Here are 100 books that Horse fans have personally recommended if you like
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I was not trained in African American history, but first developed a passion for it during my first teaching job in Pittsburgh, where a number of my colleagues were interested in locating the origins of Black Nationalism and began researching the life of a local black physician, Martin R. Delany. That led me to a wider exploration of nineteenth-century African American history.
A giant of the nineteenth century and the leader of the struggle to end slavery needs a giant book and Blight’s is the most penetrating and comprehensive biography we have of the person many consider the voice and soul of the abolitionist movement and the struggle to win the right guaranteed in the Constitution.
"Extraordinary...a great American biography" (The New Yorker) of the most important African-American of the nineteenth century: Frederick Douglass, the escaped slave who became the greatest orator of his day and one of the leading abolitionists and writers of the era.
As a young man Frederick Douglass (1818-1895) escaped from slavery in Baltimore, Maryland. He was fortunate to have been taught to read by his slave owner mistress, and he would go on to become one of the major literary figures of his time. His very existence gave the lie to slave owners: with…
My favorite mode of transport is being on the back of a good horse. I have enjoyed horse treks in Ecuador on the Inca Trail, in the backcountry of British Columbia, the High Sierras, and on the Wild West coast of Ireland, as well as numerous stays at guest’s ranches in the U.S. My equestrian articles have appeared in Equus, Horse Illustrated, and California Riding Magazine, to name a few. A back injury forced me to give up my mare and the riding world I loved. Writing The Cowgirl Jumped over the Moon was my way of letting go and moving forward in life.
I am far from being a young adult, but I still found this charming book enlightening. The protagonist is a young woman who disguises herself as a man so she may join the equestrian military force patrolling the West Coast to spot submarines offshore.
The story also touches on the very sad fact that Japanese people were rounded up, deprived of their property, and confined in camps in California during WWII.
The world is at war. A teenage equestrian takes on a man's world to make a difference...and finds love along the way.
Fearing an invasion by German and Japanese forces during World War II, the U.S. Coast Guard enlisted horsemen to patrol the beaches along the east and west coasts. The unit was called “The Sand Pounders” and they rode their horses up and down the beaches from 1942 to 1944.
In Tillamook, Oregon, a young equestrian decided to join them. There was only one problem…they were only accepting men. That didn’t slow her down.
As a retired psychotherapist, I love a good book with complex characters that stand up to analysis. As a moody introvert, I especially enjoy untangling a set of clues in an atmosphere of suspense. Given that I live in a remote, wild area with plenty of snow and extreme weather, I am a good judge of stories about people being pitted against the elements. Finally, I am always curious to learn more about indigenous cultures since I live near more tribal land than anywhere in the US except Alaska. And, of course, I’m a mystery writer!
I love suspense, and this is a scary book that grabbed me early and never let me go.
Set in an old sanitorium refurbished as a minimalist hotel in the Swiss Alps, the book is creepy, fast-paced, and atmospheric. I read feverishly to find out if Elin, the fragile detective, would come out okay.
REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK | A New York Times bestseller!
"An eerie, atmospheric novel that had me completely on the edge of my seat." -Reese Witherspoon
"This spine-tingling, atmospheric thriller has it all... and twists you'll never see coming." -Richard Osman, New York Times bestselling author of The Thursday Murder Club
Sarah Pearse's next book, The Retreat, is forthcoming.
You won't want to leave. . . until you can't.
Half-hidden by forest and overshadowed by threatening peaks, Le Sommet has always been a sinister place. Long plagued by troubling rumors, the former abandoned sanatorium has since been renovated into a…
I became fascinated with 16th-century and 17th-century Europe after reading Don Quixote many years ago. Since then, every novel or nonfiction book about that era has felt both ancient and contemporary. I’m always struck by how much our environment has changed—transportation, communication, housing, government—but also how little we as people have changed when it comes to ambition, love, grief, and greed. I doubled down my reading on that time period when I researched my novel, Dulcinea. Many people read in the eras of the Renaissance, World War II, or ancient Greece, so I’m hoping to introduce them to the Baroque Age.
Dolça Llull Prat, a wealthy Barcelona woman, is only 15 when she falls in love with an impoverished poet-solder. Theirs is a forbidden relationship, one that overcomes many obstacles until the fledgling writer renders her as the lowly Dulcinea in his bestseller.
By doing so, he unwittingly exposes his muse to gossip. But when Dolça receives his deathbed note asking to see her, she races across Spain with the intention of unburdening herself of an old secret.
On the journey, she encounters bandits, the Inquisition, illness, and the choices she's made. At its heart, Dulcinea is about how we betray the people we love, what happens when we succumb to convention, and why we squander the few chances we get to change our lives.
