403 ratings | 245 reviews | avg rating:3.58

David’s Year In Books

David’s 2024 Year in Books

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Jeska Dzwigalski

1,801 books | 257 friends

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2025 Reading Challenge

2025

READING

CHALLENGE

David Erik Nelson has read 48 books of his goal of 38!

126%

David Erik Nelson

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.davideriknelson.com

Twitter

SquiDaveo

Genre

Science Fiction, Horror, Crafts & Hobbies

Influences

Stephen King, David Foster Wallace, Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, Laura K ...more

Member Since

March 2008

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David Erik Nelson is an award-wining science-fiction/horror writer and essayist. His fiction has appeared in Asimov's, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, The Best Horror of the Year, and elsewhere. Find his fiction online at https://www.davideriknelson.com/FreeFiction
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Popular Answered Questions

What’s your advice for aspiring writers?

David Erik Nelson When it comes to writing craft and DIY, I've learned a couple things the Very Very Hard Way:

1) TAKE GOOD NOTES! (Including supply costs, where you sou…moreWhen it comes to writing craft and DIY, I've learned a couple things the Very Very Hard Way:

1) TAKE GOOD NOTES! (Including supply costs, where you sourced parts, stock numbers, etc.) Everything is clear and obvious while you're developing a project, but let it sit on the shelf for a week or two, and you'll find yourself wondering why you made the decisions you did and how the hell you pulled them off.

2) Work through a project while writing it up, even if you've done the project a hundred times. Actually working through your steps while writing, and then again while revising, makes it much easier to see the places where folks might go off track or get confused.

3) Don't fall in love with insider jargon. There are plenty of folks who never get into knitting, for example, because they can't get their heads around the jargon and codes that knitters use. Feel free to be the person who describes it differently, and thus opens that craft up to the folks who were previously locked out.

4) Learn to take decent photos. Publishers (and readers) will want them, and want them to be as clear as possible (non-distracting, solid-colored background; lots of bright light; soft shadows; no glare; etc.) Similarly, if your work is best described with diagrams, learn to use SketchUp or Fritzing or Pixelmator or whatever it takes to make the images you need.(less)

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What was the first homebrew instrument you made? And, do you ever sell the ones you've made?

David Erik Nelson My first homebrew instrument was Tim Escobedo's "synthstick": http://www.davideriknelson.com/sbsb/2... —which is a great project, although some of the…moreMy first homebrew instrument was Tim Escobedo's "synthstick": http://www.davideriknelson.com/sbsb/2... —which is a great project, although some of the materials (certain types of cassette tape and Mylar wrapping paper), which were just the most common back-of-the-closet junk in the world when I first stumbled across his design, are getting increasingly scarce. Still, it's a really great synth circuit to start out with, and I continue to use the same basic core design in lots of projects.

As for selling instruments, I don't, but folks are always offering to buy them (esp. the electric guitars), and I can never really fathom why they'd want to do that. It reminds me of this story I once heard about Jobs and Wozniak. This is back in their blue boxes and garage-tinkering days. Early on, when they were developing that first Apple computer, they got into an argument over whether or not there was a market for a computer, as a finished consumer product. Woz was of the mind that the fun was in building it--that a computer, at most, should be a kit--and Job was of the mind that the fun was in using it, that you should open the box and power up and immediately have easy access to doing something cool. Evidenced by the fact that I'm writing this on an Applie bluetooth keyboard mated to an Apple iPad while listening to music on an Apple phone and running Disk Utility on an Apple laptop, I guess we know who was right. But still, I'm a Woz kinda guy. I don't want to sell guitars and synths that are all just like the guitars and synths I'd build; I want folks to build their own guitars and synths, and then show me what they did and why it's better for them. (less)

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David Erik Nelson’s books

Average rating: 3.87 · 1,768 ratings · 344 reviews · 41 distinct works • Similar authors

