803 ratings | 65 reviews | avg rating:3.42

Mark’s Year In Books

Mark’s 2025 Year in Books

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

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Mark’s Bookshelves

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Mark Smeltz

Goodreads Author

Member Since

May 2011

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Mark Smeltz’s books

Average rating: 4.54 · 24 ratings · 14 reviews · 2 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Wreck of the Melville 4.56 avg rating — 16 ratings — 2 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
	The Devil in the White Mountains by Mark Smeltz (Goodreads Author), Stanzin Norphel (Illustrator) 4.50 avg rating — 8 ratings	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.

Mark is Currently Reading

Mark Smeltz is currently reading

High: A Journey Across the Himalaya, Through Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal and China

by Erika Fatland

bookshelves: himalayas, currently-reading

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Nov 20, 2025 10:53AM

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Mark’s Recent Updates

Mark Smeltz rated a book really liked it In Lost Country and Other Divergences by Damir Salkovic (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
This is the third book I've read by Salkovic: three books, three different genres--and all of them pretty good. This one is a collection of short stories that's heavy on atmosphere and imagery (and is, at times, rather grotesque). If you like modern ...more
Jan 10, 2026 07:07AM · 4 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of In Lost Country and Other Divergences by Damir Salkovic. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — In Lost Country and Other Divergences by Damir Salkovic <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mark Smeltz rated a book really liked it Blood Ground by Damir Salkovic (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
A pretty cracking good thriller. Reminiscent of (early) James Rollins or (early) Preston and Child, this novel tells parallel stories about two different expeditions to Mount Kenya. There's the thrill of exploration, the ugliness of colonialism, and ...more
Jan 06, 2026 03:01PM · 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 Blood Ground by Damir Salkovic. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Blood Ground by Damir Salkovic <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mark Smeltz wants to read Katabasis by R.F. Kuang (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Fantasy	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 31, 2025 05:40AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Katabasis by R.F. Kuang. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Katabasis by R.F. Kuang <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mark Smeltz wants to read The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman (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 31, 2025 05:39AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mark Smeltz wants to read The Garden by Nick Newman (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 31, 2025 05:39AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Garden by Nick Newman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Garden by Nick Newman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mark Smeltz rated a book liked it The Running Man by Richard Bachman	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 28, 2025 05:12PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Running Man by Richard Bachman. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Running Man by Richard Bachman <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mark Smeltz wants to read Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery by Brom (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 04, 2025 06:30AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Slewfoot by Brom. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Slewfoot by Brom <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mark Smeltz wants to read Theatre of Nepal and the People Who Make It by Carol C Davis	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 20, 2025 12:46PM · like
Mark Smeltz started reading High: A Journey Across the Himalaya, Through Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Nepal and China by Erika Fatland	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 20, 2025 10:53AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of High by Erika Fatland. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — High by Erika Fatland <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Mark Smeltz rated a book liked it The Black Gryphon (Mage Wars, #1) by Mercedes Lackey (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
I thought this was the coolest shit ever when I was a kid. Turns out it's still pretty good! Not that much actually happens, and there's a lot of fantasy jargon (I didn't realize how many books were in this series back in the day). But there's good c ...more
Nov 20, 2025 10:48AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Black Gryphon by Mercedes Lackey. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Black Gryphon by Mercedes Lackey <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Mark Smeltz (?)

“Of course," he muttered. "In an age of madness, to expect to be untouched by madness is itself a form of madness.”
― Mark Smeltz, The Wreck of the Melville

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“Some would have called it pettiness; some pride. I have found that the two are often indistinguishable, and they are to be found within men both great and small.”
― Mark Smeltz, The Wreck of the Melville

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“Such is the curse of evil men: they cannot conceive that other men are better, and so they exacerbate their own misery by anticipating betrayal at every turn.”
― Mark Smeltz, The Wreck of the Melville

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See all Mark Smeltz's quotes »

Mark’s Quotes

“My book experiences on board of the frigate proved an example of a fact which every book-lover must have experienced before me, namely, that though public libraries have an imposing air, and doubtless contain invaluable volumes, yet, somehow, the books that prove most agreeable, grateful, and companionable, are those we pick up by chance here and there; those which seem put into our hands by Providence; those which pretend to little, but abound in much.”
― Herman Melville

tags: white-jacket

4 likes

“Spring was moving in the air above and in the earth below and around him, penetrating even his dark and lowly little house with its spirit of divine discontent and longing.”
― Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

1097 likes

“That’s how you know you’re home, I think, no matter how far you’ve gone from it or how long you’ve been in some other place. Home is where they want you to stay longer.”
― Stephen King, Revival

62 likes

“For, contrary to the common opinion, it is the wealthy who are greedy of wealth; while the populace are to be gained by talking to them about liberty, their unknown god. And so much are they enchanted by the words liberty, freedom, and such like, that the wise can go to the poor, rob them of what little they have, dismiss them with a hearty kick, and win their hearts and their votes for ever, if only they will assure them that the treatment which they have received is called liberty.”
― Arthur Machen, The Terror

17 likes