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355 ratings | 311 reviews | avg rating:4.02

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2026 Reading Challenge

2026

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Tom Bentley has read 22 of 28 books.

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Tom Bentley

Goodreads Author

Born

in Long Beach, The United States

Website

https://www.tombentley.com

Twitter

TomBentleyNow

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Psychology, Business

Influences

Mark Twain, Kurt Vonnegut, my mother ...more

Member Since

January 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/bentguy

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Hello. I hope this doesn't sound like a laundry list (and a soiled one at that) of me, me, me, but: I’ve run a writing and editing business out of my house for many years.

I've published hundreds of freelance pieces—ranging from first-person essays to travel pieces to more journalistic subjects—in newspapers, magazines, and online. (Venues include The Washington Post, Forbes, Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Writer’s Digest, Sailing Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, Wired, the San Francisco Chronicle, Writer's Market and many others.)

I have written several novels and nonfiction books, and I was the 1999 winner of the National Steinbeck Center’s short story contest, as well as a 2007 winner of the Lunch Hour Stories short story contest; I’ve also w ...more

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Tom Bentley’s books

Average rating: 3.92 · 54 ratings · 26 reviews · 7 distinct works

	Flowering and Other Stories 3.94 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2012 — 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
	Sticky Fingers: Confessions of a Marginally Repentant Shoplifter 4.41 avg rating — 11 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
	All Roads Are Circles 3.44 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2011 — 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
	Think Like a Writer: How to Write the Stories You See 3.63 avg rating — 8 ratings — published 2015 — 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
	Swirled All the Way to the Shrub by Tom Bentley (Goodreads Author), Rick Wilson 4.40 avg rating — 5 ratings — published 2018 — 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
	Aftershock 3.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — 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
	Sim Farm User's Manual 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

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Tom Bentley's Blog

Time to Unclog the Blog

(Well, It’s More like Bye and Hi)

Comrades, Kind Souls, and Those Who Stumbled Onto This Blog Looking for Free Cookies:

I’m going to streamline some of my business practices and pursuits, narrowing down some types of writing, and more finely tuning the audience towards whom that writing is slanted. Part of that consolidation is that I’m going to stop blogging and concentrate my messa

Tom is Currently Reading

Tom Bentley is currently reading

Surviving Paradise: One Year on a Disappearing Island

by Peter Rudiak-Gould

bookshelves: currently-reading

read in September 2021

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Tom Bentley said: " I was already weighted toward liking this, because I spent a year teaching English (both writing and literature survey courses) on a small island in Micronesia. Kosrae is considerably bigger than Ujae, with actual stores and a much broader commercial ...more "

Sep 30, 2021 10:57AM · see review

Tom Bentley is currently reading

Invisible Man

by Ralph Ellison

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Oct 05, 2026 09:53AM

Tom’s Recent Updates

Tom Bentley rated a book Lucy in Between by Sarah Callender	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’s a seeming contradiction in characterizing a book whose catalyzing force is the suicide of a central character as “delightful,” but let me explain. Lucy, the first-person soul of the work, is a tangle of teenager-ness, with all the impulsive s ...more
Oct 11, 2026 03:27PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lucy in Between by Sarah Callender. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lucy in Between by Sarah Callender <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tom Bentley started reading Surviving Paradise: One Year on a Disappearing Island by Peter Rudiak-Gould	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 10, 2026 11:18AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Surviving Paradise by Peter Rudiak-Gould. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Surviving Paradise by Peter Rudiak-Gould <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tom Bentley is currently reading Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison	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 05, 2026 09:53AM · like
Tom Bentley entered a giveaway The Atomic Habits Daily Calendar: 365 Powerful Ideas for a Better Year by James Clear (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
Oct 01, 2026 06:34AM · like · see giveaway
Tom Bentley finished reading For the Time Being: Essays by Annie Dillard	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 30, 2026 10:42AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of For the Time Being by Annie Dillard. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — For the Time Being by Annie Dillard <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tom Bentley rated a book really liked it For the Time Being: Essays by Annie Dillard	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
Your mind will float like a butterfly (and sometimes sink into a chasm) while you are reading this one. At least mine did. The work is a series—sometimes just half-a-page—of impressionistic reflections that cover tremendous grounds of time and space ...more
Sep 30, 2026 10:35AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of For the Time Being by Annie Dillard. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — For the Time Being by Annie Dillard <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tom Bentley rated a book it was ok The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun	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 peculiar story, that had me scratching my head at times. Yona, the lead character, seems to lack a moral compass, though her interior thoughts often suggested otherwise. Her non-reactions to the sexual abuse she received were baffling, in light of ...more
Sep 30, 2026 10:29AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Sep 30, 2026 10:28AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tom Bentley is currently reading For the Time Being: Essays by Annie Dillard	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 21, 2026 03:27PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of For the Time Being by Annie Dillard. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — For the Time Being by Annie Dillard <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Tom Bentley is currently reading The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun	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 21, 2026 03:05PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Disaster Tourist by Yun Ko-eun <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Tom's books…

Tom’s Quotes

“I don’t want to fade away, I want to flame away - I want my death to be an attraction, a spectacle, a mystery. A work of art.”
― Jennifer Egan, A Visit from the Goon Squad

1482 likes

“Sorrow is how we learn to love. Your heart isn't breaking. It hurts because it's getting larger. The larger it gets, the more love it holds.”
― Rita Mae Brown, Riding Shotgun

tags: love

2762 likes

“When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years.”
― Mark Twain

tags: arrogance, humor, ignorance

4246 likes

“If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man's life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, The Complete Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

tags: human-nature

782 likes

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