100 books like Nobody Gets Out Alive

By Leigh Newman,

Here are 100 books that Nobody Gets Out Alive fans have personally recommended if you like Nobody Gets Out Alive. Shepherd is a community of 10,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Lost Mountain

Richard Chiappone Author Of The Hunger of Crows

From my list on real lives of Alaskans—not the idiots on reality TV.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have lived in Alaska for forty years, working both as a construction worker and a college professor. I love Alaska, but not always the way it is depicted, particularly on reality TV. I hope the characters I create and the stories I tell will bring a more balanced view of everyday Alaskans, who are, after all, Americans too. The Hunger of Crows shows small-town Alaska through the eyes of four characters: two lifelong Alaskans, and two “from Outside” as we say here. Hopefully, it will provide a balanced view of this great place.

Richard's book list on real lives of Alaskans—not the idiots on reality TV

Richard Chiappone Why did Richard love this book?

Although I happen to know that poet Anne Coray intended this to be an environmentalist novel (a town threatened with doom by a giant mining operation), this beautifully written story set in the fictitious town of Lost Mountain in remote Western Alaska is an example of how Alaskans come together in the face of threats to the beauty and natural wonder of our great land. It may be about the land, but it is the cast of quirky characters that makes it human. 

By Anne Coray,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

The searing debut novel of poet and writer Anne Coray, Lost Mountain is an impassioned story of love, loss, environment, and politics against a landscape facing threat of destruction.

"Anne Coray, the author of three poetry collections, has brought her observational and writing skills to fiction that demonstrates both her attention to language and her passion for her home place. . . Lost Mountain is many things: a love story between the two main characters, a portrait of a small and isolated community, a mystery, a paean to salmon and lives that surround salmon, a not-very-disguised critique of a megamine…


Book cover of Whispering Alaska

Richard Chiappone Author Of The Hunger of Crows

From my list on real lives of Alaskans—not the idiots on reality TV.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have lived in Alaska for forty years, working both as a construction worker and a college professor. I love Alaska, but not always the way it is depicted, particularly on reality TV. I hope the characters I create and the stories I tell will bring a more balanced view of everyday Alaskans, who are, after all, Americans too. The Hunger of Crows shows small-town Alaska through the eyes of four characters: two lifelong Alaskans, and two “from Outside” as we say here. Hopefully, it will provide a balanced view of this great place.

Richard's book list on real lives of Alaskans—not the idiots on reality TV

Richard Chiappone Why did Richard love this book?

Also environmentally themed (a town threatened by a giant clear-cutting lumber operation), Whispering Alaska is ultimately a family story of twin sisters coming to Alaska. I loved the way Jones depicts the vastly different twin girls: one compliant and friendly, the other withdrawn and driving her father nuts. Tolstoy famously said all unhappy families are unhappy in their own way. Well, this family is struggling with the loss of the girl’s mother on top of trying to find their places in the rainy Southeast coastal town. Listed as “middle-grade” Y/A, it’s a great read for adults interested in Alaska too. 

By Brendan Jones,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

In this eco-focused middle-grade novel, readers follow the story of twin sisters who move with their father to a small town in Alaska for a new start after the devastating loss of their mother.

It’s been four months since their mother died. The twins and their father have moved from Pennsylvania to a small town in Alaska to be near extended family. Nicky and Josie find the wilderness mysterious and beautiful, and a much-needed refuge. The girls drifted apart somewhat during their transition, each dealing with grief in a different way. Now, as they settle into a new normal, they…


Book cover of A Thousand Trails Home: Living with Caribou

Richard Chiappone Author Of The Hunger of Crows

From my list on real lives of Alaskans—not the idiots on reality TV.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have lived in Alaska for forty years, working both as a construction worker and a college professor. I love Alaska, but not always the way it is depicted, particularly on reality TV. I hope the characters I create and the stories I tell will bring a more balanced view of everyday Alaskans, who are, after all, Americans too. The Hunger of Crows shows small-town Alaska through the eyes of four characters: two lifelong Alaskans, and two “from Outside” as we say here. Hopefully, it will provide a balanced view of this great place.

Richard's book list on real lives of Alaskans—not the idiots on reality TV

Richard Chiappone Why did Richard love this book?

