Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of River Selby's books

381 ratings | 17 reviews | avg rating:4.82

River’s Year In Books

River’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at River’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to River’s 2025 Year in Books

River Selby’s Followers (66)

River’s Bookshelves

to-read (144)
currently-reading (2)
read (389)
did-not-finish (0)

River’s Friends (6)

Amie's Book Reviews

55,818 books | 1,856 friends

Barry

5,242 books | 4,999 friends

Malia Vinyard

542 books | 118 friends

Eleni Arnaoutis

3,547 books | 1,850 friends

Liz Evergreen

64 books | 6 friends

Frieda

1,476 books | 21 friends

River Selby

Goodreads Author

Born

in Los Angeles, The United States

Website

https://www.riverselby.com

Genre

Nonfiction, Memoir, Science

Influences

jamesbaldwin, davidwojnarowicz, robinwallkimmerer, tonimorrison, lidia ...more

Member Since

July 2023

edit data

River Selby worked as a wildland firefighter for seven years, stationed out of California, Oregon, Colorado, and Alaska. They are the author of HOTSHOT: A LIFE ON FIRE.

They are currently a Kingsbury and Legacy Fellow at Florida State University, where they are pursuing their PhD in Nonfiction with an emphasis in postcolonial histories, North American colonization, and postmodern literature and culture. River has spent nearly a decade researching the history of fire suppression in the United States, Indigenous fire and land-tending practices, climate change impacts, and ecological adaptations across North American landscapes. Their research is informed by their extensive field experience.

River is a first generation high-school and college gr ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

River Selby is currently not accepting new questions.

Combine Editions
River Selby’s books

Average rating: 3.71 · 779 ratings · 174 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	Hotshot: A Life on Fire 3.71 avg rating — 779 ratings — published 2025 — 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
	Hotshot: A Life on Fire 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
	HOTSHOT: A Life on Fire 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

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

0 posts
River Selby's Blog: River's Book Thoughts

River Selby hasn't written any blog posts yet.

River is Currently Reading

River Selby is currently reading

The Wedding People

by Alison Espach

bookshelves: currently-reading

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

Oct 23, 2026 01:28AM

River Selby is currently reading

Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice

by Virginia Roberts Giuffre

bookshelves: currently-reading

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

Sep 20, 2026 07:10PM

River’s Recent Updates

River Selby is currently reading The Wedding People by Alison Espach	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
Oct 23, 2026 01:28AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Wedding People by Alison Espach. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Wedding People by Alison Espach <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
River Selby rated a book it was amazing Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson	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
Sep 20, 2026 07:10PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
River Selby is currently reading Nobody's Girl: A Memoir of Surviving Abuse and Fighting for Justice by Virginia Roberts Giuffre Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Readers' Favorite Audiobook, Readers' Favorite Memoir	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
Sep 20, 2026 07:10PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Nobody's Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Nobody's Girl by Virginia Roberts Giuffre <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
River Selby is now following Traci Thomas's reviews
Sep 11, 2026 11:00PM · like
River Selby and 23 other people liked Traci Thomas's review of When It All Burns: Fighting Fire in a Transformed World: "I learned a lot in this book and appreciated how he wove history into the story of wildfires. Also this is a book about worker's rights, capitalism, health care, climate change, colonialism, and I appreciated that a lot. I wish there had been more in" Read more of this review »
Sep 11, 2026 11:00PM · see review
River Selby rated a book really liked it Famesick by Lena Dunham (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
Aug 30, 2026 08:32PM · like
River Selby and 1 other person liked Ella's review of Hotshot: A Life on Fire: "The secretive and oftentimes dark history of national parks and forestry services in North America has been an interest of mine ever since I attended my first conservation class in university. Thus, River Selby's book is one that I was eager to read." Read more of this review »
Aug 20, 2026 08:30PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Hotshot by River Selby. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Hotshot by River Selby <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
River Selby wants to read Strata: Stories from Deep Time by Laura Poppick	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 31, 2026 06:21AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Strata by Laura Poppick. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Strata by Laura Poppick <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
River Selby rated a book it was amazing Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey	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 31, 2026 06:14AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
River Selby rated a book it was amazing Kin by Tayari Jones (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 31, 2026 06:11AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Kin by Tayari Jones. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Kin by Tayari Jones <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">