10 books for fans of M Train
- 1
Just Kids
by Patti Smith
More about this pick
Smith's memoir captures her intense friendship with Robert Mapplethorpe as they navigated poverty, art, and ambition in 1970s New York. Their relationship—romantic, creative, and deeply spiritual—unfolds against the backdrop of the Chelsea Hotel and nascent punk scene.
★ 4.21 Goodreads (361.2K ratings) - 2
Devotion
Why I Write • Book 1
by Patti Smith
More about this pick
Smith opens her creative process to examination, tracing the mysterious connections and inspirations that transform raw experience into art that resonates with unknown audiences.
★ 3.85 Goodreads (16.6K ratings) - 3
My First Popsicle: An Anthology of Food and Feelings
by Zosia Mamet
More about this pick
Twenty-four creators explore how food becomes a repository for memory, examining the meals that shaped them through joy, disgust, tradition, and transformation.
★ 3.59 Goodreads (1.2K ratings) - 4
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources
by Martin Lings
More about this pick
Drawing from the earliest Arabic biographies, Lings reconstructs Muhammad's life through the voices of those who actually heard him speak. Scholarly rigor meets accessible storytelling.
★ 4.57 Goodreads (13.6K ratings) - 5
The In-Between: Unforgettable Encounters During Life's Final Moments
by Hadley Vlahos
More about this pick
TikTok star turned author shares moving encounters from her hospice work, revealing unexpected joy and wisdom in humanity's final moments with remarkable grace.
★ 4.49 Goodreads (50.9K ratings) - 6
Heavy
by Kiese Laymon
More about this pick
Hearing Laymon narrate his own story adds devastating intimacy to his exploration of trauma, weight, and the lies families tell themselves to survive.
★ 4.47 Goodreads (45.6K ratings) - 7
Hamilton: The Revolution
by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jeremy McCarter
More about this pick
Miranda chronicles how hip-hop, R&B, and traditional theater merged to create Hamilton, revealing rap's storytelling power while reclaiming America's founding narrative through diverse casting.
★ 4.45 Goodreads (55.1K ratings) - 8
Strangers
by Belle Burden
More about this pick
A pandemic love story that mirrors the crisis itself: sudden, intense, all-consuming, then gone. Burden examines how isolation made people vulnerable to both connection and heartbreak in equal measure.
★ 4.35 Goodreads (22.8K ratings) - 9
Bruchko: The Astonishing True Story of a 19-Year-Old American, His Capture
by Bruce Olson
More about this pick
Nineteen-year-old Bruce Olson left home to evangelize a killer tribe, facing capture, torture, and disease—then discovered methods that revolutionized missionary work worldwide.
★ 4.35 Goodreads (12.9K ratings) - 10