Born and raised in remote bush Alaska, Kanter’s hypnotizing writing will take you with him across the remote tundra of his home territory as he hunts and lives among the great herds of caribou. Each short chapter is like a prose poem, beautifully written and evocative of the people and the place. A glimpse into historical, almost prehistorical, life in Alaska. 

By Seth Kantner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Thousand Trails Home as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?


Bestselling, award-winning author of Ordinary Wolves, a debut novel Publisher’s Weekly called “a tour de force”
Conservation-based story of changing Arctic from an on-the-ground perpective
Features full-color photography throughout

A stunningly lyrical firsthand account of a life spent hunting, studying, and living alongside caribou, A Thousand Trails Home encompasses the historical past and present day, revealing the fragile intertwined lives of people and animals surviving on an uncertain landscape of cultural and climatic change sweeping the Alaskan Arctic. Author Seth Kantner vividly illuminates this critical story about the interconnectedness of the Iñupiat of Northwest Alaska, the Western Arctic Caribou Herd,…


Book cover of Cold Mountain Path: The Ghost Town Decades of McCarthy-Kennecott, Alaska

Richard Chiappone Author Of The Hunger of Crows

From my list on real lives of Alaskans—not the idiots on reality TV.

Why am I passionate about this?

I have lived in Alaska for forty years, working both as a construction worker and a college professor. I love Alaska, but not always the way it is depicted, particularly on reality TV. I hope the characters I create and the stories I tell will bring a more balanced view of everyday Alaskans, who are, after all, Americans too. The Hunger of Crows shows small-town Alaska through the eyes of four characters: two lifelong Alaskans, and two “from Outside” as we say here. Hopefully, it will provide a balanced view of this great place.

Richard's book list on real lives of Alaskans—not the idiots on reality TV

Richard Chiappone Why did Richard love this book?

Chosen by National Public Radio as “essential reading” for anyone traveling to Alaska, Kizzia’s lively, often humorous historical account of the remote copper mining town of McCarthy tucked beneath the Wrangel Mountains will astound you with its descriptions of bush country life in Alaska from 1938 to 1982. A book that begins and ends with the effects of a mass murder in a remote small town. Thrilling reading. 

By Tom Kizzia,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Cold Mountain Path as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In this history of life in an isolated ghost town, bestselling Alaska author Tom Kizzia unfolds a deeply American saga of renunciation and renewal. The spirit of Alaska in the old days-impetuous, free-wheeling, and bounty-blessed-lived on in the never-quite-abandoned mining town of McCarthy. While the new state boomed in the pipeline era, cagey old-timers and young back-to-the-landers forged a rough wilderness community that lived by its own rules.
 
As the T'ang Dynasty mountain poet Han Shan wrote in his Cold Mountain Poems, "If your heart was like mine, you'd get it and be right here."
 
The Wrangell Mountains developed a…


Book cover of Good Wives: Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England, 1650-1750

Jenny Hale Pulsipher Author Of Swindler Sachem: The American Indian Who Sold His Birthright, Dropped Out of Harvard, and Conned the King of England

From my list on seventeenth-century America.

Why am I passionate about this?

Jenny Hale Pulsipher is a professor of history at Brigham Young University and the author of numerous articles and two award-winning books, Subjects unto the Same King: Indians, English, and the Contest of Authority in Early New England and Swindler Sachem: The American Indian Who Sold His Birthright, Dropped Out of Harvard, and Conned the King of England.

Jenny's book list on seventeenth-century America

Jenny Hale Pulsipher Why did Jenny love this book?

Ulrich, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for A Midwife's Tale, first wrote this ground-breaking study of women in early New England. With her characteristically elegant prose and inspired organization, she details the varied roles women played in family, community, and religious life. An illuminating work, and a page-turner.

By Laurel Thatcher Ulrich,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

This enthralling work of scholarship strips away abstractions to reveal the hidden--and not always stoic--face of the "goodwives" of colonial America. In these pages we encounter the awesome burdens--and the considerable power--of a New England housewife's domestic life and witness her occasional forays into the world of men. We see her borrowing from her neighbors, loving her husband, raising--and, all too often, mourning--her children, and even attaining fame as a heroine of frontier conflicts or notoriety as a murderess. Painstakingly researched, lively with scandal and homely detail, Good Wives is history at its best.


