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Ken’s 2024 Year in Books
Take a look at Ken’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.
Ken Craft’s Followers (1,235)
5,747 books
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298 friends
515 books
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46 friends
559 books
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1,214 friends
2,037 books
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231 friends
1,465 books
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37 friends
2,938 books
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926 friends
826 books
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387 friends
7,224 books
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485 friends
More friends…
Ken Craft
Goodreads Author
Website
Genre
Influences
Thoreau, Dillard, Tolstoy, Carver, Kenyon, Kinnell, Simic, Williams co
...more
Member Since
January 2008
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The Indifferent World
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published
2016
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3 editions
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Reincarnation & Other Stimulants: Life, Death, & In-Between Poems
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Lost Sherpa of Happiness
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* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.
Ken Craft hasn't written any blog posts yet.
Ken’s Recent Updates
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Ken
is currently reading
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Ken
liked
Caterina's status update
Caterina
is on page 17 of 272 of Prairie Time: As for man, his days are as grass: as a flower in the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it, and it is gone; and the place thereof shall know it no more.
. - King David, Psalms 103:15-16 |
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Ken
made a comment on
his status
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snorwick wrote: "Wasn't clued in to your blog before, Ken but I'm in! See you over at Substack."
Thanks, Snorwick. I've a long way to go on making the ...more " |
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Ken
added a status update: For those who followed my blog "Updates on a Free-Verse Life," some news! I've migrated to Substack, where I can post for free vs. for an annual fee. Substacks are a little different. They're newsletters readers subscribe to and receive in their inboxes. Anyway, if you're interested, head over to updatesonafreeverselife.substack.com. It's the same new, same new: riffs on reading, writing, publishing, and teaching.
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Ken
and
12 other people
liked
P.E.'s status update
P.E.
is on page 600 of 896 of Eutopia: 'Mais quelle est l'alternative ? Quelques-uns décident pour tous ? Comment les choisirait-t-on ? Par le mérite ? Par l'argent ? Par la séduction ? Par l'élection ? On a appelé ça "république". Il aurait mieux valu appeler ça "oligarchie". [...] C'est l'appropriation du pouvoir par un petit nombre de personnes, toutes semblables, leur unicité masquée par un faux pluriel.'
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Candido wrote: "I agree completely.. from fuck to fuck the world around István changes but we never are let to know his deep essence. Good to read any
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Ken
and
6 other people
liked
Candi’s status update
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Ken
finished reading
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Jennifer wrote: "Ken wrote: "Yes, a sad read, actually, because he had an unhappy marriage and was tortured by his own bisexuality and, as was true of
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Jennifer wrote: "I love this review, Ken, and am grateful to have found it. A HS friend composed an opera with Sandra Cisneros of The House on Mango S
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“You see them in the mercury
light of water, the expanding
orbs of silver where trout
breathe. You hear
them in the sleepy kiss
of rainfall on pine
needles, smell them
as if they were snow
to the west.”
― The Indifferent World
light of water, the expanding
orbs of silver where trout
breathe. You hear
them in the sleepy kiss
of rainfall on pine
needles, smell them
as if they were snow
to the west.”
― The Indifferent World
“To a Depressed Friend
Sometimes, to make sure
You're still here,
Look up for cloud sustenance.
Be sure they are
Different from yesterday,
From an hour ago,
From when you were 15
And sky didn't matter
Because only pretty girls did.
Note how cumulus
Will be looking down
And naming what
Kind of human you're
Shaped like: mailman,
Archaeologist, student of rain.
On clear nights, rely on starlight.
Pentacles. Pulses.
Further proof of existence.”
― Reincarnation & Other Stimulants: Life, Death, & In-Between Poems
Sometimes, to make sure
You're still here,
Look up for cloud sustenance.
Be sure they are
Different from yesterday,
From an hour ago,
From when you were 15
And sky didn't matter
Because only pretty girls did.
Note how cumulus
Will be looking down
And naming what
Kind of human you're
Shaped like: mailman,
Archaeologist, student of rain.
On clear nights, rely on starlight.
Pentacles. Pulses.
Further proof of existence.”
― Reincarnation & Other Stimulants: Life, Death, & In-Between Poems
“THOREAU KNOWS
(The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.)
Making sense of things,
Trying to track
Nine pebbles of sadness
To their source.
Sly crows
Stole them a mile back,
But Thoreau knows
I should walk anyway
Under sun-coined trees
Thick with wood-thrush song
Till I reach undergrowth
Dense and itchy with the past
Till the air cools and I am near
Enough to con crow talk
Mouth fulls, stories dark.”
― Reincarnation & Other Stimulants: Life, Death, & In-Between Poems
(The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation.)
Making sense of things,
Trying to track
Nine pebbles of sadness
To their source.
