Here are 86 books that When the Moon Hits Your Eye fans have personally recommended if you like When the Moon Hits Your Eye. 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 The Girl From The Sea

April McCloud Author Of The Switch

From April's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

April's 3 favorite reads in 2025

April McCloud Why April loves this book

I love graphic novels that fully utilize the fact that there is a visual storytelling element, and a written storytelling element. When both of these things are used in tandem, it makes for a really lovely, unique experience that can only be actualized through the comic book medium. Add to that a beautiful sapphic romance with fantasy elements, and I'm instantly hooked. I was rooting for the characters all the way through.

By Molly Knox Ostertag ,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked The Girl From The Sea as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

From the author of The Witch Boy trilogy comes
a graphic novel about family, romance, and first love.

Fifteen-year-old Morgan has a secret: She can't wait to escape
the perfect little island where she lives. She's desperate to
finish high school and escape her sad divorced mother, her volatile
little brother, and worst of all, her great group of friends...who
don't understand Morgan at all. Because really, Morgan's
biggest secret is that she has a lot of secrets, including the
one about wanting to kiss another girl.

Then one
night, Morgan is saved from drowning by a mysterious girl named…


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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 Flowing Water, Falling Flowers

April McCloud Author Of The Switch

From April's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

April's 3 favorite reads in 2025

April McCloud Why April loves this book

As a formally trained teacher of English for Speakers of Other Languages, I'm always enamored with books written in English by those for whom it is not their first language. The author brings to life the unique cross-cultural heritage of a person who has part of their soul in two separate continents. In addition to learning historical details about Chinese culture, the book has a non-western story arc that makes it feel distinctly different from other works.

By X.H. Collins ,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Flowing Water, Falling Flowers as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

When she loses her job and her lover in one fell swoop, art history professor Rose Ming agrees to accompany her mother on an annual visit to relatives in her Chinese hometown of Three Rivers. Once there, Rose learns that she, her mother, aunt, and her cousin, Hong-Mei, have all shared a strange dream prompting them to search for an ancestor nobody seems to remember. With her future uncertain, Rose decides to solve the family mystery, and instead unearths an unutterable tragedy hidden for over a hundred years.Living in the last decades of the Qing dynasty, Peony, Lady Han, has…


Book cover of Old Man's War

Joey Thomas Author Of The Bovine Cul-de-sac

From my list on dystopian and utopian worlds.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was introduced to the paranormal and unknown by my father. He was open to all possibilities. I loved being shocked, awed, and traumatized by the depths of dystopia and the heights of Utopian Imagination! I think, because we all live somewhere in between, flowing up and down as life experiences us, riding us ever onward!

Joey's book list on dystopian and utopian worlds

Joey Thomas Why Joey loves this book

I love not knowing anything about a book and finding myself turning from page to page, ever more excited to be a part of the adventure.

This alternate end of life leaves me wondering, why not? Though I look forward to a peaceful Galactic future, this one sure is fun (from the reader's perspective)!

By John Scalzi ,

Why should I read it?

12 authors picked Old Man's War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Perfect for an entry-level sci-fi reader and the ideal addition to a veteran fan’s collection, John Scalzi's Old Man’s War will take audiences on a heart-stopping adventure into the far corners of the universe.

John Perry did two things on his 75th birthday. First he visited his wife's grave. Then he joined the army.

The good news is that humanity finally made it into interstellar space. The bad news is that planets fit to live on are scarce-and aliens willing to fight for them are common. The universe, it turns out, is a hostile place.

So: we fight. To defend…


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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 Leviathan Wakes

Carol Berg Author Of Transformation

From Carol's 3 favorite reads in 2025.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Carol's 3 favorite reads in 2025

Carol Berg Why Carol loves this book

A big complex adventure in a in a big, complex, and believable (within itself) future, but told through the points of view of very human, interesting characters. This is a gritty, workaday, human world, not some mythic galactic empire.

By James S. A. Corey ,

Why should I read it?

28 authors picked Leviathan Wakes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Humanity has colonized the planets - interstellar travel is still beyond our reach, but the solar system has become a dense network of colonies. But there are tensions - the mineral-rich outer planets resent their dependence on Earth and Mars and the political and military clout they wield over the Belt and beyond. Now, when Captain Jim Holden's ice miner stumbles across a derelict, abandoned ship, he uncovers a secret that threatens to throw the entire system into war. Attacked by a stealth ship belonging to the Mars fleet, Holden must find a way to uncover the motives behind the…


Book cover of Lock In

Janice Hardy Author Of Understanding Show, Don't Tell: And Really Getting It

From my list on novels that show and don’t tell.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love 'Show, Don’t Tell' because it really brings a novel to life for the reader. It’s something so many writers struggle with, but it can turn a so-so novel into one readers can’t put down. Losing yourself in a story is the sign of great writing, and when a writer can show me what’s in their head and do it in a way that makes me forget I’m reading, well, that’s a book that keeps me turning the pages until it’s done. And that’s my favorite part of reading, writing, and teaching writing. 

