover of The Nurse

Annie Payne Author Of The Doctor

From my list on medical thrillers featuring doctors and nurses behaving very, very badly.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have always been fascinated by medicine and the people who are there to care for us when needed. I have worked as a nurse and midwife, and the thought that someone, anyone, could actively harm those in their care is horrific. But it happens. At first, I read medical thrillers as I would have read any murder mystery, but now, post-Shipman et al., I also want to know why they kill. I think that these books give us some ideas about this, but we can still never really know what goes on in the mind of a murderous doctor or nurse, and that’s what makes these books so thrilling. 

Annie's book list on medical thrillers featuring doctors and nurses behaving very, very badly

Annie Payne Why Annie loves this book

This book is different because the protagonist actually starts her murderous spree before she is a nurse and throughout the story, there are always good reasons for the crimes she commits, which helps you develop an understanding and even relate to her problems, if not her methods of dealing with them. Becoming a nurse just enables her sociopathic and psychopathic tendencies, which is very worrying.

The author is not from a medical background, but the nursing side is well-researched, even if I have a few questions about the authenticity of the medical aspects (like the actions of the drugs used.)

There are lots of twists and turns in this cat-and-mouse story as Lissa learns more about herself and the people she works alongside, which makes it a real page-turner.

By Valerie Keogh ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The NUMBER ONE bestselling psychological thriller from Valerie Keogh!

'Keogh is the queen of compelling narratives and twisty plots' Jenny O'Brien

'A wonderful book, I can't rate this one highly enough. If only there were ten stars, it's that good. Valerie Keogh is a master story-teller, and this is a masterful performance.' Bestselling author Anita Waller

Do No Harm...

Bullied, overlooked and under-appreciated, Lissa McColl learns at an early age to do very bad things.

As a nurse, she is respected and valued for the first time in her life. But Lissa hates her job and the selfish, rude and…


Book cover of The Odyssey

Lance Lee Author Of Orpheus Rising: By Sam And His Father John With Some Help From A Very Wise Elephant Who Likes To Dance

From my list on YA/middle grade fantasy and their parents.

Why am I passionate about this?

I don't write within received categories: our lives aren't lived in categories, but are full of varying realities, whether of home, childhood, marriage, parenthood, fantasy, dream, work, or relaxation, and more all mixed together. I can't write in any other way, however dominant a particular strand or age may be on the surface in a given work. Orpheus Rising may have a child hero, and a fantastic, elegant Edwardian Elephant as a spirit guide, but it let me tell a story of love lost and regained, of family broken and remade, of a father in despair and remade, themes of real importance in any life.

Lance's book list on YA/middle grade fantasy and their parents

Lance Lee Why Lance loves this book

This is my favorite novel in Rieu's prose translation which has a real freshness, as if the very first book. I wanted that sense of freshness for my book, as well as the story of a man desperately trying to get home to his wife. The story takes place in the framework of Sam's 11-year-old imagination, and so carries him and his father through fantastic adventures as trying as those Odysseus faces in The Odyssey. 

By Homer , E. V. Rieu (translator) , D. C. H. Rieu (editor)

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

'The Odyssey is a poem of extraordinary pleasures: it is a salt-caked, storm-tossed, wine-dark treasury of tales, of many twists and turns, like life itself' Guardian

The epic tale of Odysseus and his ten-year journey home after the Trojan War forms one of the earliest and greatest works of Western literature. Confronted by natural and supernatural threats - ship-wrecks, battles, monsters and the implacable enmity of the sea-god Poseidon - Odysseus must use his bravery and cunning to reach his homeland and overcome the obstacles that, even there, await him. E. V. Rieu's translation of The Odyssey was the very…


If you love The Nurse...

Book cover of Girl in the Ashes

Girl in the Ashes by Douglas Weissman,

Odette Lefebvre is a serial killer stalking the shadows of Nazi-occupied Paris and must confront both the evils of those she murders and the darkness of her own past.