I’m a washashore who’s lived on Martha’s Vineyard for 25 years. I’ve worked small businesses, drove school and tour buses, volunteered, toured and given walking tours. I know the Island. In my writing I’ve focused my love of American history on the backstory of Martha’s Vineyard. Hence my books comprise a wealth of research and information on each topic. I love what I do. And I like to think it shows.
I planned a trip to Scotland and immersed myself in Peter May’s Scottish perspective. I try to do that with my books: share the back story, the elements that make Martha’s Vineyard so special to so many people. This is the niche I have carved for myself over the past 15 years.
Peter May is a BBC stalwart; Coffin Road offers a daunting tale with an emphasis on the rugged landscape. May traces his tale right down to the water’s edge.
And while this is a work of fiction, it offers a vivid view of the reality of living on an island: the isolation, the limitations, the beauty, and the danger. That’s what I do with my Vineyard histories.
THE 12 MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE LEWIS TRILOGY, THE ENZO FILES AND THE CHINA THRILLERS AWARD WINNING AUTHOR OF THE CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY 2021
'Peter May is one of the most accomplished novelists writing today.' Undiscovered Scotland 'No one can create a more eloquently written suspense novel than Peter May.' New York Journal of Books
PETER MAY MIXES MURDER, MYSTERY and MEMORY . . . AND MARKS HIS RETURN TO THE OUTER HEBRIDES
A man stands bewildered on a deserted beach on the Hebridean Isle of Harris. He cannot remember who he is. The only clue…
I’m a washashore who’s lived on Martha’s Vineyard for 25 years. I’ve worked small businesses, drove school and tour buses, volunteered, toured and given walking tours. I know the Island. In my writing I’ve focused my love of American history on the backstory of Martha’s Vineyard. Hence my books comprise a wealth of research and information on each topic. I love what I do. And I like to think it shows.
Ellis has done his research for The Cause on both sides of the Atlantic. He presents his perspective on what happened during the Revolution and how close we came to defeat before we even got started.
I’m devoted to accurate research in all my books. The point of non-fiction, as Ellis demonstrates, is to report the facts and assess the results, without emotional or personal perspective.
This tome was a joy to read.
I learned a great deal fromThe Cause.
My book on the American Revolution was published prior to The Cause, which made it so intriguing for me to read.
George Washington claimed that anyone who attempted to provide an accurate account of the war for independence would be accused of writing fiction. At the time, no one called it the "American Revolution": former colonists still regarded themselves as Virginians or Pennsylvanians, not Americans, while John Adams insisted that the British were the real revolutionaries, for attempting to impose radical change without their colonists' consent.
With The Cause, Ellis takes a fresh look at the events between 1773 and 1783, recovering a war more brutal than any in American history save the Civil War and discovering a strange breed of…
I have been horse-obsessed since before I can remember. I begged my parents for lessons and read every horse book I could, starting with Misty of Chincoteague and the Black Stallion series. I let life lead me away from horses, but I came back after almost two decades away. Now, I write about horses for a living and work with them daily–the main theme of my life in both books and business is connection. I write nonfiction and fiction books and have a hilariously honest and fun podcast called Adulting with Horses, where we talk about our favorite topic. Want to guess what it is?
This is one of my favorite books, and anyone who loves horses should read it.
I love a good slow-burn romance, which occurs throughout this book and the next, but ultimately, it is how relatable a character the FMC is and how much I felt like the author was describing me.
The relationship between Devon and her Paint mare is incredibly vivid and realistic, and there is a lot of tension with the MMC!
McKennon Kelly is a handsome horse trainer who knows the cure for wannabe cowgirl Devon Brooke's horse troubles. Can he train her without revealing his secret? He's not so sure ...
Devon Brooke is a city girl gone country who desperately needs a certain Romeo in Wranglers' help with her new horse. People say she's a cowboy crazy cowgirl with horse problems. They may be right ...
Meet McKennon and Devon in the In the Reins series. A city-girl-gone-country, a handsome cowboy and a horse meet by fate on a southern farm. She's looking for a fresh start and unexpectedly…
My favorite mode of transport is being on the back of a good horse. I have enjoyed horse treks in Ecuador on the Inca Trail, in the backcountry of British Columbia, the High Sierras, and on the Wild West coast of Ireland, as well as numerous stays at guest’s ranches in the U.S. My equestrian articles have appeared in Equus, Horse Illustrated, and California Riding Magazine, to name a few. A back injury forced me to give up my mare and the riding world I loved. Writing The Cowgirl Jumped over the Moon was my way of letting go and moving forward in life.
I bought this book because I am a Longmire fan. The tight-lipped, tough Wyoming sheriff with a big heart and true grit is my kind of guy. I expected a juicy murder mystery, but not the heart-catching ride on a black beauty double.