Janice's book list on novels that show and don’t tell

Janice Hardy Why Janice loves this book

I loved how Scalzi put the reader inside the head of his narrator and showed you his world as he saw it. Scalzi uses very little description, but I never felt that I was missing out or that the setting was weak. It was the opposite, really. I got hints and off-hand comments from the narrator that were great hooks to keep me reading, and I kept learning about this world and these characters all the way til the end.

It wasn’t until my second read that I even realized Scalzi did something absolutely brilliant. The “locked in” people of this world use robot bodies in the real world, but also have an online digital world. Scalzi describes the digital world in more detail, showing that Chris sees it as more real than the “real world.”

By John Scalzi ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

A blazingly inventive near-future thriller from the best-selling, Hugo Award-winning John Scalzi.

Not too long from today, a new, highly contagious virus makes its way across the globe. Most who get sick experience nothing worse than flu, fever and headaches. But for the unlucky one percent - and nearly five million souls in the United States alone - the disease causes "Lock In": Victims fully awake and aware, but unable to move or respond to stimulus. The disease affects young, old, rich, poor, people of every color and creed. The world changes to meet the challenge.

A quarter of a…


Book cover of Redshirts

Leon Stevens Author Of Euphrates Vanished

From Leon's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Leon's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Leon Stevens Why Leon loves this book

Funny? Check.
Fast paced? Check.
Meta? Very.

Scalzi takes sci-fi fans for a ride in this tale that takes one of the oft parodied elements of the Star Trek franchise: During away missions, the guy in the red shirt (security) is usually the first one killed.
Some members of a starship crew (not in the Star Trek universe) notice something is awry when they realize certain higher-ranking members always seem to survive the seemingly unsurvivable, while newer members tend not to fair so well. Adding to the mystery, why have some crew members learned to avoid being picked for away missions by disappearing when these officers show up?
Do you need to be familiar with Star trek to enjoy this book? No, but it does make some of the situations more entertaining.

By John Scalzi ,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

'I can honestly say I can't think of another book that ever made me laugh this much. Ever' Patrick Rothfuss, New York Times bestselling author of The Name of the Wind

Ensign Andrew Dahl has just been assigned to the Universal Union Capital Ship Intrepid, flagship of the Universal Union since the year 2456. It's a prestige posting, and Andrew is even more delighted when he's assigned to the ship's Xenobiology laboratory. Life couldn't be better ... although there are a few strange things going on:

(1) every Away Mission involves a lethal confrontation with alien forces

(2) the ship's…


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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 The Kaiju Preservation Society

Jake Korell Author Of The Second World

From my list on books that make you laugh (and think) with a little bit of absurdity.

Why am I passionate about this?

Absurdity gets a bad rap in fiction and storytelling, I think. “It’s too silly,” they say. But for those who can take a step back and appreciate how absurd our own world is—our everyday life—there’s nothing more real than absurdity. (I’m saying “absurd” an absurd amount of times. Let’s just say it’s purposeful.) It might be played for laughs at times, but if it’s done right, it gives you perspective. Sometimes we all need to look through a funhouse mirror to realize that we’re only human. These five books share that spirit and have made me laugh, think, and occasionally reevaluate my entire life in a spiral of existential dread—with a smile on my face.

Jake's book list on books that make you laugh (and think) with a little bit of absurdity

Jake Korell Why Jake loves this book

I love that this book is basically a workplace comedy, except the office is tasked with protecting giant monsters the size of Godzilla.

It takes the tired world of monster movies and flips it on its head, focusing instead on the government workers whose 9-to-5 actually involves dealing with them. The dialogue is razor-sharp, the satire of corporate culture had me cackling, and underneath it all, there’s a hopeful message about cooperation and curiosity.

It’s absurdity with heart.

By John Scalzi ,

Why should I read it?

9 authors picked The Kaiju Preservation Society as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The Kaiju Preservation Society is John Scalzi's first standalone adventure since the conclusion of his New York Times bestselling Interdependency trilogy.

