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2026 Reading Challenge

2026

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Michael Morris has read 71 of 115 books.

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Michael Neal Morris

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://bluemonkwrites.tumblr.com/

Twitter

bluemonk63

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Poetry, Nonfiction

Member Since

July 2010

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Michael Neal Morris if the author of Based on Imaginary Events, Is It I, Rabbi, In Domestic News and Music for Arguments. He has published online and in print in a number of venues. He lives with his family outside the Dallas area, and teaches at the Eastfield campus of Dallas College. He posts at This Blue Monk and Two Cents On.

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Combine Editions
Michael Neal Morris’s books

Average rating: 4.56 · 61 ratings · 4 reviews · 28 distinct works

	Don't Hang On 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2012 — 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
	Haiku, Etc it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — 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
	Die Laughing liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 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
	Notes in the Margin liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2012 — 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
	Making Rounds it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 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
	Quick it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2010 — 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
	They Live With You it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — published 2010 — 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
	Three Laments it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 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
	Walking in Circles it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 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
	Recital Notes, Volume 1: The Paper Sessions it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating — 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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Michael Neal Morris's Blog

How Students (and Teachers) Can Use Feedback

Every semester, usually just after midterm, I get an email or have an office visit from a student that includes one of the following questions:

“Why do I keep making Cs on my papers?”
“What am I doing wrong?”
“How can I improve my grades?”

In nearly every case, I have to return a question for a question: Have you read the feedback? Almost all say they have, but the ensuing discussion usually demonstra

Series by Michael Neal Morris

Recital Notes (2 books)
by

Michael Neal Morris (Goodreads Author)

it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating

Michael is Currently Reading

Michael Morris is currently reading

Farming: A Hand Book

by Wendell Berry

bookshelves: poetry, currently-reading

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6 hours, 34 min ago

Michael Morris is currently reading

In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars

by Mark Batterson

bookshelves: currently-reading, audiobooks, non-fiction, religious, self-help

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7 hours, 25 min ago

Michael Morris is currently reading

Midnight’s Daughter

by SARITA SARVATE

bookshelves: currently-reading, arcs, memoir, non-fiction

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Jul 04, 2026 07:02AM

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Michael Morris started reading Farming: A Hand Book by Wendell Berry	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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Michael Morris is currently reading In a Pit With a Lion On a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars by Mark Batterson	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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Michael Morris rated a book it was amazing Modern Poetry: Poems by Diane Seuss	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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Michael Morris rated a book it was amazing Frank: Sonnets by Diane Seuss	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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Michael Morris rated a book it was amazing The Dance (FSG Poetry) by Christian Wiman	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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Michael Morris wants to read Modern Poetry: Poems by Diane Seuss	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
Jul 17, 2026 11:54AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Modern Poetry by Diane Seuss. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Modern Poetry by Diane Seuss <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Michael Morris rated a book it was amazing Goldenrod: Poems by Maggie Smith (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
Jul 17, 2026 11:54AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Goldenrod by Maggie Smith. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Goldenrod by Maggie Smith <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Michael Morris rated a book really liked it Keep Moving: Notes on Loss, Creativity, and Change by Maggie Smith (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
Jul 16, 2026 07:22PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Keep Moving by Maggie Smith. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Keep Moving by Maggie Smith <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Michael’s Quotes

“Art is the lie that enables us to realize the truth.”
― Pablo Picasso

5082 likes

“You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if the book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.”
― Madeleine L'Engle

tags: books, children, difficult, grown-ups, write, writers, writing

16952 likes

“Never trust anyone who has not brought a book with them.”
― Lemony Snicket, Horseradish: Bitter Truths You Can't Avoid

tags: books, reading

27769 likes

“Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.”
― Søren Kierkegaard

tags: future, life, past, reflection, understanding

9092 likes

“... a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone, if it is to keep its edge.”
― George R.R. Martin, A Game of Thrones