Book cover of A Cold Day for Murder

Melissa Yi Author Of Code Blues

From my list on smart women who kick ass.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love to read and write about strong women. I don't necessarily mean gunning down aliens while wearing tight pants. Those books can be good too, but let's be honest, tight pants encourage yeast infections. I prefer books where women handle anything from murder to wayward cats with intelligence and compassion, while wearing whatever they want. The women, I mean. Cats already figured out to skip the pants.

Melissa's book list on smart women who kick ass

Melissa Yi Why did Melissa love this book?

I fell in love with Kate Shugak as soon as I met her on the page.

Kate's an Aleutian private investigator who lives with Mutt, her half-wolf, half-husky, on a 160-acreage homestead in Alaska. Do you know why Kate carries a scar from ear to ear? Do you know why Kate and Mutt's nearest other neighbors are a grizzly bear and a moose, and why they like it that way?

If so, you probably know how everyone turns to Kate for justice and that this very first book won an Edgar Award. Maybe you, like me, have read all 26 books in this series. High five.

By Dana Stabenow,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked A Cold Day for Murder as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Kate Shugak returns to her roots in the far Alaskan north, after leaving the Anchorage D.A.'s office. Her deductive powers are definitely needed when a ranger disappears. Looking for clues among the Aleutian pipeliners, she begins to realize the fine line between lies and loyalties--between justice served and cold murder.


Book cover of American Women: Their Lives in Their Words

Marlene Targ Brill Author Of Jane Addams: The Most Dangerous Woman in America

From my list on groundbreaking women in history.

Why am I passionate about this?

As the author of 73 published books, I have four goals for writing. I want to write more women into history, emphasize how everyday activities children accomplish are important, empower young readers, and tell a story that moves readers, either through an emotional response or the knowledge that they can do what whoever I wrote about did. My biographies cover role models who have been groundbreakers in their time and place. Readers can be, too.

Marlene's book list on groundbreaking women in history

Marlene Targ Brill Why did Marlene love this book?

Want to discover the vast collection of groundbreaking women in one volume? I can’t think of a better way than to investigate women in their time and read their own words in this book. Each woman featured is introduced by a discussion of why what she said and who she was influenced history.

I’ve used this book for quotes in addition to studying the importance of women leaders in different eras, from U.S. founding mothers and settling the West to worker rights and the women’s movements to vote and find equal treatment, something relevant today.

By Doreen Rappaport,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked American Women 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?

Excerpts from women's diaries, letters, speeches, and autobiographical writings provide a first-person look at the history of American women.


Book cover of Year of Yes: How to Dance It Out, Stand In the Sun and Be Your Own Person

Tereill Peay Author Of My Broken Stiletto: A Woman's Guide to Up Leveling Your Faith, Finances, and Fashion

From my list on to improve style, increase cash, illuminate confidence.

Why am I passionate about this?

Throughout my journey, I’ve had to endure many challenges coming from humble beginnings so I wrote my book based on my experiences of being the 1st generational college graduate to overcoming many obstacles that affected my self-esteem while running a multimillion-dollar branch in the banking industry. Writing My Broken Stiletto allowed me to showcase that being resilient is a mindset that can be challenging but worth the reward when you get out of your own way.

Tereill's book list on to improve style, increase cash, illuminate confidence

Tereill Peay Why did Tereill love this book?

This book gave me the inspiration that I could release the people-pleasing effect and learned to say yes to myself.

This book helped me to examine my belief system of how I approach my self-image and how that affected the people around me including my family and friends.

If you are a creative person, an entrepreneur, a mom, or someone struggling with balancing your life and tend to put yourself last, this book will help you shift your mindset and perspective to show up authentically for yourself first.

Having a list of demands on your neck can feel overwhelming and Shonda shows us how to handle it all from her mishaps all while looking amazingly stunning in the process. For me, it was allowing myself to relinquish control and say yes to the things that light me up.

Shonda’s journey of navigating Hollywood lets us know that we all have…

By Shonda Rhimes,

Why should I read it?

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

What is this book about?

As the mega-talented creator of Grey's Anatomyand Scandaland executive producer of How to Get Away with Murderand the single mom of three children, Shonda Rhimes had lots of good reasons to say NO when an unexpected invitation arrived. Hollywood party? No. Speaking engagement? No. Media appearances? No. [The side benefit of saying No for an introvert like her: nothing new to fear.]