When COVID-19 sweeps through New York City, Jamie Gray is stuck as a dead-end driver for food delivery apps. That is, until Jamie makes a delivery to an old acquaintance, Tom, who works at what he calls “an animal rights organization.” Tom’s team needs a last-minute grunt to handle things on their next field visit. Jamie, eager to do anything, immediately signs on.

What Tom doesn't tell Jamie is that the animals his team cares for are not here…


Book cover of World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War

Janice Hardy Author Of Understanding Show, Don't Tell: And Really Getting It

From my list on novels that show and don’t tell.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love 'Show, Don’t Tell' because it really brings a novel to life for the reader. It’s something so many writers struggle with, but it can turn a so-so novel into one readers can’t put down. Losing yourself in a story is the sign of great writing, and when a writer can show me what’s in their head and do it in a way that makes me forget I’m reading, well, that’s a book that keeps me turning the pages until it’s done. And that’s my favorite part of reading, writing, and teaching writing. 

Janice's book list on novels that show and don’t tell

Janice Hardy Why Janice loves this book

This book is one of my all-time favorites, because even though I knew it was fiction, it felt like nonfiction as I was reading it. It was that authentic, and that alive. I truly felt like I was reading an actual history book about an event from my own world. 

The narrative structure was also amazing, telling the entire story through interviews with survivors of the zombie war, and I was riveted by those stories. They showed me what it was like to face that zombie horror, which made me desperate to know what happened, how they survived, and how they managed. Although I was reading, it felt like I was watching actual people tell their tales.

By Max Brooks ,

Why should I read it?

26 authors picked World War Z as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

It began with rumours from China about another pandemic. Then the cases started to multiply and what had looked like the stirrings of a criminal underclass, even the beginning of a revolution, soon revealed itself to be much, much worse.

Faced with a future of mindless man-eating horror, humanity was forced to accept the logic of world government and face events that tested our sanity and our sense of reality. Based on extensive interviews with survivors and key players in the ten-year fight against the horde, World War Z brings the finest traditions of journalism to bear on what is…


Book cover of The Forever War

J.D. Rasch Author Of The Quasi-Crystal

From my list on science fiction to challenge your moral compass.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am interested in social justice issues, and the books in my list deal with these issues. My background is in finance, but I’ve tried to use this knowledge to help others. I serve on the board of two not-for-profit organizations, one a dance company that works with at-risk teens in various countries, and the other is an animal sanctuary that takes in farm animals that have been abused. I consider myself very fortunate and privileged, and it's important to remember not everyone has had the opportunities I have had. I feel it’s crucial to connect with others, understand where they’re coming from, and help if you can.

J.D.'s book list on science fiction to challenge your moral compass

J.D. Rasch Why J.D. loves this book

I liked this book because it examines the role loyalty and social customs play in our lives. As soldiers are transported from location to location, the laws of relativity step in to move the characters decades into the future.

In that time, social customs have changed, and things that we thought were important no longer are. It shows how vulnerable we are to custom and tradition. In the end, it is the personal that is important, not the bigger cause.

By Joe Haldeman ,

Why should I read it?

13 authors picked The Forever War as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The monumental Hugo and Nebula award winning SF classic-- Featuring a new introduction by John Scalzi

The Earth's leaders have drawn a line in the interstellar sand--despite the fact that the fierce alien enemy they would oppose is inscrutable, unconquerable, and very far away. A reluctant conscript drafted into an elite Military unit, Private William Mandella has been propelled through space and time to fight in the distant thousand-year conflict; to perform his duties and do whatever it takes to survive the ordeal and return home. But "home" may be even more terrifying than battle, because, thanks to the time…


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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 Rendezvous with Rama

Jonathan Mugan Author Of The Curiosity Cycle: Preparing Your Child for the Ongoing Technological Explosion

From Jonathan's 3 favorite reads in 2024.

Why am I passionate about this?

Author

Jonathan's 3 favorite reads in 2024

Jonathan Mugan Why Jonathan loves this book

I love the feeling of exploration. It’s old but doesn’t feel stale like a lot of older scifi does.

By Arthur C. Clarke ,

Why should I read it?

11 authors picked Rendezvous with Rama as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In the year 2130, a mysterious and apparently untenanted alien spaceship, Rama, enters our solar system. The first product of an alien civilisation to be encountered by man, it reveals a world of technological marvels and an unparalleled artificial ecology.

But what is its purpose in 2131?

Who is inside it?

And why?


Book cover of The Girl From The Sea
Book cover of Flowing Water, Falling Flowers
Book cover of Old Man's War

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