Here are 100 books that The Witch of Matonge fans have personally recommended if you like The Witch of Matonge. 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 Eileen

Mirinae Lee Author Of 8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster

From my list on villainous heroines.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was born and grew up in Seoul. My bestselling debut novel has been longlisted for the 2024 Women’s Prize for Fiction and the 2024 Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize and shortlisted for the 2024 William Saroyan International Prize for Writing. My book is inspired by my great-aunt, one of the oldest women who had escaped alone from North Korea. It is available from Harper Perennial in the U.S. and Virago in the UK. The novel’s translations continue to meet readers worldwide, including in Italy, Romania, Greece, Denmark, Spain, Switzerland, and South Korea.

Mirinae's book list on villainous heroines

Mirinae Lee Why Mirinae loves this book

Eileen is one of the most twisted and unconventional literary heroines I’ve ever read. Behind her quiet demeanor and dull face hides her mind, which is like a killer’s, always furious and seething.

While working at a juvenile correctional facility, Eileen meets Rebecca, another key character far removed from most women of their generation. Seductive and deceitful, Rebecca cajoles Eileen into joining her act of crime–a violent, underhanded plan to restore her idea of justice. 

By Ottessa Moshfegh ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize and chosen by David Sedaris as his recommended book for his Fall 2016 tour.

So here we are. My name was Eileen Dunlop. Now you know me. I was twenty-four years old then, and had a job that paid fifty-seven dollars a week as a kind of secretary at a private juvenile correctional facility for teenage boys. I think of it now as what it really was for all intents and purposes-a prison for boys. I will call it Moorehead. Delvin Moorehead was a terrible landlord I had years later, and so to…


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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 Bookworm

Wayne Johnson Author Of Don't Think Twice

From my list on exploring the hidden sides of life, while being entertained, amused, and horrified.

Why am I passionate about this?

Murder mysteries, thrillers, whodunnits, all in the context of the "Indian," or Native American, experience, that's my subject. But really I'm writing about family and friends. Love letters to a people and life. My mother's father was native, and I lived and worked near and on two reservations growing up, White Earth and Red Lake. My novel, for example, was written out of my experience of being a hunting/fishing guide for Sabaskong Bay Lodge. My current work, about the Indian Boarding School genocide, has been inspired by first-person witness to that atrocity.   

Wayne's book list on exploring the hidden sides of life, while being entertained, amused, and horrified

Wayne Johnson Why Wayne loves this book

Subversive, edifying, and laugh-out-loud funny, Yeatman’s satirical novel follows Victoria, a woman in a failing marriage, from her initial fantasies of dispatching her clueless husband to the act itself. And no less employing the necessary help of her too-sweet and clueless gal-pal, Holly. 

A book about a bookworm, Victoria, it contains countless Easter Eggs and riffs on some of the greats while spinning out a wholly engaging and, by all means, original and captivating story.

By Robin Yeatman ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

“Imagine if Patricia Highsmith had written The Secret Life of Walter Mitty and instead of heroic daydreams she gave her protagonist murderous ones—that would be Bookworm. Robin Yeatman’s story is subversive, surprising, and satisfying in a way that only the best comic noir can be.”—Claire Oshetsky, author of Chouette

A wickedly funny debut novel—a black comedy with a generous heart that explores the power of imagination and reading—about a woman who tries to use fiction to find her way to happiness.

Victoria is unhappily married to an ambitious and controlling lawyer consumed with his career. Burdened with overbearing in-laws, a…


Book cover of Goat Mountain

Wayne Johnson Author Of Don't Think Twice

From my list on exploring the hidden sides of life, while being entertained, amused, and horrified.

Why am I passionate about this?

Murder mysteries, thrillers, whodunnits, all in the context of the "Indian," or Native American, experience, that's my subject. But really I'm writing about family and friends. Love letters to a people and life. My mother's father was native, and I lived and worked near and on two reservations growing up, White Earth and Red Lake. My novel, for example, was written out of my experience of being a hunting/fishing guide for Sabaskong Bay Lodge. My current work, about the Indian Boarding School genocide, has been inspired by first-person witness to that atrocity.   

Wayne's book list on exploring the hidden sides of life, while being entertained, amused, and horrified

Wayne Johnson Why Wayne loves this book

A sensation in France and elsewhere in Europe, David Vann is a writer of brutally unsparing narratives. This book, one of his best, surprises, shocks, and horrifies—and sometimes amuses, too—and all at once.