Sly crows
Stole them a mile back,
But Thoreau knows
I should walk anyway
Under sun-coined trees
Thick with wood-thrush song
Till I reach undergrowth
Dense and itchy with the past
Till the air cools and I am near
Enough to con crow talk
Mouth fulls, stories dark.”
― Reincarnation & Other Stimulants: Life, Death, & In-Between Poems
“The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. From the desperate city you go into the desperate country, and have to console yourself with the bravery of minks and muskrats. A stereotyped but unconscious despair is concealed even under what are called the games and amusements of mankind. There is no play in them, for this comes after work. But it is a characteristic of wisdom not to do desperate things..”
― Civil Disobedience and Other Essays
― Civil Disobedience and Other Essays
Language & Grammar
— 2164 members
— last activity Aug 30, 2025 03:36AM
This group is for word lovers and has topics both serious (grammatical questions and concerns) and not so serious (word play and word games of all sor ...more
The Obscure Reading Group
— 196 members
— last activity Sep 20, 2024 04:19PM
July 2024 update: This group is going on hiatus due to low participation in recent discussions. Like a phoenix, however, it reserves the right to fly ...more
Constant Reader
— 5986 members
— last activity 15 minutes ago
A forum for friendly discussion of classics, literary fiction, nonfiction, poetry and short stories. We also love movies and art. Don't ask to join th ...more
Poetry Readers Challenge
— 646 members
— last activity Nov 01, 2025 06:13PM
Let's talk about poetry books. This group's members read poetry collections, with the goal of reviewing twenty in a year. C'mon. Do it. It's good for ...more
Comments (showing 1-46)
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Thank you for the friendship and the sympathetic message.
Thank you for the invite, Ken. Delighted to be your friend here and looking forward to more bookish interactions.
Thank you for inviting me Ken, glad to be a friend!
Thanks for the group invite. Unfortunately, I'm scheduled tightly to meet my 2020 goal. Cheryl
Butt in all you want, Poppy. Always good to hear your voice. I think I bought The Power of One for my son many moons ago. It sits now in my classroom library for 8th graders....
S. wrote: "Hi NE -Maybe you could recommend some books for me to push on my 12-year old son. He's a semi-reluctant reader, i.e. it's hard labor getting him to pick something up, but if the story is good, onc..."
Butting in here to recommend THE POWER of ONE. I constantly give my non-reading grandsons books they probably never open - but someday, they might!!! So I have queried all my still-living relatives about their favorite books and passed along their opinions to my boys. AND, I have given them a little book by Einstein in hopes the size of the book will intrigue them!!!
Knausgaard junkies. I like that. And I think I'd enjoy having a beer with good ole Karl Ove, too....
Thanks for the friend request, Ken! Uh oh, it appears we are both Knausgaard junkies. I like the other books we have in common as well. Look forward to your reviews. I'm a bit spotty in my attendance here but try to read and comment on at least some of each friend's reviews.
Hard to believe this place is a decade old... and I'm only now getting on it.
Lisa wrote: "Thanks for the friend request, Ken. I'm looking forward to sharing thoughts on The Odyssey and will look at your bookshelves and read some of your other reviews. I've kept my friends list small, so..."Understand completely. Social networks (Twitter, FB, Instagram, et al) are like Sirens that suck you in. It's why I don't bother with a cellphone (the Queen Siren). This is it. GR. And, as you say, it, too, can become a time suck because it's all about my favorite addiction, books!
See you on the boards....
Thanks for the friend request, Ken. I'm looking forward to sharing thoughts on The Odyssey and will look at your bookshelves and read some of your other reviews. I've kept my friends list small, so I can engage with people here. At the current moment, it's tempting to escape into Goodreads whenever I leave my own fictional world . . .
Majenta wrote: "Hello, Ken! Thank you for contacting me. Congratulations on your books! Happy reading, writing, and everything else. Have a great weekend! Blessings!Best wishes from Majenta"
Thank you, Majenta, for all the well wishes and blessings. I like 'em! My books like 'em! I look forward to reading your reviews...
Erwin wrote: "Hi Ken, thank you for the invite and you recommendation.I haven't read Huck Finn yet but it is on my wish list (and is already present in my book case :) )"
What? I found someone who hasn't read Huck Finn? Annus mirabilis, as they used to say. Glad it's on your shelf, though. Good luck with the dialect. When the day comes, I mean.
Hello, Ken! Thank you for contacting me. Congratulations on your books! Happy reading, writing, and everything else. Have a great weekend! Blessings!Best wishes from Majenta
Hi Ken, thank you for the invite and you recommendation.I haven't read Huck Finn yet but it is on my wish list (and is already present in my book case :) )
Agnieszka wrote: "Greetings from Poland , Ken ! Thanks for the friend invite and here's to future bookish interactions !"Dzien dobry, Agnieszka! I am 1/4 Polish so know just enough to earn an eye roll from my Polish friends. I look forward to your reviews, comments, etc.
