551 ratings | 448 reviews | avg rating:3.93

Richard’s Year In Books

Richard’s 2025 Year in Books

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

Go to Richard’s 2025 Year in Books

Richard R. Becker’s Followers (66)

Richard’s Bookshelves

to-read (509)
currently-reading (6)
read (553)
did-not-finish (0)
favorites (92)
my-books (7)

Richard’s Friends (192)

Peter Topside

4,046 books | 2,794 friends

Dr. Jasmine

5 books | 170 friends

David Brown

180 books | 4,156 friends

Colin Baldwin

1,137 books | 1,398 friends

Joe Kraus

1,266 books | 209 friends

Nick

2,005 books | 591 friends

Black M.D.

43 books | 2,743 friends

Michael Compton

1,100 books | 4,232 friends

More friends…

2026 Reading Challenge

2026

READING

CHALLENGE

Richard Becker has read 31 of 50 books.

62%

Richard R. Becker

Goodreads Author

Born

in Milwaukee, The United States

Website

http://www.richardrbecker.com

Twitter

RichBecker

Genre

Fiction, Thriller, Suspense

Influences

Ernest Hemingway, John Updike, Russel Banks

Member Since

August 2014

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/richardrbecker

edit data

Richard R. Becker is an award-winning American author whose gripping stories blend resilience and moral complexity. His upcoming novel, Born on Monday (2025), promises a thrilling tale of small-town sins that will leave readers breathless.

His debut novel, Third Wheel (August 2023), soared into Amazon’s top 100 thriller and suspense literary fiction novels, earned a Kirkus Reviews feature, and won seven awards, including Literary Thriller of the Year by the Artisan International Book Excellence Awards. His debut collection, 50 States (2021), born from a challenge to write one story a week for 50 weeks, topped Amazon’s literary short story charts for three months and secured multiple honors, including first place in the Spring 2022 BookFest A ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Richard R. Becker questions, please sign up.

Popular Answered Questions

What books are on your summer reading list this year?

Richard R. Becker I love this question, and don't have a traditional answer that includes 5 or 10 or even 20 books that will feel dated in a few months. What I have ins…moreI love this question, and don't have a traditional answer that includes 5 or 10 or even 20 books that will feel dated in a few months. What I have instead is a list of 195+ diverse titles and a method to read a fair amount of them every year. Feel free to check out my shelf. They are all here on Goodreads.

Generally, I'm reading four books at any given time. One with my daughter, one on my phone, one in print (often nonfiction), and one as an audiobook (yes, I think audiobooks count as long as they aren't abridged). To pick them: My daughter and I alternative between young adult and classic literature; my nonfiction picks generally alternate between enrichment and history; my other two picks alternate wildly different genres and authors mainly based on what I just read. I tend to look for something that contrasts preceding title.

For example, in 2021 on my phone, Normal People by Sally Rooney was preceded by Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clark, preceded by Eden Mine by S.M. Hulse, preceded by Go Tell It To The Mountain by James Baldwin, preceded by Rabbit is Rich by John Updike, preceded by Alas, Babylon by Pat Frank, preceded by Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky, preceded by Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby, and so on. The same eclectic meandering happens with audiobooks (though narrators can play a factor in my picks).

How I chose books changed after joining Goodreads. This site gave me a tool to add dozens of "to read" (or read again) books. I look over all of them anytime I'm close to the end of a book, generally picking the next title because there is some contrast to what I just read or am reading — from contemporary to classic or horror fiction to literary fiction or science fiction to historical fiction — because I'm a great believer in diversity, especially for anyone who wants to be a writer. Diversity keeps it all interesting, which is why my own body of work spills over into everything.(less)

flag

4 likes · like
Comment

Where did you get the idea for your most recent book?

Richard R. Becker Two years ago, I committed to writing short short stories and sharing them on my Facebook author page. It was the first time in my life I treated writ…moreTwo years ago, I committed to writing short short stories and sharing them on my Facebook author page. It was the first time in my life I treated writing short stories like an assignment, with equal weight to any advertising/marketing deadlines I might have.

My immersion in the process of writing fiction opened up an entirely new world. After sharing the first few stories, I fell into a creative rhythm, and an overarching idea began to crystalize.

