Discover new books on Goodreads
See if your friends have read any of R.L. Maizes's books
R.L. Maizes

year in books

R.L. Maizes’s Followers (243)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
Melissa
3,698 books | 2,650 friends

Oliver ...
3,298 books | 3,314 friends

Stacey B
4,339 books | 1,100 friends

Andy
1,501 books | 290 friends

Susanne
426 books | 830 friends

Geula G...
503 books | 181 friends

Amy
Amy
584 books | 43 friends

Claire ...
5,809 books | 1,048 friends

More friends…

R.L. Maizes

Goodreads Author


Website

Twitter

Genre

Member Since
August 2012


R.L. Maizes is the author of the recently released novel A COMPLETE FICTION, the novel OTHER PEOPLE'S PETS, winner of the 2021 Colorado Book Award in Fiction, and the short story collection WE LOVE ANDERSON COOPER. Her stories have aired on National Public Radio and have appeared in Electric Literature’s Recommended Reading. Maizes's essays have aired on NPR and have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, O Magazine, McSweeney's and elsewhere.

Born and raised in Queens, New York, Maizes currently lives in Boulder County, CO, with her husband, Steve, and her muses: Arie, a cat who was dropped in the animal shelter’s night box like an overdue library book, and Rosie, a dog who spent her first year homeless in South Dakota a
...more

To ask R.L. Maizes questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

R.L. Maizes Getting to sit alone in a quiet room playing with imaginary friends called characters. Making them interact with each other, support and betray one an…moreGetting to sit alone in a quiet room playing with imaginary friends called characters. Making them interact with each other, support and betray one another, while I mull over human nature. Seeing the characters come to life and develop wills of their own, then sharing the work with an audience. When readers are moved and amused by my work, I couldn't be happier. (less)
R.L. Maizes My next book is a novel, Other People's Pets, that will also be published by Celadon Books (Macmillan). It's about an animal empath who must decide wh…moreMy next book is a novel, Other People's Pets, that will also be published by Celadon Books (Macmillan). It's about an animal empath who must decide whether to rob houses to pay her father's legal bills after he's arrested. I've had to learn to think like a burglar for this book, so if the whole writing thing doesn't work out...(less)
Average rating: 3.7 · 2,521 ratings · 626 reviews · 6 distinct works • Similar authors
Other People's Pets

3.57 avg rating — 1,180 ratings — published 2020 — 4 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
We Love Anderson Cooper

3.75 avg rating — 1,099 ratings — published 2019 — 4 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
A Complete Fiction

4.05 avg rating — 224 ratings — 4 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
A Cat Called Grievous

4.39 avg rating — 18 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
Tattoo

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
The Complete Fiction

0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
More books by R.L. Maizes…

Starred Review from Shelf Awareness

"Strike up the band: there's a new R.L. Maizes (We Love Anderson Cooper; Other People's Pets) book, and it's breakout-novel time--or at least it should be. As a funny-pitiless look at the lengths writers will go to get published, A Complete Fiction deserves shelf space alongside Percival Everett's Erasure and Jean Hanff Korelitz's The Plot." Shelf Awareness gives A Complete Fiction a starred revie Read more of this blog post »
1 like ·   •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on November 30, 2025 05:36 • Tags: literary-fiction-humor-satire
Under Story
R.L. Maizes is currently reading
by Chloe Benjamin (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating

 
John of John
R.L. Maizes is currently reading
by Douglas Stuart (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating

 
Exit Party
R.L. Maizes is currently reading
by Emily St. John Mandel (Goodreads Author)
bookshelves: currently-reading
Rate this book
Clear rating

 

R.L.’s Recent Updates

R.L. Maizes is currently reading
Under Story by Chloe  Benjamin
Under Story
by Chloe Benjamin (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
R.L. Maizes is currently reading
John of John by Douglas   Stuart
John of John
by Douglas Stuart (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
R.L. Maizes and 1 other person liked Jonathan's review of A Complete Fiction:
A Complete Fiction by R.L. Maizes
"Winner of the 2026 Colorado Book Award , for a good reason. What a great book on the publishing Industry and social media.