Greetings from Poland , Ken ! Thanks for the friend invite and here's to future bookish interactions !
Thank you, Cindy. I wrote a lot in the summer, of course. And suffering insomnia has a silver lining, too. For writing, I mean. (Certainly not for teaching!)
Ken/NewEngland, I just wanted to congratulate you. To have written something worthy of publication is estimable; to have done so while teaching is a laudable accomplishment, indeed! I felicitate you, and I look forward to reading it.
Miriam wrote: "Any friend of Roger Zelazny.... ;)Congrats on the publication!"
Thanks, Miriam. I actually tracked down the whole set of Zelazny's Amber series for my classroom library. Alas, the students who tried it weren't as impressed. Kids these days!
Any friend of Roger Zelazny.... ;)Congrats on the publication!
Newengland wrote: "At 17, he can start enjoying some plot-rich books for adults, too. Anyway, some possibilities for browsing:Winger
Boy Nobody
Runner
[book:Soldier Bo..."
Thank you! Somehow I missed this when you posted it. I will check those all out.
At 17, he can start enjoying some plot-rich books for adults, too. Anyway, some possibilities for browsing:Winger
Boy Nobody
Runner
Soldier Boys
Soldier X
Boy21
Peak
Little Brother
The Recruit
The Son
Unbroken (The Young Adult Adaptation): An Olympian's Journey from Airman to Castaway to Captive
Shelter
The 5th Wave
Happy shopping (and reading) to He'll-Be-a-Reader-Yet!
Hi - I'm shopping again for YA recommendations for my reluctant just-turned-17 year old son! He's promised to read this summer but isn't interested in my enthusiastic offerings. He loved that Labyrinth series a couple or 3 years ago. In general I need something not brand-new, since it won't have been translated into German yet. Thanks! Hope you're enjoying a reading summer yourself.
S. wrote: "You may enjoy this clutter spoof: http://the-toast.net/2015/02/24/get-r..."Now there's a woman who gets it. (Hold on, my coffee mug is speaking to me, only I'm not sure I understand its language....)
Gabi wrote: "I forgot the most important reason for asking you to be friends: I like you.You make me laugh! You have a dry humor that I appreciate and I suspect your pupils do, too!
Gabi"
Well shucks thanks, Gabs. You're pretty funny yourself at times! And one hella artist!
I forgot the most important reason for asking you to be friends: I like you.You make me laugh! You have a dry humor that I appreciate and I suspect your pupils do, too!
Gabi
Hi Newengland.Thanks for the friends request. I confess that because I follow you, I had forgotten that we weren't already friends. :)
Hee hee. :)I took many naps on Saturday, and as a result mucked up my sleep schedule. We'll see if I can get back on track.
And my reading progress took a real nosedive last week. I didn't even try to read much - just hung on for the ride. :)
Thanks so much for the friend request! I also got a bit tangled up in windmills. :)
Whoa, another reader is born! Only now I'm dying to know which four.Also, there are more (recs) where those came from. Just shout when you need them.
Hey NE, I wanted to thank you for the book recommendations for my son. He read FOUR of them in April.
Ha! Your hatred only gets to play for 12 days. Then you can go back to being smug about mid-May releases vs. late June ones (sigh)....
I might have gloated when we were done in mid-May, but we're pretty much back at work now. I hate you :).
List coming your way, postal express (ipso fasto, as they say in Rome).
Hi NE -Maybe you could recommend some books for me to push on my 12-year old son. He's a semi-reluctant reader, i.e. it's hard labor getting him to pick something up, but if the story is good, once he's into it, he's very happy.
He liked Harry Potter, and just finished the Rick Riordan books with Percy Jackson. It would have to be something fairly popular, since it'll have to have been translated into German.
I'd be grateful for any suggestions.
thanks, sarah
Merci Merwin, Sarah! I'll give you some feedback when I have time to digest them alone....
Hi NE, On the Merwin front, try these:
Rain in the Trees
The Second Four Books of Poems: The Moving Target / The Lice / The Carrier of Ladders / Writings to an Unfinished Accompaniment
enjoy.
Thanks for the add Newengland! I've never been to your neck of the woods - hope to get there one day..:)
Beat me to the punch--I planned to send you a request when I got back on. So--thanks! It'll be cool to trade thoughts and recs and all that. cheers!
Selective? Curmudgeonly is more like it. I'm still in "remedial friending" class.-- Fellow Hamsun fan
Ben... glad you "laked" the Lago Maggiore scene in AFTA. Sorry, just saw your 7/26 comment today (8/4).Alex-- Nope. Never heard tell of the Carmody books. Looks like a British publisher. Only a 3.49 rating from 95 reviewers, too. Must be some of the kiddies disagree! (Are the kiddies members of GR, one wonders?)
That flight across the lake was awesome. Awesome, indeed.
