431 ratings | 177 reviews | avg rating:4.41

Susan’s Year In Books

Susan’s 2024 Year in Books

Take a look at Susan’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Susan’s 2024 Year in Books

Susan Z. Ritz’s Followers (34)

Susan’s Bookshelves

to-read (153)
currently-reading (6)
read (458)
audiobooks (19)
biography (2)
contemporary (1)
essays (2)
favorites (41)
graywolf (13)
literary (7)
See all bookshelves »

Susan’s Friends (123)

Marisela Mayor

570 books | 31 friends

Kelly

2,554 books | 105 friends

Tess

520 books | 105 friends

Marisa Atkinson

2,825 books | 258 friends

Scott Lovelette

341 books | 270 friends

MJ Beauchamp

2,733 books | 853 friends

Carl Williams

1,312 books | 56 friends

Philip Elliott

461 books | 227 friends

More friends…

2025 Reading Challenge

2025

READING

CHALLENGE

Susan Ritz has read 16 books of her goal of 15!

107%

Susan Z. Ritz

Goodreads Author

Born

Des Moines, IA, The United States

Twitter

@szritz

Member Since

May 2008

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/szritz

edit data

Susan Ritz grew up in Minnesota, but she left home to become a wandering scholar; she lived, studied, and worked as a social worker in Kenya, Japan, Singapore, and Indonesia in the 1970s. She worked as a human rights lobbyist in Washington, DC, during the Carter Administration before moving to Dachau, Germany, the setting for her memoir in progress, On the Edge of Dachau. For the past thirty years she has lived with her husband and three children in Montpelier, Vermont, where she has worked as a fund raiser, events coordinator, and philanthropic advisor for a wide range of nonprofit organizations, especially those promoting economic equality for women. Writing, however, has always been her passion, and after receiving an MFA in creative non ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Susan Z. Ritz questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Susan Z. Ritz’s books

Average rating: 3.11 · 174 ratings · 68 reviews · 1 distinct work • Similar authors

A Dream to Die For: A Novel

3.11 avg rating — 174 ratings — published 2019 — 4 editions

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

2 posts
Susan Z. Ritz's Blog

How to Write About Dreams

How to Write About Dreams

We all like to talk about our dreams, but few people want to hear about them. Our own dreams are revelatory, scary, confusing, funny, and weird; other people’s dreams are just plain boring. That’s why so many writing teachers and editors warn us not to throw dreams into our stories if we want to keep our readers turning pages.
When I sat down to write my mystery, A Dream Read more of this blog post »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on August 09, 2019 11:16 • Tags: craft, dreams

View all 2 posts »

Susan is Currently Reading

Susan Ritz is currently reading

The Memoir Project: A Thoroughly Non-Standardized Text for Writing & Life

by Marion Roach Smith

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Mar 09, 2021 05:14PM

Susan Ritz is currently reading

Untamed

by Glennon Doyle (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Feb 13, 2021 05:51AM

Susan Ritz is currently reading

Headstrong: Surviving a Traumatic Brain Injury

by JoAnne Silver Jones

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Feb 05, 2021 04:02PM

rss
Susan’s Recent Updates

Susan Ritz liked Lisa Roney's review of A Map of Future Ruins: On Borders and Belonging: "I thought this book was brilliant and compassionate. What begins as an exploration of her own Greek heritage, a "home country" she longs to return to and know, becomes instead an examination of why and how borders across the world are policed and why" Read more of this review »
Dec 15, 2025 11:12AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Map of Future Ruins by Lauren Markham. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Map of Future Ruins by Lauren Markham <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz wants to read Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction, Readers' Favorite Audiobook	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 05, 2025 06:09AM · like
Susan Ritz wants to read The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Fiction	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 05, 2025 06:07AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz wants to read The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Fiction	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 05, 2025 06:06AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz wants to read The Correspondent by Virginia Evans (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Fiction, Readers' Favorite Debut Novel, Readers' Favorite Audiobook	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 05, 2025 06:06AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Correspondent by Virginia Evans. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Correspondent by Virginia Evans <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz wants to read The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder by David Grann (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 03, 2025 05:19PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Wager by David Grann. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Wager by David Grann <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz wants to read On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy Snyder (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 03, 2025 05:18PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz wants to read Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 03, 2025 05:18PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Susan Ritz wants to read The Midnight Library by Matt Haig (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 03, 2025 05:17PM · like
Susan Ritz wants to read The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Dec 03, 2025 05:14PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Susan's books…

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Horror Aficionados : SALE! EBooks, Newly Released, Discounted, & FREEBIES!	35302	5402	Dec 30, 2022 09:32AM

Susan’s Quotes

“All shall be well, and all shall be well and all manner of thing shall be well.”
― Julian of Norwich

tags: hope-springs-eternal

659 likes

“I can never read all the books I want; I can never be all the people I want and live all the lives I want. I can never train myself in all the skills I want. And why do I want? I want to live and feel all the shades, tones and variations of mental and physical experience possible in my life. And I am horribly limited.”
― Sylvia Plath, The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath

tags: books, life, limits

20221 likes

“You are not the oil, you are not the air—merely the point of combustion, the flash-point where the light is born. You are merely the lens in the beam. You can only receive, give, and possess the light as the lens does. If you seek yourself, you rob the lens of its transparency. You will know life and be acknowledged by it according to your degree of transparency—your capacity, that is, to vanish as an end and remain purely as a means.”
― Dag Hammarskjöld, Markings: Spiritual Poems and Meditations

tags: 1964, light, selflessness, transparency

4 likes

“Never, for the sake of peace and quiet, deny your own experience or convictions”
― Dag Hammarskjold

92 likes

“Never look down to test the ground before taking your next step; only he who keeps his eye fixed on the far horizon will find the right road. ”
― Dag Hammarskjold

21 likes

More of Susan’s quotes…

Susan’s Friend Comments

No comments have been added yet.

Susan’s Year In Books

Susan Z. Ritz’s Followers (34)

Susan’s Bookshelves

Susan’s Friends (123)

2025 Reading Challenge

Susan Z. Ritz

Goodreads Author

Learn more
Ask the Author

Popular Answered Questions

Combine Editions
Susan Z. Ritz’s books

2 posts
Susan Z. Ritz's Blog

How to Write About Dreams

Susan is Currently Reading

rss
Susan’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — A Map of Future Ruins by Lauren Markham

See a Problem?

Preview — The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai

See a Problem?

Preview — The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

See a Problem?

Preview — The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

See a Problem?

Preview — The Wager by David Grann

See a Problem?

Preview — On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder

See a Problem?

Preview — Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

See a Problem?

Preview — The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Topics Mentioning This Author

Susan’s Quotes

recent posts
Susan’s Groups

Susan’s Friend Comments

Susan Z. Ritz’s Followers (34)

Susan Z. Ritz

Goodreads Author

Popular Answered Questions

rssSusan’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — A Map of Future Ruins by Lauren Markham

See a Problem?

Preview — The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny by Kiran Desai

See a Problem?

Preview — The Emperor of Gladness by Ocean Vuong

See a Problem?

Preview — The Correspondent by Virginia Evans

See a Problem?

Preview — The Wager by David Grann

See a Problem?

Preview — On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder

See a Problem?

Preview — Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

See a Problem?

Preview — The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Topics Mentioning This Author

rss
Susan’s Recent Updates