This young woman's childhood trauma shapes her complex journey through World War II France, where she walks a razor's edge…

Book cover of The Odyssey of Homer

John Marincola Author Of The Histories

From my list on for appreciating Herodotus.

Why am I passionate about this?

For as long as I can remember, I have been deeply interested in how people understand and use the past. Whether it is a patient reciting a personal account of his or her past to a therapist or a scholar writing a history in many volumes, I find that I am consistently fascinated by the importance and different meanings we assign to what has gone before us. What I love about Herodotus is that he reveals something new in each reading. He has a profound humanity that he brings to the genre that he pretty much invented. And to top it all off, he is a great storyteller! 

John's book list on for appreciating Herodotus

John Marincola Why John loves this book

For fantasy, adventure, and humanity, I find no book like Homer’s Odyssey. Some prefer the Iliad, but for me, the Odyssey has greater depth, resonance, and experience of life. Most of us know about Odysseus’ wonderful adventures, but the whole second half of the epic is about his attempts to get home and, once home, to reintegrate himself into his family and society, from which he has been absent for twenty years.

I love the way the epic relates stories but also makes you think about what stories mean, why people tell them, and how to tell false ones from true. There are many fine translations of the Odyssey, including Emily Wilson’s recent one; my favorite, however, though a bit dated, remains that of Lattimore.

By Homer , Richmond Lattimore (translator) ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

This is Homer's epic chronicle of the Greek hero Odysseus' triumph over Troy and arduous journey home: Odysseus survives a storm and shipwreck, the cave of the Cyclops and the isle of Circe, the lure of the Sirens' song and a trip to the Underworld, only to find his most difficult challenge at home, where treacherous suitors seek to steal his kingdom and his loyal wife, Penelope.


Book cover of The Odyssey

Jonathan S. Burgess Author Of The Travels of Odysseus

From my list on modern books that retell the story of Odysseus, the traveling hero.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an American citizen who taught Classical Studies at the University of Toronto, Canada. I have taught Homer (in translation and in Greek), ancient myth, and “reception” of ancient myth. All the books that I discuss below I have taught many times in a first-year seminar about creative “reception” of the Odyssey. Other topics include comparable stories (like The Tempest by Shakespeare) and other great works of reception (like Derek Walcott’s stage version of the Odyssey and his epic poem "Omeros"). Every time I’ve taught the class, I’ve learned the most from free-wheeling discussions with students.

Jonathan's book list on modern books that retell the story of Odysseus, the traveling hero

Jonathan S. Burgess Why Jonathan loves this book

Though I love to read Homer’s Odyssey in the original Greek, I also appreciate translations that allow particular themes to emerge in new ways.

All translations of the ancient epic are necessarily inventive recreations of the ancient Greek Homeric story, and I like the way this translation employs a quick-paced poetic meter and updates the tale to suit modern sensibilities on uncomfortable aspects of the Odyssey (e.g., misogyny, slavery).

The introduction also provides an authoritative explanation of the Homeric Odyssey.

By Homer , Emily Wilson (translator) ,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked The Odyssey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The first great adventure story in the Western canon, The Odyssey is a poem about violence and the aftermath of war; about wealth, poverty and power; about marriage, family and identity; and about travellers, hospitality and the changing meanings of home in a strange world.

This vivid new translation-the first by a woman-matches the number of lines in the Greek original, striding at Homer's sprightly pace. Emily Wilson employs elemental, resonant language and an iambic pentameter to produce a translation with an enchanting "rhythm and rumble" that avoids proclaiming its own grandeur. An engrossing tale told in a compelling new…


Book cover of The Iliad of Homer

Steve P. Kershaw Author Of The Search for Atlantis: A History of Plato's Ideal State

From my list on Ancient Greece by Ancient Greeks.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was introduced to the fascinating world of the Ancient Greeks by an inspirational teacher at my Primary School when I was about 10 years old—he read us tales of gods and monsters and heroes and heroism, and I was entranced. My grandpa bought me a copy of The Iliad. I read it with my torch under the bedclothes and embarked on a magical journey that has seen me spend the greater part of my life travelling in the world of the Ancient Greeks, both physically and intellectually. Those characters, both real and mythical, have become my friends, enemies, warnings, and role-models ever since.