It is a story about a family on what should be nothing more than a hunting trip. Only after a senseless murder, it becomes a meditation on the power of myth. The story is as real as real gets, though it’s far larger than that. It becomes the stuff of revelatory—and prophetic—nightmares. It’s a big dark dream of a book, unforgettable.

By David Vann ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A shocking, suspenseful and daring new novel from one of the greatest American writers at work today, whose previous books include Caribou Island, Dirt and Legend of a Suicide.

In David Vann's searing novel Goat Mountain, an eleven-year-old boy is eager to make his first kill at his family's annual deer hunt. But all is not as it should be. His father discovers a poacher on the land, a 640-acre ranch in Northern California, and shows him to the boy through the scope of his rifle. With this simple gesture, tragedy erupts, shattering lives irrevocably.

Set over the course of…


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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 Hotel Iris

Wayne Johnson Author Of Don't Think Twice

From my list on exploring the hidden sides of life, while being entertained, amused, and horrified.

Why am I passionate about this?

Murder mysteries, thrillers, whodunnits, all in the context of the "Indian," or Native American, experience, that's my subject. But really I'm writing about family and friends. Love letters to a people and life. My mother's father was native, and I lived and worked near and on two reservations growing up, White Earth and Red Lake. My novel, for example, was written out of my experience of being a hunting/fishing guide for Sabaskong Bay Lodge. My current work, about the Indian Boarding School genocide, has been inspired by first-person witness to that atrocity.   

Wayne's book list on exploring the hidden sides of life, while being entertained, amused, and horrified

Wayne Johnson Why Wayne loves this book

This book is a compelling and, at times, shockingly revealing story of a love that cannot be, should not be, but is. 

Seventeen-year-old Mari, after an altercation at the hotel where she works, becomes involved with the perpetrator of it, a much older man of, to all but Mari, unacceptable morals. Through its unsparingly graphic depiction of the lovers’ sometimes extreme but mutual intimacies, Ogawa’s novel navigates the rarely explored region between violence and impassioned love.

By Yoko Ogawa ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A tale of twisted love from Yoko Ogawa―author of The Diving Pool and The Housekeeper and the Professor.

In a crumbling seaside hotel on the coast of Japan, quiet seventeen-year-old Mari works the front desk as her mother tends to the off-season customers. When one night they are forced to expel a middle-aged man and a prostitute from their room, Mari finds herself drawn to the man's voice, in what will become the first gesture of a single long seduction. In spite of her provincial surroundings, and her cool but controlling mother, Mari is a sophisticated observer of human desire,…


Book cover of The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge

Mark Rowlands Author Of Philosopher and the Wolf: Lessons from the Wild on Love, Death, and Happiness

From my list on humans and other animals.

Why am I passionate about this?

The most important formative experiences of my life were contained in the years I spent living and traveling with Brenin, a wolfdog. I can safely say that just about every worthwhile idea I have had – I am a professor of philosophy and ideas are supposed to be my thing – stemmed from those years. I have written many books since Brenin died, all of them, in one way or another, concerned with the question of what it is to be human. I am convinced that we can only understand this if we begin with the idea that we are animals and work from there.

Mark's book list on humans and other animals

Mark Rowlands Why Mark loves this book

Commonly thought to be about death, and our fear thereof, what I find most striking about this book is its piercing and utterly haunting analysis of the role of memories in making us who we are. The most important memories are the ones that are lost, and then return in a new form, deeply woven into our bodies, emotions, and feelings – as blood, as glance and gesture, as Rilke puts it. Rilke was a poet; this was his only excursion into the art form of the novel. So, the book falls apart after a while. But if anyone has written anything better than the first fifty pages or so, I am unacquainted with it.

By Rainer Maria Rilke , Burton Pike (translator) ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

First published in 1910, Rilke's "Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge" is one the first great modernist novels, the account of poet-aspirant Brigge in his exploration of poetic individuality and his reflections on the experience of time as death approaches. This new translation by Burton Pike is a reaction to overly stylized previous translations, and aims to capture not only the beauty but also the strangeness, the spirit, of Rilke's German.


Book cover of Convenient Lies

Elle E. Kay Author Of Grave Pursuits

From my list on Christian thrillers with heartbeats and hideaways.

Why am I passionate about this?

