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2026 Reading Challenge

2026

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Rumaan Alam has read 81 of 100 books.

81%

Rumaan Alam

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http://rumaanalam.com/

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Rumaan

Genre

Fiction

Member Since

August 2015

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I'm the author of the novels Rich and Pretty, That Kind of Mother, Leave the World Behind, and Entitlement.

My short fiction has appeared in StoryQuarterly, Crazyhorse, Meridian, and elsewhere. I've also written for the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, and the New Republic. I studied writing at Oberlin College. Now I live in New York with my husband and two kids.
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Rumaan Alam’s books

Average rating: 3.09 · 208,286 ratings · 29,756 reviews · 16 distinct works • Similar authors

	Leave the World Behind 3.14 avg rating — 173,061 ratings — published 2020 — 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
	Rich and Pretty 2.78 avg rating — 11,214 ratings — published 2016 — 15 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
	Entitlement 2.95 avg rating — 9,053 ratings — published 2024 — 11 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
	That Kind of Mother 3.07 avg rating — 7,810 ratings — published 2018 — 13 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 Children's Bach by Helen Garner, Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) 3.51 avg rating — 4,598 ratings — published 1984 — 38 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
	Shell Game 2.27 avg rating — 3,921 ratings — published 2022 — 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
	Undecorate: The No-Rules Approach to Interior Design by Christiane Lemieux, Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author), Deborah Needleman (Foreword) 3.53 avg rating — 535 ratings — published 2011 — 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
	There Are Flowers in Ohio by Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author), Michael Crouch (Narrator), Allison Hiroto (Narrator) 2.97 avg rating — 357 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
	A Domestic Animal by Francis King, Rumaan Alam (Goodreads Author) (Foreword) 3.86 avg rating — 244 ratings — published 1970 — 11 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
	Leave the World Behind by Alam, Rumaan by Rumaan Alam (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

More books by Rumaan Alam…

If it seems like a lot of your favorite books are turning into movies and TV series lately, you’re right. Extremely right. In fact, it’s...

Rumaan is Currently Reading

Rumaan Alam is currently reading

Europe: or Up and Down with Schreiber and Baggish

by Richard Stern

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Jul 17, 2026 08:19AM

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The Witch

by Marie NDiaye

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Jun 10, 2026 07:29PM

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Rumaan’s Recent Updates

Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner	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 08:19AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam is currently reading Europe: or Up and Down with Schreiber and Baggish by Richard Stern	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 08:19AM · like
Rumaan Alam finished reading The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner	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 08:19AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam is currently reading The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner	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 15, 2026 11:17AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing The Bell by Iris Murdoch	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 13, 2026 07:34PM · 4 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Bell by Iris Murdoch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Bell by Iris Murdoch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh	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 10, 2026 04:46PM · 3 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam is currently reading The Bell by Iris Murdoch	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 06, 2026 06:57PM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Bell by Iris Murdoch. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Bell by Iris Murdoch <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam is currently reading Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh	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 04, 2026 01:54PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing The Radiance by Ayad Akhtar (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 04, 2026 08:32AM · 2 likes · like
Rumaan Alam rated a book it was amazing Greenland by David Santos Donaldson (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 04, 2026 08:31AM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Greenland by David Santos Donaldson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Greenland by David Santos Donaldson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Rumaan Alam (?)

“Parenthood was never knowing what was going to hurt your kids, but knowing only that something, inevitably, would.”
― Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind

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“Ruth had learned only one thing from the current reality, and it was that everything held together by tacit agreement that it would. All it took to unravel something was one party deciding to do just that. There was no real structure to prevent chaos. There was only a collective faith in order.”
― Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind

19 likes

“You never know when a time is the last time, because if you did you could never go on with life.”
― Rumaan Alam, Leave the World Behind

18 likes

See all Rumaan Alam's quotes »

Polls

Seasonal reads - Halloween 2021
Te lezen tussen 15 oktober en 15 november 2021

Frankenstein van Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

21 votes, 29.6%

De zonderlinge geschiedenis van Dr. Jekyll en Mr. Hyde van Robert Louis Stevenson

18 votes, 25.4%

A Monster Calls van Patrick Ness

11 votes, 15.5%

Laat de wereld achter van Rumaan Alam

10 votes, 14.1%

Spokenjacht van Sandra Berg

6 votes, 8.5%

Clownsnacht van Daniëlle Bakhuis

5 votes, 7.0%

71 total votes

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The Seasonal Read...: Completed Tasks: PLEASE DO NOT DELETE ANY POST IN THIS THREAD	2921	516	Aug 31, 2017 09:01PM
Around the Year i...: 8: A book written by a person of color	84	239	Oct 24, 2017 02:11PM
WACKY READING CHA...: Marina's Wacky Challenges	27	31	Jan 18, 2018 12:04AM

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Rumaan’s Year In Books

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Preview — The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner

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Preview — The Rules of Engagement by Anita Brookner

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Preview — The Bell by Iris Murdoch

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Preview — Ghost-Eye by Amitav Ghosh

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