1062 ratings | 1 review | avg rating:4.27

Cornelia Read’s Followers (198)

Cornelia’s Bookshelves

to-read (28)
currently-reading (0)
read (1063)

Cornelia’s Friends (690)

Beate

1,749 books | 249 friends

Tien

9,677 books | 637 friends

Paul

273 books | 4,677 friends

Vickie

8,689 books | 434 friends

Juliet

2,135 books | 1,265 friends

Shelly

76,047 books | 1,178 friends

Cheryl

7,768 books | 2,649 friends

Brenda Jenkins Kleager

396 books | 496 friends

More friends…

Cornelia Read

Goodreads Author

Born

New York, New York, The United States

Website

http://www.corneliaread.com

Genre

Mystery & Thrillers

Influences

Jim and Hunter S. Thompson, Nabokov, Jane Austen, Speed Racer, Saki, t ...more

Member Since

November 2007

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/corneliaread

edit data

I have circumnavigated the globe, throwing up in many of the world's airports as I hate to fly. I was born in Manhattan, and spent my childhood racketing around from New York to California to Oahu.

I know old-school WASP culture firsthand, having been born into the tenth (and last) generation of my mother's family to live on Oyster Bay's Centre Island. I was subsequently raised near Big Sur by divorced hippie-renegade parents. My childhood mentors included Sufis, surfers, single moms, Black Panthers, Ansel Adams, draft dodgers, striking farmworkers, and Henry Miller's toughest ping-pong rival.

I am now at home molding the characters (evil laugh here) of my twin daughters, the younger of whom has severe autism. I am the world's worst housewif I have circumnavigated the globe, throwing up in many of the world's airports as I hate to fly. I was born in Manhattan, and spent my childhood racketing around from New York to California to Oahu.

I know old-school WASP culture firsthand, having been born into the tenth (and last) generation of my mother's family to live on Oyster Bay's Centre Island. I was subsequently raised near Big Sur by divorced hippie-renegade parents. My childhood mentors included Sufis, surfers, single moms, Black Panthers, Ansel Adams, draft dodgers, striking farmworkers, and Henry Miller's toughest ping-pong rival.

I am now at home molding the characters (evil laugh here) of my twin daughters, the younger of whom has severe autism. I am the world's worst housewife, nicknamed by my intrepid spouse "a lighting rod for entropy in the universe."

I like to read a lot, being especially fond of the backs of cereal boxes and badly garbled assembly instructions written by persons for whom English is not the language of choice (although my all-time favorite bit of writing was contained in the song list on a bootleg Dylan tape in Hong Kong, which claimed "Bowling in the Wind" was the first cut on side A).

For the last several generations, my family's motto has been "Never a Dull Moment." None of us know how you would say this in Latin. I subscribe to my sister's gustatory philosophy, which is that "there are two kinds of food in the world: food that's good, and food that needs more salt."

My two favorite songs are Patsy Cline's "Sweet Dreams" and that little bit of Bach Glenn Gould plays right when the Tralfamadorians are coming out of the stars to kidnap Billy Pilgrim and his old dog Spot in the movie version of Slaughterhouse Five. The Rolling Stones doing "King Bee" gets an honorable mention.

I have now published two novels, A Field of Darkness and The Crazy School. Field was nominated for seven awards, including the Edgar for best first novel. I am also the grateful recipient of a 2008 National Endowment for the Arts Creative Writing Fellowship.

I would like to be Winston Churchill when I grow up. ...more

Combine Editions
Cornelia Read’s books

Average rating: 3.43 · 5,448 ratings · 892 reviews · 11 distinct works • Similar authors

	A Field of Darkness (Madeline Dare, #1) 3.52 avg rating — 1,810 ratings — published 2006 — 40 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 Crazy School (Madeline Dare, #2) 3.34 avg rating — 1,887 ratings — published 2008 — 25 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
	Invisible Boy (Madeline Dare, #3) 3.32 avg rating — 1,032 ratings — published 2010 — 19 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
	Valley of Ashes (Madeline Dare, #4) 3.47 avg rating — 534 ratings — published 2012 — 17 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
	A Field of Darkness by Cornelia Read (6-Sep-2007) Paperback 3.50 avg rating — 4 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
	Un campo de oscuridad by Cornelia Read (Goodreads Author), Manuel Manzano Gómez (Translator) 0.00 avg rating — 0 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
	Es wartet der Tod : Kriminalroman. Cornelia Read. Dt. von Sophie Zeitz by Cornelia Read (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 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
	BY Read, Cornelia ( Author ) [{ A Field of Darkness By Read, Cornelia ( Author ) Jul - 11- 2007 ( Paperback ) } ] 0.00 avg rating — 0 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
	[The Crazy School (Madeline Dare Novel)] [Author: Read, Cornelia] [March, 2010] by Cornelia Read (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 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
	By Read, Cornelia Invisible Boy Hardcover - May 2010 by Cornelia Read (Goodreads Author), Unknown Author 0.00 avg rating — 0 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

Series by Cornelia Read

Madeline Dare (4 books)
by

Cornelia Read (Goodreads Author)

