517 ratings | 414 reviews | avg rating:3.95

Richard’s Year In Books

Richard’s 2024 Year in Books

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

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Richard R. Becker’s Followers (56)

Richard’s Bookshelves

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Richard’s Friends (189)

Kate

2,606 books | 31 friends

Dr. Jasmine

194 books | 141 friends

Black M.D.

69 books | 2,736 friends

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1,997 books | 2,770 friends

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747 books | 1,356 friends

Constantine

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Tracey Ford Perry

1,260 books | 46 friends

James Wilcox

876 books | 2,214 friends

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2025 Reading Challenge

2025

READING

CHALLENGE

Richard Becker has read 53 books of his goal of 48!

110%

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

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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

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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)

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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)

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Combine Editions
Richard R. Becker’s books

Average rating: 4.3 · 211 ratings · 119 reviews · 4 distinct works • Similar authors

	50 States: A collection of short short stories 4.07 avg rating — 95 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 4.58 avg rating — 66 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
	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
	Born on Monday 4.79 avg rating — 19 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

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

35 posts
Richard R. Becker's Blog

Number 1 New Release!

Special thanks to everyone who bought an early copy and have shared the news of my new book. "Born on Monday" by Richard R. Becker is now the NUMBER 1 new release in psychological thrillers and a top 20 best seller on Amazon in its first week!

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Published on October 30, 2025 08:05 • Tags: bestseller, thriller

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Richard is Currently Reading

Richard Becker is currently reading

Nostromo

by Joseph Conrad

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Nov 20, 2025 10:40AM

Richard Becker is currently reading

Discipline

by Marc Avery (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Nov 05, 2025 03:15PM

Richard Becker is currently reading

Born on Monday

by Richard R. Becker (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading, my-books

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Nov 21, 2025 10:02AM

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Richard’s Recent Updates

Richard Becker wants to read Us Against You (Beartown, #2) by Fredrik Backman (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 06:05PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Us Against You by Fredrik Backman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Us Against You by Fredrik Backman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Becker wants to read The Extra Key by Kevin Polman (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 02, 2025 06:55PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Extra Key by Kevin Polman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Extra Key by Kevin Polman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Becker rated a book really liked it The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman	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
The Guns of August is one of the most celebrated works of twentieth-century history for very good reason. It is a less than conventional military history of the First World War in that it reconstructs the political, diplomatic, and psychological forc ...more
Dec 01, 2025 02:16PM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Guns of August by Barbara W. Tuchman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Becker liked Donna’s status update Donna Foster started reading Dirty Metal
Dec 01, 2025 01:25PM
Richard Becker liked Dr.’s status update Dr. Jasmine wants to read The Great Gatsby
Dec 01, 2025 01:24PM
Richard Becker and 10 other people liked Bridget Jensen's review of Something in the Water: "absolutely hooked. one of the better written psych thrillers I have devoured in awhile. the characters and dialogues and dialect was fantastic and I did actually not expect the end, which I usually always guess."
Dec 01, 2025 01:24PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Becker is now following Coffee Book Couch by Ava's reviews
Nov 25, 2025 08:54PM · 1 like · like
Richard Becker wants to read The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Horror	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
Nov 25, 2025 07:14AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Possession of Alba Díaz by Isabel Cañas <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Becker wants to read The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Science 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
Nov 25, 2025 07:10AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Dream Hotel by Laila Lalami <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Becker voted for When the Moon Hits Your Eye as Readers' Favorite Science Fiction in the Final Round of the 2025 Goodreads Choice Awards. Cast Your Vote
Nov 25, 2025 07:10AM · 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

6085 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