I'm an author of more than twenty Christian fiction books. I write true romantic suspense with equal parts engaging romance and thrilling suspense. My debut novel was a semi-finalist in the Genesis contest, and many of my subsequent titles have reached bestseller status. I engage with readers through my blog, which is recognized as a top 25 Christian fiction blog on Feedspot, and my Facebook group, "Heartbeats and Hideaways."

Elle's book list on Christian thrillers with heartbeats and hideaways

Elle E. Kay Why Elle loves this book

I loved this book by Robin Patchen for its fast-paced action and compelling love story. The suspense grabbed me right from the start when the heroine fled Paris with her newborn, escaping her dangerous husband, a complex and well-developed villain if ever there was one.

The plot kept me on the edge of my seat as the heroine navigated the threats from her husband's crime family while seeking refuge in her childhood home. The reappearance of her first love added an emotional depth that enriched the story. 

Patchen’s skillful writing and well-crafted characters made this book impossible to put down. Convenient Lies is a thrilling read that perfectly combines suspense and romance.

By Robin Patchen ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From a USA Today Bestselling novelist comes this edge-of-your-seat Christian romantic suspense story that'll keep you turning the pages all night long.

She married her enemy…

When investigative journalist Reagan McAdams discovers her new husband is part of an international crime family, she flees Paris with their newborn and returns to her childhood home in New Hampshire to gather enough money to disappear forever. She’ll do whatever it takes to protect her son from his criminal father. He never quit loving her.

Rae’s first love, Brady Thomas, discovers she’s home and in trouble. She won't tell him what's going on,…


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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 Visual Faith: Art, Theology, and Worship in Dialogue

Ned Bustard Author Of It Was Good: Making Art to the Glory of God

From my list on art and Christianity.

Why am I passionate about this?

In my late high school years and during college I was confronted with a question that has dogged many artists over the years who are in the church: should a Christian be in the arts or not? As it turns out, the first person to be described as filled by the Spirit in the Bible was an artist. I had to wait until my college years to find that out by reading Francis Schaeffer’s book Art and the Bible. This and Madeleine L’Engle’s Walking on Water gave me a theology that valued art. Now I'm a full-time artist and curate a small art gallery, but I've never stopped looking for good books on Art and Faith.

Ned's book list on art and Christianity

Ned Bustard Why Ned loves this book

Possibly the most helpful book for those looking to engage both Art and the Church. In Visual Faith the reader will find a wonderful overview of art history from a Christian perspective, beginning with art in the Early Church and coming all the way up to Warhol, Pollock, and art today. There is also an entire chapter devoted to making and looking at art. If there was one book I’d give to people in my church who were interested in engaging with art, this would be it.

By William A. Dyrness ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

How can art enhance and enrich the Christian faith? What is the basis for a relationship between the church and visual imagery? Can the art world and the Protestant church be reconciled? Is art idolatry and vanity, or can it be used to strengthen the church? Grounded in historical and biblical research, William Dyrness offers students and scholars an intriguing, substantive look into the relationship between the church and the world of art.

Faith and art were not always discordant. According to Dyrness, Israel understood imagery and beauty as reflections of God's perfect order; likewise, early Christians used art to…


Book cover of Unapologetic: Why, Despite Everything, Christianity Can Still Make Surprising Emotional Sense

Molly Worthen Author Of Spellbound

From my list on helping a secular person understand the weirdest parts of religion.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in a secular home, but when I got to college, it dawned on me that religion is an incredibly important framework for understanding the world. So I started to take classes and read books about religion—and I never stopped. After spending my whole adult life sidling up alongside religion but never quite getting it at a personal level, I accidentally let myself get evangelized three years ago, became a Christian, and now attend a Baptist megachurch. I guess I am like a scientist who fell into my own experiment. I still find religious beliefs and practices completely bizarre, even though I’m now a believer myself!

Molly's book list on helping a secular person understand the weirdest parts of religion

Molly Worthen Why Molly loves this book

He is so hilariously good at swearing!

That’s a major reason I love this book: Francis Spufford raises profanity to a high art, and he does it in a book that is, ostensibly, about Jesus.

A Christian friend recommended this one to me, and I bought it and let it sit on the shelf for a long time before I finally picked it up. Then I read it in maybe three sittings, because it’s silly and profound at the same time. (Also it’s short and carries you along—this is a good one to stick in your bag and read a couple pages at a time whenever you are at a bus stop.)