I was inspired to write about life-defining moments (or coping with life-defining moments) as experienced by different people in different places (50 States) — stories that could stand on their own but were also left open to be continued in unexpected ways or intersect with one another.

Individually, the spark for each story was unique. Some ideas seem to find me — something I happened to see while driving my daughter to practice. Other ideas had to be hunted down, especially as fewer states remained. In those situations, I made it a practice to follow the research until it led me somewhere or something else would find me along the way.(less)

flag

4 likes · like
Comment

See all 8 answers from Richard R. Becker…

Combine Editions
Richard R. Becker’s books

Average rating: 4.23 · 247 ratings · 136 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors

	50 States: A collection of short short stories really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 101 ratings — 8 editions	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
	Third Wheel 4.49 avg rating — 71 ratings — published 2023 — 5 editions	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
	Born on Monday 4.45 avg rating — 44 ratings — 4 editions	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
	Ten Threads 4.10 avg rating — 31 ratings — published 2022 — 3 editions	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

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

37 posts
Richard R. Becker's Blog

Book Review - Third Wheel

Plenty has happened in the last few weeks for 'Born on Monday' as it hit the Top 100 in psychological literary fiction on Amazon and gained a few more amazing editorial reviews. But what I really wanted to share is this surprise review of Third Wheel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QTXv...

What made this review so special is that I caught it after I had just woken up in the middle of the night to Read more of this blog post »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on January 16, 2026 09:31 • Tags: book-reviews

View all 37 posts »

Richard is Currently Reading

Richard Becker is currently reading

Shadow of the Cataclysm

by S.D. Baldwin (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

9 hours, 10 min ago

Richard Becker is currently reading

The Reluctant Leader

by Craig S Galati

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

May 30, 2026 09:12PM

Richard Becker is currently reading

The Hunters

by James Salter

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

May 30, 2026 02:26PM

rss
Richard’s Recent Updates

Richard Becker started reading Shadow of the Cataclysm by S.D. Baldwin (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
9 hours, 10 min ago · like
Richard Becker is now following EmmaSkies's reviews
May 30, 2026 11:30PM · like
Richard Becker started reading The Reluctant Leader by Craig S Galati	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
May 30, 2026 09:12PM · like
Richard Becker rated a book really liked it Dungeon Crawler Carl (Dungeon Crawler Carl, #1) by Matt Dinniman (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
So many fellow readers and authors have been buzzing about the Dungeon Crawler Carl and curiosity got the better of me. This stand out LitRPG story about a bomb-wielding, barefoot ex-Coast Guardsman and his sassy, magic missile armed cat. At its core ...more
May 30, 2026 09:12PM · like · see review
Richard Becker rated a book really liked it Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive by Eliot Stein (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
Custodians of Wonder: Ancient Customs, Profound Traditions, and the Last People Keeping Them Alive by Eliot Stein was an alumni book club pick. I pick up about half of the books selected by the club as a means to introduce new authors I might never p ...more
May 30, 2026 04:19PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Custodians of Wonder by Eliot Stein. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Custodians of Wonder by Eliot Stein <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Becker started reading The Hunters by James Salter	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
May 30, 2026 02:26PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Hunters by James Salter. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Hunters by James Salter <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Becker started reading Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore	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
May 29, 2026 06:36PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Becker wants to read A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick	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
May 28, 2026 09:14AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Becker wants to read The Hunters by James Salter	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
May 27, 2026 03:39PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Hunters by James Salter. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Hunters by James Salter <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Becker wants to read To Your Scattered Bodies Go (Riverworld, #1) by Philip José Farmer	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
May 27, 2026 09:59AM · like

More of Richard's books…

Richard’s Quotes

“I like living. I have sometimes been wildly, despairingly, acutely miserable, racked with sorrow; but through it all I still know quite certainly that just to be alive is a grand thing.”
― Agatha Christie

tags: inspirational

6102 likes

“Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity! I say, let your affairs be as two or three, and not a hundred or a thousand; instead of a million count half a dozen, and keep your accounts on your thumb nail.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden

160 likes

“I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.”
― Henry David Thoreau, Walden or, Life in the Woods

290 likes