Although Longmire's wild bareback ride on an unbridled mare stretches credulity, it is great fun to be there. If you like the haunting landscape of the West, the relentless pursuit of the truth, the mysticism of the Native Americans, and a good mystery, you will tick off all those boxes here.
The fifth book in the New York Times bestselling Longmire series, featuring Sheriff Walt Longmire
Wade Barsad locked his wife Mary's horses in their barn and then burned it down. In return she shot him in the head six times - or so the story goes. Sheriff Walt Longmire doesn't believe Mary's confession, and he's determined to dig deeper.
Posing as an insurance claims investigator, Walt goes undercover and soon discovers that the population of an entire town might have wanted Wade dead, including a beautiful Guatemalan bartender and a rancher with a taste for liquor but not so much…
My favorite mode of transport is being on the back of a good horse. I have enjoyed horse treks in Ecuador on the Inca Trail, in the backcountry of British Columbia, the High Sierras, and on the Wild West coast of Ireland, as well as numerous stays at guest’s ranches in the U.S. My equestrian articles have appeared in Equus, Horse Illustrated, and California Riding Magazine, to name a few. A back injury forced me to give up my mare and the riding world I loved. Writing The Cowgirl Jumped over the Moon was my way of letting go and moving forward in life.
I enjoyed this story, even though it was more about the rivalry between mother and daughter striving for Olympic Gold than it was about horses.
The horse jumping world is filled with backstabbing competitors, abuse of gorgeous animals, and risk of serious injury. Patterson dwells more on this than the very real connection riders have with their mounts. Still, it is a fun, engaging read.
'A great read for horse lovers and fans of show jumping' Jilly Cooper 'This is a hugely entertaining, riveting, page-turner of a book' Louise Penny 'An eye-opening ride through the high-stakes world of equestrian show-jumping . . . Three fearless women connected by blood, competition, and a passion for fast horses.' Carl Hiaasen _____________________________
Maggie Atwood and Becky McCabe - mother and daughter, both champion riders - vowed to never, ever, compete against one another.
But a dramatic turn of events ahead of the Paris Olympics changes everything.
Mother and daughter share a dream: to be the best in the…
I’m a trope-obsessed author who counts found family among her favorite Ao3 tags. I cannot get enough of books which read like fanfiction, and I’ll recommend my favorites every chance I get. I also do my part to put more queer found family books into the world—my debut adult fantasy The Sins On Their Bones is being published by Random House Canada in May 2024. When I’m not writing, I’m a full-time servant to my two enormous cats.
I was immediately enthralled by this queer Jewish-found fantasy book, pitched as Scorpio Races meets Peaky Blinders.
The daughter of a renowned family facing impending ruin teams up with a rogue enchanter and an ambitious heir to win a deadly horse race using forbidden magic.
As I read this book in a single sitting, my heart felt like I was the one running a race. I loved the entire gang, as well as the star of this particular found family—the cat.
Enter the corrupt world of Veradell, where warring monarchs vie for a kingdom full of forbidden magic, illicit romance and cut-throat horse racing. Steeped in Jewish folklore, this fast-paced YA fantasy by Kalyn Josephson is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo's Six of Crows.
Mikira Rusel is out of options. With her father imprisoned and facing rising debts, there's only one way to save her family from ruin: enter the Illinir, a high-stakes, cross-country horse race known for its high death toll as much as its flashy prize money.
To have any chance of success she'll have to recruit Ari,…
An old photograph shows a little blonde girl trying to climb a fence separating her from a pasture full of broodmares near Louisville, Kentucky. That was me, and I have never lost my fascination with these creatures of beauty, courage, and magic. Combine that with an equal passion for books, research, and writing, and you have the path leading to four books and hundreds of magazine articles on Thoroughbred horses over the last twenty years, with a fifth book due out next spring. The five books I’ve recommended are just a few of those that have provided touchstones and inspiration for my journey as a writer.
I was already well familiar with the life and racing career of Man o’ War through earlier reading, but Ours’s book brought fresh life to the history of a horse who was legendary beyond all others before he had even retired, yet was a flesh-and-blood animal with his own unique personality and vulnerabilities.
Add this to the tense web of relationships among Man O’ War’s owner, trainer, and jockeys—all complex characters who defied reduction to a sentence or two—and you have a taut, riveting read that held me spellbound right through the bittersweet notes of the final pages.
His trainer said that managing him was like holding a tiger by the tail. His owner compared him to "chain lightning." His jockeys found their lives transformed by him, in triumphant and distressing ways. All of them became caught in a battle for honesty. Born in 1917, Man o' War grew from a rebellious youngster into perhaps the greatest racehorse of all time. He set such astonishing speed records that The New York Times called him a "Speed Miracle." Often he won with so much energy in reserve that experts wondered how much faster he could have gone. Over the…
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