I’m always up for checking out an independent book-discovery site, so I was intrigued when I heard of Shepherd, a new platform built around recommendations by authors. Each author picks a theme, topic, or mood and five books they love. Via the site or weekly emails, readers are guided to lists that have something in common with their own favorite reads.
After being prompted to create a list of favorite books from 2024 (which anyone can do), I asked about submitting recommendations as an author, and was sent a long and detailed questionnaire to work through. I found this a bit intimidating, but was also impressed by the motive behind it. Shepherd is looking for authentic responses from booklovers, not marketing fluff from authors promoting their own work.
What inspired creator Ben Fox to start this new venture? He writes, “One day I walked into my local indie bookstore and saw little notes from the staff about which books are their favorites and why. I loved that idea because it exposed the passion behind the picks. Shepherd reveals that same passion by asking authors, experts, and interesting people for their favorite books around topics, themes, and moods.” I love reading those little notes, and always wished I could write my own. If you do, too, you’ll likely enjoy Shepherd.
It took me a while to come up with a unique, original theme that also chimed with my own work, but once I did, I had a good time picking out five titles to go with it and describing what moved me most about each one. My list went live this week, and you can view it here: The best books for making space for transformation.
I hope you’ll check it out and also spend some time exploring the site. And of course, I hope you’ll find more great books to love!