Books like Too good to be true by Benjamin Anastas


Too Good to Be True recounts Benjamin Anastas's journey to rebuild his life after a failed literary career and his wife's abandonment. The author, who was only 3 years old when he was diagnosed with a chronic illness, found himself in a mother's fringe-therapy group in Massachusetts. The phrase 'Too Good to Be True' haunted him throughout his life, and it was a sign around his neck. This memoir explores how his love for his son inspired him to confront painful childhood memories and rebuild his life.
First publish date: 2012
Genre: Memoir/Personal Memoir
Authors: Benjamin Anastas
★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 0.0 (0 community ratings)

Too good to be true by Benjamin Anastas

How are these books recommended?

The books recommended for Too good to be true by Benjamin Anastas are shaped by reader interaction. Votes on how closely books relate, user ratings, and community comments all help refine these recommendations and highlight books readers genuinely find similar in theme, ideas, and overall reading experience.


Have you read any of these books?
Your votes, ratings, and comments help improve recommendations and make it easier for other readers to discover books they’ll enjoy.

Books similar to Too good to be true (24 similar books)

The Book Thief by 4615885|Markus Zusak book cover

πŸ“˜ The Book Thief

During World War II, a foster girl in Nazi Germany steals books to share with neighbors and a hidden Jewish man, proving literature’s power to nourish the soul amid darkness.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 4.2 (121 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
A Little Life by 13671188|Hanya Yanagihara book cover

πŸ“˜ A Little Life

A Little Life follows four college friends in New York as they confront trauma, love and the enduring scars of their pasts, weaving themes of friendship, family, and identity into a profound coming‑of‑age story.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 4.0 (78 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
All the Light We Cannot See by 4252915|Anthony Doerr book cover

πŸ“˜ All the Light We Cannot See

A 1930s wartime tale of a blind French girl and a German boy whose lives intersect in occupied France, weaving themes of survival, friendship, and the moral choices people make amid World War II.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 4.2 (76 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
The Night Circus by 11357281|Erin Morgenstern book cover

πŸ“˜ The Night Circus

In the unforgettable Leβ€―Cirque des RΓͺves, two young magicians, Celia and Marco, are locked in a nocturnal duel of wonder and willβ€”an impossible game where love and magic collide on a stage of breathtaking spectacle.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 4.3 (59 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
The Rosie Project by 11542365|Graeme Simsion book cover

πŸ“˜ The Rosie Project

Don Tillman, a genetics professor with Asperger’s, designs a scientific survey to find a wife, only to meet Rosie Jarman, a drinker and late arriver who challenges his controlled worldview and leads him to discover that love can’t be measured.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 3.9 (30 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
The Art of Racing in the Rain by 8379276|Garth Stein book cover

πŸ“˜ The Art of Racing in the Rain

A devoted dog reflects on life, love, and racing while watching his owner, a race car driver, navigate family trials and professional ambition.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 4.1 (17 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Notes on Grief by 4261433|Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie book cover

πŸ“˜ Notes on Grief


β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 3.6 (5 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Every love story is a ghost story by 7239057|D. T. Max book cover

πŸ“˜ Every love story is a ghost story
 by D. T. Max

David Foster Wallace's life and work in biography, capturing the literary genius and struggle of a misunderstood writer gone too soon, as journalist D. T. Max delves into the tormented life of one of America's most innovative and influential authors.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 3.5 (4 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
The light we lost by 11158238|Jill Santopolo book cover

πŸ“˜ The light we lost

Two college friends discover that love can span continents and a decade when they reunite after life‑changing choices thrust them apart.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 4.3 (3 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Lust & wonder by 4254607|Augusten Burroughs book cover

πŸ“˜ Lust & wonder

Augusten Burroughs recounts his many New York relationships, exploring love, lust, and the search for meaning in an honest, humorous memoir.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 4.0 (1 rating)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Inheritance by 6397774|Dani Shapiro book cover

πŸ“˜ Inheritance


β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 5.0 (1 rating)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
And So It Goes by 8972621|Charles J. Shields book cover

πŸ“˜ And So It Goes

Kurt Vonnegut Jr. Biography: An Author's Autobiography of the Most Influential Iconoclast of His Time

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 1.0 (1 rating)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Henry James by 6425597|Henry James book cover

πŸ“˜ Henry James

Henryβ€―James’s annotated correspondence reveals the mind of a master novelist, offering insights into his works, literary craft, and views on sex, politics, and friendship through letters to writers, artists, and leaders.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 5.0 (1 rating)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Secret Historian by 6908997|Justin Spring book cover

πŸ“˜ Secret Historian

A biography that reveals the hidden life of Samuel M. Stewardβ€”novelist, poet, professor, and post‑Stonewall tattoo artistβ€”through unpublished diaries and research correspondence, illustrating early homosexual existence in America.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between by 10481301|Hisham Matar book cover

πŸ“˜ The Return: Fathers, Sons and the Land in Between

243 pages : 21 cm

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
The Great Believers by 11324392|Rebecca Makkai book cover

πŸ“˜ The Great Believers

In 1985 Chicago, gallery director Yale Tishman faces career triumphs and the devastation of the AIDS epidemic, while his friend Nico dies and his partner tests positive. Thirty years later, Fiona travels to Paris to confront her estranged daughter lost to a cult, uncovering the lasting impact of AIDS on their lives.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Nothing by 11325653|Blake Butler book cover

πŸ“˜ Nothing

In his first full-length nonfiction book, novelist and critic Blake Butler chronicles his epic battle with insomnia, exploring how sleepless nights reshape his imagination, creative process, and view of reality.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Too good to be true by 10304392|Kate William book cover

πŸ“˜ Too good to be true

When glamorous Susan Devlin from New York City visits Sweet Valley, Twin sisters Elizabeth and Jessica navigate the excitement of a two‑week stay, uncovering surprises and romance in their little town.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Too good to be true by 6965050|Kristan Higgins book cover

πŸ“˜ Too good to be true

Grace Emerson faces a personal crisis when her ex‑fiancΓ© starts dating her younger sister, prompting her to invent a new boyfriend to protect her privacy and keep the drama at bay.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Borrowed Finery by 7038819|Paula Fox book cover

πŸ“˜ Borrowed Finery
 by Paula Fox

A poignant memoir about a child's acceptance of her uncertain past and a life adrift in modern America.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Now and Then by 7665950|Joseph Heller book cover

πŸ“˜ Now and Then

Joseph Heller, author of *Catch‑22*, chronicles his life from a Depression‑era Coney Island childhood through wartime service, postwar education, career in advertising, and literary success.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Hourglass by 6397774|Dani Shapiro book cover

πŸ“˜ Hourglass

Dani Shapiro’s memoir Hourglass is an intimate exploration of marriage, memory, and identity, charting the evolving bonds between a woman and her husband as she confronts love’s joys and challenges over time.

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine by 11789166|Gail Honeyman book cover

πŸ“˜ Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine

See https://openlibrary.org/works/OL19781733W/Eleanor_Oliphant_Is_Completely_Fine

β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0
A Man Called Ove by 13702378|Fredrik Backman book cover

πŸ“˜ A Man Called Ove


β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… 0.0 (0 ratings)
Similar? ✓ Yes 0 ✗ No 0

Have a similar book in mind? Let others know!

Please login to submit books!