The best books that transform how we think and make us grow

Why am I passionate about this?

One piece of advice I give my kids is to listen to people who are wrong. One of two things happen: you’ll have to define, refine, and explore your personal positions in order to articulate why they’re wrong; or you discover you’re wrong and you grow. I spent 25 years in a church that made no sense to me. That caused me to read and think about why I didn’t believe what they said was “absolute truth.” My writing is the result of a long soul-searching experience that has led me to a place I’m comfortable with and others are finding comfort in the wisdom of The Infinite Jeff.


I wrote...

A Journey into Insight

By Will Holcomb,

Book cover of A Journey into Insight

What is my book about?

Inspirational/spiritual fiction in a fun, fast read that will stay in your mind long after you close the back cover and set the book down. The main character, Stanley, can’t find meaning in his life. Work is endless drudgery serving only to pay bills. After being unemployed for six months, he can’t even do that. Religion doesn’t make sense. The only thing that has any meaning is his family. He gets offered a two-month contract on the other side of America and has to leave the one thing that gives him meaning. He starts his cross-country road trip and almost immediately picks up an enigmatic hitchhiker who takes him on a difficult but soul-fulfilling road trip of self-discovery.

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah

Will Holcomb Why did I love this book?

I wasn’t a reader in the early part of my life. When I started college, I had to take a remedial reading course. Illusions was one of the books we had to read, and it felt like a wall in my brain exploded, opening parts of my brain I’d never used. After that, I wanted more books that could make me feel that way. Because of that, Illusions is an important book to me. I can point directly towards it as the book that started me on a lifelong journey of growth that eventually made me the author of a book often compared to Illusions.

By Richard Bach,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In the cloud-washed airspace between the cornfields of Illinois and blue infinity, a man puts his faith in the propeller of his biplane. For disillusioned writer and itinerant barnstormer Richard Bach, belief is as real as a full tank of gas and sparks firing in the cylinders ... until he meets Donald Shimoda - former mechanic and self-described messiah who can make wrenches fly and Richard's imagination soar...

In Illusions, the unforgettable follow-up to his phenomenal New York Times bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Richard Bach takes to the air to discover the ageless truths that give our souls wings: that…


Book cover of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry Into Values

Will Holcomb Why did I love this book?

I’ll be honest, this book was a hard read for me the first time through. Parts seemed to drag on and on, but the book never left my head. The ideas in it kept calling me back. Years later I decided to read it again and was shocked at how easily it read and how much I missed the first time. I am feeling a calling to read it again. To me, that is what a great book should do. If a reader closed a book cover and never thinks about that book again, the author failed. A great book becomes part of who you are, a building block in your brain.

By Robert M. Pirsig,

Why should I read it?

10 authors picked Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Acclaimed as one of the most exciting books in the history of American letters, this modern epic became an instant bestseller upon publication in 1974, transforming a generation and continuing to inspire millions. A narration of a summer motorcycle trip undertaken by a father and his son, the book becomes a personal and philosophical odyssey into fundamental questions of how to live. Resonant with the confusions of existence, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance is a touching and transcendent book of life.


Book cover of Voyage from Yesteryear

Will Holcomb Why did I love this book?

One of my philosophy professors said science fiction writers were the new philosophers. I couldn’t agree more. Science fiction authors can create worlds to test hypotheses about social structures. Hogan creates a world seeded with humans with the goal of finding a planet they can move to before the impending self-inflicted destruction of Earth. Without the connection to Earth, the society that forms is a highly productive world without an exchangeable currency. The robots that brought the ship to the planet can build everything they need. After generations, Earthlings make their way to the planet, bringing the ideas and philosophies that destroyed Earth. The locals welcome them and are amused at the absurd ideas. This book does a wonderful job exploring concepts of wealth, social structure, and so much more. 

By James P. Hogan,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

Book Club Edition


Book cover of Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity

Will Holcomb Why did I love this book?

Bawer delves into the history of Christian fundamentalism in this well-researched book. It explores the “church of law” vs “church of love.” This should be required reading in churches and maybe we would stop dividing ourselves over false doctrines. Too many religions are working to divide humanity and Stealing Jesus is an important book for resolving that. 

By Bruce Bawer,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

From the author of the widely acclaimed A Place at the Table, this is a major work, passionately outspoken and cogently reasoned, that exposes the great danger posed to Christianity today by fundamentalism.

The time is past, says Bruce Bawer, when denominational names and other traditional labels provided an accurate reflection of Christian America's religious beliefs and practices. The meaningful distinction today is not between Protestant and Catholic, or Baptist and Episcopalian, but rather between "legalistic" and "nonlegalistic" religion, between the Church of Law and the Church of Love. On one side is the fundamentalist right, which draws a sharp…


Book cover of Sadhana, the Realization of Life

Will Holcomb Why did I love this book?

I stumbled onto the audiobook for this when I was commuting an hour and forty-five minutes one way. It was so powerful and deep that I ended up listening to it a second time. Tagore’s spiritual wisdom spans all the major religions. He talks about Christianity as passionately and profoundly as he talks about Buddhism or Hinduism and his wisdom resonates deeply at the core of who you are. 

By Rabindranath Tagore,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sadhana, the Realization of Life as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.


You might also like...

StairWell

By James Sale,

Book cover of StairWell

James Sale Author Of StairWell

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Poet Entrepreneur Consultant Innovator

James' 3 favorite reads in 2023

What is my book about?

StairWell is the second volume of The English Cantos, where the Poet leaves the confines of Hell’s hospital ward and enters Purgatory. Following in the footsteps of Dante Alighieri, the Poet must climb the staircase to the Chapel of St. Luke, at once a real place of solace and sacredness in the midst of the blighted hospital, but also a metaphysical plane, accessible only to those who may pass the trials and tribulations of the purgatorial ascent.

On the journey, the Poet will meet figures both from his personal life, and those more well known, all fighting their own battles of self-improvement.

Combining deep psychology with the fantastical grandeur of an Arthurian legend, StairWell explores the fragility and wickedness of the human condition balanced with the transformational powers of Hope and Faith.

StairWell

By James Sale,

What is this book about?

From the misery of Hell’s corrupted wards, to the mountain of personal transcendence…

StairWell is the second volume of The English Cantos, where the Poet leaves the confines of Hell’s hospital ward and enters Purgatory. Following in the footsteps of Dante Alighieri, the Poet must climb the staircase to the Chapel of St. Luke, at once a real place of solace and sacredness in the midst of the blighted hospital, but also a metaphysical plane, accessible only to those who may pass the trials and tribulations of the purgatorial ascent.

On the journey, the Poet will meet figures both from…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in spirituality, robots, and life satisfaction?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about spirituality, robots, and life satisfaction.

Spirituality Explore 288 books about spirituality
Robots Explore 95 books about robots
Life Satisfaction Explore 211 books about life satisfaction