Spufford is mainly a novelist, and his aim here is not to convince you that Christianity’s fact claims are true. (Although he does think it’s all true.) Instead, he’s explaining the way the Christian picture of God and…

By Francis Spufford ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

"Unapologetic" is a brief, witty, personal, sharp-tongued defence of Christian belief, taking on Dawkins' "The God Delusion" and Christopher Hitchens' "God is Not Great". But it isn't an argument that Christianity is true - because how could anyone know that (or indeed its opposite)? It's an argument that Christianity is recognisable, drawing on the deep and deeply ordinary vocabulary of human feeling, satisfying those who believe in it by offering a ruthlessly realistic account of the bits of our lives advertising agencies prefer to ignore. It's a book for believers who are fed up with being patronised, for non-believers curious…


Book cover of Adam, Eve, and the Serpent: Sex and Politics in Early Christianity

Dawn Baumann Brunke Author Of Awakening the Ancient Power of Snake: Transformation, Healing, and Enlightenment

From my list on the history, mystery, and healing power of snakes.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am an animal communicator and author of many books about our deeper connections with the animal world. A powerful dream featuring an archetypal Snake ignited my curiosity about snakes and inspired me to learn more. I immersed myself into the history, biology, and incredible diversity of snakes as well as their role in art, myth, medicine, and dreams. I also lived with two rescue snakes: a shy ball python named Carl and lively corn snake named Chloe. What I found was not only fascinating but life-changing. This book celebrates the mystery of Snake and the undeniable wisdom and healing that it offers our world.  

Dawn's book list on the history, mystery, and healing power of snakes

Dawn Baumann Brunke Why Dawn loves this book

A thorough look at the origins of Christianity and how the once powerful role of serpent (along with the goddess) was undermined and cast as a tempter and deceiver.

Pagels details how a rigidly-patriarchal interpretation of Genesis perpetuates the myth of separation and disconnection from spirit, nature, and ourselves. While snakes as animals are not covered in any depth, this book does explore why negative perceptions of snake still figure so prominently in Western collective consciousness. 

By Elaine Pagels ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Adam, Eve, and the Serpent as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A National Book Award winner and New York Times bestselling author deepens and refreshes our view of early Christianity while casting a disturbing light on the evolution of the attitudes passed down to us. 

"Confirms her reputation as both a scholar and a popular interpreter.... Continuously rewarding and illuminating." —The New York Times

How did the early Christians come to believe that sex was inherently sinful? When did the Fall of Adam become synonymous with the fall of humanity? What turned Christianity from a dissident sect that  championed the integrity of the individual and the idea of free will into…


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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 One Minute After You Die

J. Suthern Hicks Author Of Where the Garden Begins

From my list on books that explore Christianity in creative and engaging ways.

Why am I passionate about this?

After discovering Jesus at the age of fourteen, I began reading the King James Version of the Bible. This early modern English version was difficult to understand at first, but it soon became my poetic introduction to a faith that would reveal just how big and wonderful our Creator is. I eventually realized how a correct interpretation of science agreed with a correct interpretation of the Bible. That led me to study apologetics and such topics as how the universe began. As a creative person at heart, having been an actor, songwriter, playwright, and novelist, I am realizing that being made in the image of God means that the possibilities for creativity never end.

J.'s book list on books that explore Christianity in creative and engaging ways

J. Suthern Hicks Why J. loves this book

The title of this book seemed nothing more than a gimmick to get attention. Fortunately, I decided to read the book anyway. In hindsight, the title was perfectly fitting for the subject matter behind the cover. The creative and scripturally sound musings concerning our departure from this world warmly touched my heart about a subject matter no one likes to think about.

The author has tough things to address, but they are all extremely enlightening. It’s been a while since I read it, but I do believe a tear or two might have been shed toward the end. I have given this book to many friends and family.

By Erwin W. Lutzer ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked One Minute After You Die as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

"One minute after you die you will either be elated or terrified. And it will be too late to reroute your travel plans."

Death comes to all, and yet death is not the end. For some, death is the beginning of unending bliss, for others, unending despair. In this latest edition of the bestselling book One Minute After You Die, Pastor Erwin W. Lutzer weighs the Bible’s words on life after death. He considers:

Channeling, reincarnation, and near-death experiences What heaven and hell will be like The justice of eternal punishment Trusting in God’s providence Preparing for your own final…


Book cover of Eileen
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Book cover of Goat Mountain

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