5 ratings | 35 reviews | avg rating:5.00

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Susan Henderson

Goodreads Author

Born

Palo Alto, The United States

Website

http://LitPark.com

Twitter

LitPark

Genre

Literature & Fiction

Influences

William Maxwell, Toni Morrison, Shirley Jackson, James Baldwin, Kent H ...more

Member Since

June 2007

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Susan Henderson is a Hawthornden International Fellow, a five-time Pushcart Prize nominee, and the recipient of an Academy of American Poets Award. She is the author of the novels Up from the Blue and The Flicker of Old Dreams, both published by HarperCollins. Her latest is a Montana Book Award Honor Book and winner of the High Plains Book Award for Fiction, the WILLA Literary Award for Contemporary Fiction, and the Western Writers of America Spur Award for Western Contemporary Novel. Susan is a lifetime member of the National Book Critics Circle and the NAACP. She lives in New York and blogs at the writer support group, LitPark.com.

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Popular Answered Questions

Thank you for the new book! It was so good. The emotional intensity, the people, ... everything. I was curious about your choice to not mention the Internet? From my experience in rural Oregon, i imagine it would not be a big part of life (can't get the chores done or the roads plowed on the net), but still, it's ubiquitious ... just wondering. Thanks again for the great, great, book.

Susan Henderson Hi Karl, Thank you for this. And grateful that you read and enjoyed the book! There are a few mentions of TV and the internet as showing the new gener…moreHi Karl, Thank you for this. And grateful that you read and enjoyed the book! There are a few mentions of TV and the internet as showing the new generations what opportunities and conveniences are out there for them, and also showing a world that, for some, doesn't reflect who they are are who they want to become. But I kept it fairly absent in the book, one, to keep the story world more contained and, two, because when I spent a month in the town that inspired Petroleum, I couldn't get a cell phone connection or more than a spinning wheel on the internet the entire time I was there. (less)

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What books are on your summer reading list this year?

Susan Henderson I've been reading a lot of research books for my new novel, including patient records from a local asylum. But, for pleasure, these are some of the bo…moreI've been reading a lot of research books for my new novel, including patient records from a local asylum. But, for pleasure, these are some of the books I've read this summer...

Emily Fridlund, The History of Wolves
Ken Follett, The Pillars of the Earth
Tommy Orange, There, There
A.K. Small, Bright Burning Stars
Charles D'Ambrosio, Loitering
Laila Lalami, The Moor's Account
Oliver Sacks, Gratitude
Anne Rice, The Witching Hour
Alice McDermott, Charming Billy
David Mitchell, Cloud Atlas
Richard Powers, The Overstory
Lisa Wingate, Before We Were Yours
Ocean Vuong, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous
Yuko Tsushima, Territory of Light
Anne Tyler, Breathing Lessons
Valeria Luiselli, Tell Me How It Ends
Marcia Butler, Pickle's Progress
Daniel Mason, The Piano Tuner
David Oshinsky, Bellevue: Three Centuries of Medicine and Mayhem
Tara Westover, Educated: A Memoir
Salman Rushdie, Midnight's Children
Isabel Allende, The House of the Spirits
Ryünosuke Akutagawa, "Rashömon"
Jim Ray Daniels, The Perp Walk
Ann Hood, The Red Thread
Yuyi Morales, Dreamers

And a few re-reads:
Tana French, In the Woods
Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon
Kate DiCamillo, Because of Winn-Dixie
Neil Gaiman, Neverwhere(less)

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See all 7 answers from Susan Henderson…

Combine Editions
Susan Henderson’s books

Average rating: 3.84 · 4,357 ratings · 801 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	Up From the Blue 3.82 avg rating — 2,845 ratings — published 2010 — 21 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 Flicker of Old Dreams 3.89 avg rating — 1,442 ratings — published 2018 — 6 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
	ALONE TOGETHER: Love, Grief, and Comfort During the Time of COVID-19 by Jennifer Haupt (Goodreads Author), Susan Henderson (Goodreads Author) (contributor), Donna Baier-Stein (Goodreads Author) 3.81 avg rating — 885 ratings — published 2020 — 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

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

104 posts
Susan Henderson's Blog

One Wild and Precious Life

Are you making good use of your time?