tags: books, mind

16646 likes

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Michael’s Groups

¡ POETRY ! — 22512 members — last activity Jul 17, 2026 05:50PM
No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read No pretensions: just poetry. Stop by, recommend books, offer up poems (excerpted), tempt us, taunt us, tell us what to read and where to go (to read it!) Goodreads honors wordsmiths: poets and poetry promoted and prompted here. ~~~ "Poetry is the synthesis of hyacinths and biscuits." -- Carl Sandburg “God has a brown voice, as soft and full as beer.” —Anne Sexton On Clouds – “…what primitive tastes the ancients must have had if their poets were inspired by those absurd, untidy clumps of mist, idiotically jostling one another about…” —Yevgeny Zamyatin “If the poet wants to be a poet, the poet must force the poet to revise. If the poet doesn’t wish to revise, let the poet abandon poetry and take up stamp-collecting or real estate.” —Donald Hall “Poetry is a rich, full-bodied whistle, cracked ice crunching in pails, the night that numbs the leaf, the duel of two nightingales, the sweet pea that has run wild, Creation’s tears in shoulder blades.” —Boris Pasternak “Wanted: a needle swift enough to sew this poem into a blanket.” —Charles Simic “Language is a cracked kettle on which we beat out tunes for bears to dance to, while all the time we long to move the stars to pity.” —Gustave Flaubert “Poetry is not an expression of the party line. It’s that time of night, lying in bed, thinking what you really think, making the private world public, that’s what the poet does.” —Allen Ginsberg. ~~~~~ Amy King, Moderator Amy King is the recipient of the 2015 Winner of the WNBA Award (Women’s National Book Association). Her latest collection, The Missing Museum, is a winner of the 2015 Tarpaulin Sky Book Prize. She serves on the executive board of VIDA: Women in Literary Arts and is co-editing with Heidi Lynn Staples the anthology, Big Energy Poets of the Anthropocene: When Ecopoets Think Climate Change. She is also co-editing the anthology, Bettering American Poetry 2015, and is an Associate Professor of Creative Writing at SUNY Nassau Community College. ...more

Flash Fiction — 310 members — last activity Feb 22, 2023 07:56AM
Flash is a short-short story characterized by brevity and intensity of the language. It borderlines poetry and some people call it “prose poem.” Howev ...more

Contemporary American Poetry — 71 members — last activity Jul 22, 2023 07:20PM
A group for those who are reading and writing contemporary American poetry. Feel free to talk about what you're reading, why we should or shouldn't re ...more

Short Story Connect — 1478 members — last activity Apr 03, 2026 04:33AM
Short Stories: Small word count, BIG impact. Short Story authors and readers need a hub strong enough to support the power of the short story. Help us ...more

Books, Blogs, Authors and More — 3738 members — last activity Jul 06, 2026 04:03AM
Need a place to advertise your blog, promote your books, or discuss books? You can do that here. Need a place to just relax and chat? You can do that ...more

SIA Showcase for Readers and Writers — 1113 members — last activity Jul 09, 2026 05:12PM
From the group that coined the term bookwhack*, here is the official bookwhack group! In all seriousness, we at Support Indie Authors understand how ...more

Goodreads Librarians Group — 332169 members — last activity 0 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more

Imprinted Life — 135 members — last activity Jul 01, 2026 10:05PM
Exploring nonfiction: "I tend not to read fiction - I'll read one novel a year during the summer - but I do read a lot of nonfiction." -- David Lammy ...more

A Summer of Spiritual Adventure — 7 members — last activity Jun 06, 2014 02:02PM
This is a place to meet your soul friend at a free summer book club reading the award-winning novel Keepers of the Field. Starting Online Tuesday, Ju ...more

Support for Indie Authors — 16715 members — last activity Jul 18, 2026 06:22AM
Officially 15k Members Strong & Climbing!! Building and supporting a community of self-published authors dedicated to both sharing experiences and le ...more

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