Then Shonda's sister laid down a challenge: just for one year, try to say YES to the invitations that come your way. Shonda reluctantly agreed?and the result was nothing short of transformative. In YEAR OF YES, Shonda Rhimes…


Book cover of A Woman's Path: Women's Best Spiritual Travel Writing

Toby Israel Author Of Vagabondess: A Guide to Solo Female Travel

From my list on wild women and solo female travelers.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a vagabondess and storyteller currently rooted in Costa Rica. I have traveled and lived many places, and can comfortably say I feel at home just about everywhere. I have a metaphorical closet full of hats including: Author, Editor, Marketing Consultant, Movement Artist, and Empowerment Self-Defense Instructor. I am the founder of Mujeres Fuertes Costa Rica, a holistic self-defense project creating unique empowerment retreats around the country and region. I believe that words are medicine, and that stories can heal the world. I am passionate about the power of the written word, and I regularly publish writing about travel and life, as well as support others to share their stories in my work as an editor and consultant.

Toby's book list on wild women and solo female travelers

Toby Israel Why did Toby love this book?

I happened upon this gem of an anthology in a library book sale a couple of years back, and I highly recommend trying to get your hands on a copy if you’re looking for wide-ranging inspiration and guidance on the traveler’s path. With a focus on the spiritual element of women’s journeys, and featuring literary powerhouses like Maya Angelou and Anne Lamott, this collection is an ode to feminine courage, power, and transformation. Each essay is a masterpiece, and can be a guide to a specific kind of journey. You’ll want to carry a dog-eared copy with you to come back to again and again.

By Lucy McCauley (editor), Amy Greimann Carlson (editor), Jennifer L. Leo (editor)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Woman's Path as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A Woman's Path presents inspiring stories of spiritual growth and awakening, written by some of the world's finest women writers. From New Mexico to Niger, Israel to Ireland, India to Chechnya, the wide range of stories in this enthralling collection touch on common themes letting go, opening up, finding an inner peace. Through these tales, we see again and again the grand and subtle ways that travel awakens us, nudging important questions to the surface, directing us to view life from new angles. And while many of these stories take place while on the road, for others the change of…


Book cover of The Autobiography of My Mother

Juyanne James Author Of The Persimmon Trail and Other Stories

From my list on written by African American female authors.

Why am I passionate about this?

I am a black female writer who instinctively understood that in becoming an African American writer of stories (and essays), I would need to write from a long tradition of African American culture and history, as well as to learn everything I could from the amazing list of African American female writers who came before me. I embraced that notion, and as I began to place my own words on the page, I paid close attention to how those women writers had carefully chosen their own. These are the five books by African American women writers who have inspired me and helped me become the best writer I can be.

Juyanne's book list on written by African American female authors

Juyanne James Why did Juyanne love this book?

I may have admired Kincaid as a person even before I read her novel about a young woman who must find her way in life after her mother dies during childbirth. I admired Kincaid’s determined journey to become a writer: she left home as a teenager, worked, found a job as a staff writer for The New Yorker, then began writing stories and novels, even changing her name in the process.

Reading Autobiography—one of several of her books about the mother/daughter relationship—gave me a meaningful connection between the story being told and the language/syntax being used to tell that story. Kincaid’s amazing sense of honesty is only eclipsed by her lyrically perfect prose. I knew that if I found myself writing in that same beautiful style, I, too, might be able to tell my own stories as they should be told.

I also admired Kincaid’s ease in writing…

By Jamaica Kincaid,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Autobiography of My Mother as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

From the recipient of the 2010 Clifton Fadiman Medal, an unforgettable novel of one woman's courageous coming-of-age

Jamaica Kincaid's The Autobiography of My Mother is a story of love, fear, loss, and the forging of character, an account of one woman's inexorable evolution, evoked in startling and magical poetry.

Powerful, disturbing, stirring, Jamaica Kincaid's novel is the deeply charged story of a woman's life on the island of Dominica. Xuela Claudette Richardson, the daughter of a Carib mother and a half-Scottish, half-African father, loses her mother to death the moment she is born and must find her way on her…


5 book lists we think you will like!

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