It’s been a while since I posted. (Hi!) On the eve of my birthday it seemed like a good time to take stock.

My thought for this birthday: Live like you don’t have infinite time—because none of us do.

I’m trying to be more mindful about making choices that reflect my priorities and principles, instead of falling into habit, or saying yes just to be polite or o

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Susan’s Recent Updates

Susan Henderson wrote a new blog post One Wild and Precious Life Are you making good use of your time? It’s been a while since I posted. (Hi!) On the eve of my birthday it seemed like a good time to take stock.My th Read more of this blog post »
Mar 24, 2025 12:22AM · like

More of Susan's books…

Quotes by Susan Henderson (?)

“Sometimes the easiest thing to do is nothing. You just make do. Keep your mouth closed and hope all the rattling goes away.”
― Susan Henderson, Up From the Blue

4 likes

“But truth is stubborn.

Our nature, our secret hearts can only hide for so long.”
― Susan Henderson, Up From the Blue

3 likes

“Pop said once that relationships are more often like old houses—the place where you want to live, but an ongoing project—something always leaking, peeling away, breaking down.”
― Susan Henderson, The Flicker of Old Dreams

2 likes

See all Susan Henderson's quotes »

Polls

Poll is open for May Members Choice selection...

It's time to vote - Poll remains open until the close of day on April 15th - thanks

The Flicker of Old Dreams

by Susan Henderson

15 votes, 23.1%

A Place for Us

by Fatima Farheen Mirza

13 votes, 20.0%

The Dog Stars

by Peter Heller

9 votes, 13.8%

A Study in Charlotte

by Brittany Cavallaro

7 votes, 10.8%

The Cold Millions

by Jess Walter

7 votes, 10.8%

A Gracious Plenty

by Sheri Reynolds

5 votes, 7.7%

Millicent Glenn's Last Wish

by Tori Whitaker

5 votes, 7.7%

The Ragged Edge of Night

by Olivia Hawker

4 votes, 6.2%

65 total votes

3 comments

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
Books on the Nigh...: What are you currently reading? - November 2010	127	169	Nov 30, 2010 11:48AM
The Seasonal Read...: Fall Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks (do NOT delete any posts in this thread)	2785	1208	Nov 30, 2010 09:03PM
Reading with Style: FA10 RwS Completed Tasks	923	431	Dec 01, 2010 06:41AM
Challenge: 50 Books: Beth's 50 Books 2010	67	184	Dec 27, 2010 06:37PM
The Next Best Boo...: Beth's 2010 Reading Goal	81	358	Dec 29, 2010 06:38PM

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Susan’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-9) post a comment »

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message 9: by Jeremy

Dec 18, 2007 01:45PM

Thanks for sharing, and thanks for the kind words, Susan! I haven't read two of the books you listed, but I'll definitely check them out. I do love Jesus's Son.

Happy Yuletime to you and your loved ones,
-Jeremy :)

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message 8: by Jeremy

Dec 15, 2007 12:05PM

Thanks for the friendship, Susan!

If you don't mind sharing--I'm curious, what's your favorite novel of all time (if you have one)?

Also, I was wondering if you'd do me the honor of reading about my debut novel, Vacation. Your support would mean a lot to me. If you'd like to do me this honor, feel free to click here:
http://www.hauntedhousedressing.com/v...

Here’s wishing you a fantastic day filled with fabulous fates, fanciful festivities, and frolicking phantom footstools.

-Jeremy :)

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message 7: by Kevin (last edited Aug 25, 2016 02:09PM)

Dec 05, 2007 04:09AM

Hi Susan,
Hope you're having a nice literary holiday season!
It's crazy busy at Powell's. Wish you were here.

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message 6: by Katrina (last edited Aug 25, 2016 11:40AM)

Jul 24, 2007 05:28PM

Hope you're having a great summer.

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message 5: by Tom (last edited Aug 25, 2016 11:25AM)

Jun 28, 2007 11:11AM

Hey, you -- thanks for the invite. : )

The picture: Me with one of my childhood idols, the Famous Chicken, the San Diego Padres' legendary mascot.

Check in sometime soon.

yers,
tom j.

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message 4: by Alexander (last edited Aug 25, 2016 11:23AM)

Jun 26, 2007 09:11AM