Steve's book list on Ancient Greece by Ancient Greeks

Steve P. Kershaw Why Steve loves this book

Homer’s Iliad is a fabulously exciting tale of action and heroism, as the mightiest Greek heroes fight beneath the walls of Troy for the most beautiful woman who ever lived. But there is so much more to it! It’s partly the tale of one man’s anger, and partly a timeless tale about war and sacrifice for all humanity. Homer confronts some of the most significant human problems with amazingly contemporary power and nuance: the beauty and horror of combat; the inseparability of glory and destruction; the raw emotional power of reconciliation between mortal enemies; and the fact that there is more to life than revenge and more to being a man than slaughtering other men. Richmond Lattimore’s inspired translation makes you feel like Homer himself is reciting the tales to you.

By Homer , Richmond Lattimore (translator) ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"Sing, goddess, the anger of Peleus' son Achilleus / and its devastation." For sixty years, that's how Homer has begun the Iliad in English, in Richmond Lattimore's faithful translation-the gold standard for generations of students and general readers.

This long-awaited new edition of Lattimore's Iliad is designed to bring the book into the twenty-first century-while leaving the poem as firmly rooted in ancient Greece as ever. Lattimore's elegant, fluent verses-with their memorably phrased heroic epithets and remarkable fidelity to the Greek-remain unchanged, but classicist Richard Martin has added a wealth of supplementary materials designed to aid new generations of readers.…


If you love Amy Cross...

Book cover of Courting the Sun: A Novel of Versailles

Courting the Sun by Peggy Joque Williams,

Can a free-spirited country girl navigate the world of intrigue, illicit affairs, and power-mongering that is the court of Louis XIV—the Sun King--and still keep her head?

France, 1670. Sixteen-year-old Sylvienne d’Aubert receives an invitation to attend the court of King Louis XIV. She eagerly accepts, unaware of her mother’s…

Book cover of The Iliad

Rachel Kousser Author Of Alexander at the End of the World: The Forgotten Final Years of Alexander the Great

From my list on ancient goddesses heroines from a woman’s viewpoint.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a kid, I was fascinated by Greek mythology. Through myth, I encountered many powerful female characters—Athena was my favorite—but I felt frustrated by how women’s lives were told in my books. My interest in Greek myth and curiosity about untold stories led me to become a Classics professor. I love teaching and writing about women in the ancient world, helping people to understand how they navigated their lives. Luckily for me, many recent books across various genres, from novels to translations to histories, have illuminated the lives of ancient women. There’s so much more to read than when I was growing up! 

Rachel's book list on ancient goddesses heroines from a woman’s viewpoint

Rachel Kousser Why Rachel loves this book

This book is an epic about a war fought over a woman (Helen, the “face that launched a thousand ships”), yet this is the first major translation by one. Emily Wilson’s translation sounds fresh and up-to-date yet stays closer to Homer than the versions I encountered growing up.

I love how Wilson treats Homer’s women, avoiding the clichés and derogatory language used by previous translators. And her work has the narrative drive that Homer deserves, making this very old, very familiar story a real page-turner.

By Homer , Emily Wilson (translator) ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Iliad as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When Emily Wilson's translation of The Odyssey appeared in 2017-revealing the ancient poem in a contemporary idiom that "combines intellectual authority with addictive readability" (Edith Hall, The Sunday Telegraph)-critics lauded it as "a revelation" (Susan Chira, The New York Times) and "a cultural landmark" (Charlotte Higgins, The Guardian) that would forever change how Homer is read in English. Now Wilson has returned with an equally revelatory translation of the first great Homeric epic: The Iliad.

In Wilson's hands, this exciting and often horrifying work now gallops at a pace befitting its battle scenes, roaring with the clamour of arms, the…


Book cover of Cabal
Book cover of Grimm's Complete Fairy Tales
Book cover of Just After Sunset

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