Shepherd, as my regular readers know, is a relatively new site for finding your next book, but with a twist: the book recommendations are from authors. I am one of 884 authors asked to name our 3 favorite reads for 2023. Choosing was tough, of course, and stopping at three was even tougher. But here’s my list if you want to have a look, with an explanation of why I loved each story.
And click here to see the 100 best books of 2023 so far, based on recommendations from all 884 authors. I enjoyed scrolling through to see how many I have read.
My Other Shepherd Lists
Since Shepherd was started, I’ve put together three other lists for them besides the 3 Favorite Reads one. Choosing the themes was a blast, since we can be creative and very specific with our ideas. Here are my three lists, if you’re looking for a read in any of these categories:
- The Best Middle Grade Adventure Stories with Talking Animals and a Dash of Magic
- The Best Novels for Tweens, Teens and Young Adults Who Love Theater
- The Best, Ultimately Uplifting Stories About Sexual Abuse and Harassment
Sometimes I’d already done the reading when I sat down to compile a list. Sometimes, I had to search out more books on the theme and expose myself to more great stories! Either way, a good time was had by all…meaning me, and maybe my dog sitting next to me.
How Shepherd Works
Shepherd’s concept is simple and elegant: If you like an author’s book(s), you might also like the 5 books the author recommends on topics related to their own work.
The days of relying solely on friends and librarians for book suggestions are long gone, of course. While that’s not good for human interaction, it is good if you want tons of new ideas at your fingertips. Goodreads and Amazon are of course the big guys when it comes to searching for new best reads. But there are also now many smaller sites offering quality recommendations, like Shepherd.
No Registration Required
Unlike some book recommendation sites, no registration (or fee) is required to view lists on Shepherd. Just hop on over to their site and dig around using the search function if you want, until you find something you like.