3.41 avg rating — 5,263 ratings

rss
Cornelia’s Recent Updates

Cornelia wants to read Making History by Stephen Fry	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 13, 2024 08:26PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Making History by Stephen Fry. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Making History by Stephen Fry <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cornelia wants to read A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley	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 13, 2024 08:26PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cornelia wants to read Household Gods by Judith Tarr (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
Nov 13, 2024 08:24PM · like
Cornelia wants to read Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis	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 13, 2024 08:23PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cornelia wants to read The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes (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
Nov 13, 2024 08:21PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cornelia wants to read A Discovery of Witches (All Souls, #1) by Deborah Harkness (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
Nov 13, 2024 08:20PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cornelia wants to read The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson	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 13, 2024 08:17PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cornelia wants to read Spin (Spin, #1) by Robert Charles Wilson	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 13, 2024 08:16PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Spin by Robert Charles Wilson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Spin by Robert Charles Wilson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cornelia wants to read Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen (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
Nov 13, 2024 08:13PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Cornelia wants to read The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier	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 13, 2024 08:13PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Cornelia's books…

Quotes by Cornelia Read (?)

“Most days I woke up brimming with a sudden terror--that I'd forgotten to do essential things, that I'd never make friends in Colorado, that my appearance as an adult in the world was only a thin candy shell hiding a tiny, rattling center of incompetent thirteen-year-old, or worse yet, nothing at all.”
― Cornelia Read, Valley of Ashes

5 likes

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: Math Tasks	77	409	Oct 02, 2009 04:19PM
Cover to Cover Ch...: Marilyn's 144 list	13	65	Dec 30, 2010 11:59AM

Cornelia’s Quotes

“There are gods in Alabama: Jack Daniel's, high school quarterbacks, trucks, big tits, and also Jesus.”
― Joshilyn Jackson, Gods in Alabama

tags: alabama, first-sentence, opening-lines

120 likes

“As with most things, my approach to writing has been entirely ass-backwards. I first had to become everything but a writer -- exhaust all possibilities. I had to come to it on my knees. Only when there was truly nothing left, was I able to become a writer.”
― Quentin R. Bufogle

tags: writing

36 likes

5 likes

Cornelia’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-8) post a comment »

date

newest »

message 8: by Ida

Apr 16, 2009 03:41PM

Thank you for befriending me on goodreads,Cornelia!!!

reply | flag

message 7: by Saleh

Dec 25, 2008 01:49PM

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.What We Talk About When We Talk About Love?PLZ Answer The Question In My Profile.

reply | flag

message 6: by Jeannie

Sep 22, 2008 12:16PM

Girl, what a beautiful name...it fits you! Thanks for adding me as a friend. I'd love for you to visit my web site, jeanniebarber.com. I'm a novice writer so feel free to make any kind of suggestions, ideas or thoughts to correct it. I’m co-authoring a novel with Patty Wiseman, another friend on Goodreads. We’ve known each other for over 30 years. While you're there, please sign the guestbook, too! There’s also a link to our book you can click on…clairkelley@synthasite.com. This site is brand new and in the editing stage as is our story. Please visit it as well. We’re both very green, but we’ve met so many people on this site willing to reach out and offer advice or a guiding hand.
Blessings,
Jeannie

reply | flag

message 5: by Holli

Mar 17, 2008 08:31PM

Big Sur is pure bliss---one of my favorite places to be! I so miss California :(

reply | flag

message 4: by Maggie

Mar 11, 2008 11:05PM

Cornelia
Thank you for the friend invitation. Congratulations on both books. What an interesting life you are living. Big Sur is perhaps my favorite place on the planet.
xo
Maggie Marr

Secrets of The Hollywood Girls Club (April 2008)
Hollywood Girls Club (April 2007 Paperback Now)

reply | flag

message 3: by Sundang

Mar 04, 2008 11:08PM

Thanks 4 being my friend... Cornelia

nice to see you

reply | flag

message 2: by Daniel

Feb 27, 2008 01:36PM

Cornelia, I've added your books A Field of Darkness and The Crazy School to my to-read list.

reply | flag

message 1: by SassyMama

Feb 26, 2008 05:01PM

Conrelia...Thanks for the invite into your circle of friends....wishing you all the best in 2008...looking forward to sharing chats, reviews and any/all book recommendations you may have...Happy Reading :-)

reply | flag

Cornelia Read’s Followers (198)

Cornelia’s Bookshelves

Cornelia’s Friends (690)

Cornelia Read

Goodreads Author

Combine EditionsCornelia Read’s books

Series by Cornelia Read

rssCornelia’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — Making History by Stephen Fry

See a Problem?

Preview — A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley

See a Problem?

Preview — Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis

See a Problem?

Preview — The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes

See a Problem?

Preview — A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

See a Problem?

Preview — The Chronoliths by Robert Charles Wilson

See a Problem?

Preview — Spin by Robert Charles Wilson

See a Problem?

Preview — Here and Now and Then by Mike Chen

See a Problem?

Preview — The House on the Strand by Daphne du Maurier

Topics Mentioning This Author

Cornelia’s Quotes

recent postsCornelia’s Groups

Cornelia’s Friend Comments

Combine Editions
Cornelia Read’s books

rss
Cornelia’s Recent Updates

recent posts
Cornelia’s Groups