	This Place Is Best Shunned 3.40 avg rating — 98 ratings — published 2022 — 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
	There Was a Crooked Man, He Flipped a Crooked House 4.20 avg rating — 51 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
	Snip, Burn, Solder, Shred: Seriously Geeky Stuff to Make with Your Kids 4.02 avg rating — 50 ratings — published 2010 — 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
	The Nölmyna 3.42 avg rating — 36 ratings — published 2025	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
	Tucker Teaches the Clockies to Copulate 3.78 avg rating — 27 ratings — published 2011	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
	Junkyard Jam Band: DIY Musical Instruments and Noisemakers 4.50 avg rating — 22 ratings — published 2015 — 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
	Women's Issues in Margaret Atwood's the Handmaid's Tale 3.76 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2011 — 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
	Perspectives on Modern World History: Chernobyl 3.29 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2009 — 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
	Soldering (21st Century Skills Innovation Library: Makers as Innovators) 3.90 avg rating — 10 ratings — published 2014 — 7 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 New Guys Always Work Overtime 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2014	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

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David Erik Nelson's Blog

Our Most Important Thanksgiving Traditions 🦃💀

I repost this (or a variant of it) every year. This is a year, and so I repost. QED. After all, without our traditions, we are as shakey as a fiddler on the roof.

1. “What do Jews do on Thanksgiving?”

I wrote this essay a few years back, as a little bonus for the folks kind enough to have subscribed to my newsletter. A good friend, Chris Salzman, was gracious enough to make something pretty of it.

Series by David Erik Nelson

New Guys Time Portal (2 books)
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David Erik Nelson (Goodreads Author)

3.90 avg rating — 10 ratings

David is Currently Reading

David Erik Nelson is currently reading

Roadside Picnic

by Arkady Strugatsky

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Confidential: Uncover Your Competitors' Top Business Secrets Legally and Quickly--and Protect Your Own

by John A. Nolan

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Making History

by K.J. Parker

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Nov 16, 2025 04:17AM

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David’s Recent Updates

David Erik Nelson rated a book liked it Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (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
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David Erik Nelson is currently reading Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky	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 03:07AM · like
David Erik Nelson is currently reading Confidential: Uncover Your Competitors' Top Business Secrets Legally and Quickly--and Protect Your Own by John A. Nolan	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 03:02AM · like
David Erik Nelson is currently reading Making History by K.J. Parker	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
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David Erik Nelson is currently reading Pam Kowolski Is a Monster! by Sarah Langan (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
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David Erik Nelson is currently reading Witchcraft for Wayward Girls by Grady Hendrix (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
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David Erik Nelson is currently reading The Portable Door by Tom Holt	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
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David Erik Nelson rated a book it was ok Bloodstone by Karl Edward Wagner	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
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David Erik Nelson rated a book liked it Indian Burial Ground by Nick Medina	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
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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Horror Aficionados : Pseudopod for your short horror fiction needs!	138	290	Jul 15, 2019 10:53AM
Horror Aficionados : Pseudopod	508	1102	Jul 15, 2019 10:58AM
Reading with Style: FA 20 Completed Tasks	951	104	Nov 30, 2020 09:00PM

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David’s Quotes

“Life isn't a support system for art. It's the other way around.”
― Stephen King

tags: art-on-writing

558 likes

“I had no faith in the wise choices of the Aunts: I feared that I would end up married to a goat on fire.”
― Margaret Atwood, The Testaments

2 likes

“So men had something in their heads that was like fingers, only a sort of fingers girls did not have. And that explained everything, said Aunt Vidala, and we will have no more questions about it.”
― Margaret Atwood, The Testaments

2 likes

“and then she smiled and said that we were precious flowers, and who ever heard of a rebellious flower?”
― Margaret Atwood, The Testaments

2 likes

“Right now I still have some choice in the matter. Not whether to die, but when and how. Isn’t that freedom of a sort? Oh, and who to take down with me. I have made my list.”
― Margaret Atwood, The Testaments

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David Erik Nelson’s Followers (43)

David Erik Nelson

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