After reading RL Maizes, We Love Anderson Cooper, a book of short stories. I was excited to read her new novel, A Complete Fict" Read more of this review »
R.L. Maizes is currently reading
Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
Exit Party
by Emily St. John Mandel (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
R.L. Maizes rated a book it was amazing
Switzy by Emma Cline
Rate this book
Clear rating
R.L. Maizes is currently reading
A Small Porch by Wendell Berry
Rate this book
Clear rating
R.L. Maizes is currently reading
Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli
Rate this book
Clear rating
Fancy Meeting You by Louise Marburg
"A cynical rom-com about a woman in her fiftieth year who, after a lively, vivid, devil-may-care life up until this point, begins to be tempted to settle down, after her own fashion. She drinks copiously, thinks very highly of her own intellect, has f" Read more of this review »
Fancy Meeting You by Louise Marburg
"Louise Marburg is one of the funniest writers I've read, and Fancy Meeting You is one of her funniest and best books. Laura is such a great protagonist, such a beautiful mess. She's charismatic and opinionated and self-destructive and authentic, and " Read more of this review »
R.L. Maizes is currently reading
You Are Here by Karin Lin-Greenberg
You Are Here
by Karin Lin-Greenberg (Goodreads Author)
Rate this book
Clear rating
More of R.L.'s books…

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Crazy Challenge C...: The Year in Astrology 386 184 Jul 09, 2020 08:45PM  
Busy as a Bee Books: Book News: 07/14/20 6 11 Jul 22, 2020 06:06AM  
Crazy Challenge C...: 2019 Fall Seasonal Challenge 108 96 Jan 26, 2021 01:05PM  
Crazy Challenge C...: Hurricanes 583 163 Feb 13, 2025 03:46PM  
Edelweiss & Netga...: * 2025 Book Reviews 759 66 Dec 31, 2025 03:50PM  
George Saunders
“Fiction is a kind of compassion-generating machine that saves us from sloth. Is life kind or cruel? Yes, Literature answers. Are people good or bad? You bet, says Literature. But unlike other systems of knowing, Literature declines to eradicate one truth in favor of another; rather, it teaches us to abide with the fact that, in their own way, all things are true, and helps us, in the face of this terrifying knowledge, continually push ourselves in the direction of Open the Hell Up.”
― George Saunders

Neil Gaiman
“A short story is the ultimate close-up magic trick -- a couple of thousand words to take you around the universe or break your heart.”
― Neil Gaiman

Lorrie Moore
“A short story is a love affair, a novel is a marriage. A short story is a photograph; a novel is a film.”
― Lorrie Moore

Norman Rush
“The main effort of arranging your life should be to progressively reduce the amount of time required to decently maintain yourself so that you can have all the time you want for reading.”
― Norman Rush

George Saunders
“Humor is what happens when we're told the truth quicker and more directly than we're used to.”
― George Saunders, The Braindead Megaphone

34560 Jewish Book Carnival — 1644 members — last activity Oct 11, 2026 07:21AM
This is the GoodReads group for the Jewish Book Carnival, a monthly forum for sharing links and information on Jewish books and the blogs that cover t ...more
15406 Local Independent Bookstores and Cafes — 449 members — last activity Nov 29, 2024 09:23AM
A group of like-minded readers out to save some of America's best places, (i.e. local independent bricks-and-mortar bookstores and cafes) by purchasin ...more
25x33 So you love Jewish fiction? — 139 members — last activity Aug 01, 2026 11:10AM
For anyone who loves Jewish fiction, if such a thing exists.
173873 Jewish Book Review — 126 members — last activity Oct 07, 2026 03:31PM
A group for people who want to review and discuss Jewish books.
186163 The Mookse and the Gripes — 2299 members — last activity 1 hour, 46 min ago
Forum for spirited and convivial discussion of fiction from around the world, with particular though not exclusive focus on 20th and 21st century fict ...more
813163 Women of the World — 219 members — last activity Jul 19, 2025 01:58PM
We will be reading literary books by women from all over the world, whether originally written in English, or translated from another language. Join u ...more
966729 Jewish Women's Archive Book Club — 524 members — last activity Nov 30, 2023 03:33PM
The JWA Book Club is an online community of readers who love good books by, for, and about Jewish women. Register for our Book Club discussions with ...more
236309 Colorado Authors League — 251 members — last activity Oct 12, 2026 12:26PM
Established in 1931 to “foster the art and craft of authorship,” the Colorado Authors League is comprised of more than 250 professional writers, inclu ...more
More of R.L.’s groups…
No comments have been added yet.