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2026 Reading Challenge

2026

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Wendell has read 24 of 53 books.

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Wendell Ricketts

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Member Since

November 2008

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Wendell Ricketts was born on an atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,and raised in various small towns on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. He holds a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from the University of New Mexico and has worked professionally as a translator from Italian since 1998. In addition to The Wrong Door: The Complete Plays of Natalia Ginzburg (U. Toronto Press, 2008), an early version of which received the PEN American Center Renato Poggioli Prize for translation, he is the translator of Communicating Success: Public Relations with an Italian Flair; Olive Oil and the Mediterranean; Trilobites: The Back To The Past Museum Guide; Ferrara and its Bread: The History of a Culinary Masterpiece across Seven Centuries, and Twenty Cigarettes in N Wendell Ricketts was born on an atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean,and raised in various small towns on O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. He holds a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from the University of New Mexico and has worked professionally as a translator from Italian since 1998. In addition to The Wrong Door: The Complete Plays of Natalia Ginzburg (U. Toronto Press, 2008), an early version of which received the PEN American Center Renato Poggioli Prize for translation, he is the translator of Communicating Success: Public Relations with an Italian Flair; Olive Oil and the Mediterranean; Trilobites: The Back To The Past Museum Guide; Ferrara and its Bread: The History of a Culinary Masterpiece across Seven Centuries, and Twenty Cigarettes in Nasiriyah: A Memoir, among other publications. He has also translated four books as yet unpublished in English, including the novels Generations of Love (Matteo B. Bianchi) and Around Three O’Clock (Andrej Longo); his translations of excerpts from two recent Italian working-class novels appeared in World Literature Today in November 2013. From 1986 to 1996 he was theater and dance critic for the Bay Area Reporter in San Francisco, California, and his writing about literature, travel, politics, the media, and contemporary social issues have appeared in such publications as Contact Quarterly, The Advocate, Dance Ink, Marriage and Family Review, Spin, Silent No More: Voices of Courage in American Schools, and 30 Days in Italy: True Stories of Escape to the Good Life. His fiction and poetry have been published in such journals and anthologies as Mississippi Review, Salt Hill, Blue Mesa Review, modern words, and The Long Story. He is the author of What We Lost in the Fire & Other Stories (FourCats Press, 2022), Cards from the Basket: 307 Imaginative Writing Prompts to Spark the Creativity of Writers, Writing Teachers, Students — and Everyone! and editor of Everything I Have Is Blue: Short Fiction by Working-Class Men about More-or-Less Gay Life (2005) and of Blue, Too: More Writing by (for or about) Working Class Queers (2014). ...more

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Wendell Ricketts’s books

Average rating: 3.67 · 461 ratings · 65 reviews · 45 distinct works • Similar authors

	Everything I Have Is Blue: Short Fiction by Working-Class Men About More-or-Less Gay Life 3.72 avg rating — 46 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
	The Wrong Door: The Complete Plays of Natalia Ginzburg 4.26 avg rating — 19 ratings — published 2008 — 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
	Blue, Too: More Writing by (for or about) Working-Class Queers by Wendell Ricketts (Goodreads Author) (Editor), L.A. Fields (Goodreads Author) 4.50 avg rating — 4 ratings — published 2014 — 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
	What We Lost in the Fire & Other Stories 4.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2021 — 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
	What’s Your Paleo IQ?: The Fossil News Book of Paleo Quizzes, Puzzles & Brain Teasers it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	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
	Stone Lake: An Introduction to Fossil Butte, Fossil Lake & the Kemmerer Fish Quarries it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	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
	Cards from the Basket: 307 Imaginative Writing Prompts to Spark the Creativity of Writers, Writing Teachers, Students — and Everyone! it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	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
	I Said What I Said: Intemperate Observations about Politics, Pop Culture, AIDS, Art, Sex, the Expat Life in Italy, the Craft of Writing, and the Great ... Queer Collectanea & a Memoir of Four Decades it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	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 Sampler of European Paleontology: The Museums, the Discoveries & the Fossils of the “Old Continent” (Fossil News Books) by Wendell Ricketts (Goodreads Author), Angela Baldanza, Allen A. Debus did not like it 1.00 avg rating — 1 rating	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
	Loveo, Jameso: The Life & Writing of Homophile Literary Pioneer James Barr Fugate 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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Wendell is Currently Reading

Wendell is currently reading

American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump

by Kai Bird (Goodreads Author)

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Wendell marked as my-books Dinosaurs and Other Prehistoric Reptiles (Fossil News Books) by Wendell Ricketts (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
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Wendell is currently reading American Scoundrel: Roy Cohn's Dark Journey from Joe McCarthy to Donald Trump by Kai Bird (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
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Wendell marked as my-books Loveo, Jameso: The Life & Writing of Homophile Literary Pioneer James Barr Fugate by Wendell Ricketts (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
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Wendell rated a book it was ok Departure 37 by Scott Carson (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
50 minutes ago · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Departure 37 by Scott Carson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Departure 37 by Scott Carson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Wendell rated a book liked it No Way Home by T. Coraghessan Boyle (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
Sep 07, 2026 07:44PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of No Way Home by T. Coraghessan Boyle. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — No Way Home by T. Coraghessan Boyle <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Wendell rated a book liked it Joe Gould's Teeth by Jill Lepore	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 02, 2026 05:18PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Joe Gould's Teeth by Jill Lepore. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Joe Gould's Teeth by Jill Lepore <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Wendell made a comment on Mark Fallon’s review of Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought Over T-Rex Ever Found " The Larsons are scammers and crooks, and I’ve never understood why folks in the paleo community are so reluctant to say it. "
Aug 30, 2026 08:53AM · see review
Wendell liked Mark Fallon's review of Tyrannosaurus Sue: The Extraordinary Saga of the Largest, Most Fought Over T-Rex Ever Found: "An interesting telling of the story behind the famous dinosaur known as "Sue" and now on display at the Field Museum in Chicago. Along the way, Fiffer includes stories of some of the collectors and paleontologists that have made finds and mistakes th" Read more of this review »
Aug 30, 2026 08:52AM · see review
Wendell rated a book it was ok Koolaids: The Art of War by Rabih Alameddine	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
This is an utterly ridiculous book, lauded surely for its “diversity” rather than for any actual literary elements such as characterization, a decent story, a coherent narrative that involves rather than alienates the reader, or an evocative use of l ...more
Aug 27, 2026 04:11PM · like · see review
Wendell rated a book liked it Rubbernecker by Belinda Bauer (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 26, 2026 05:32PM · like

More of Wendell's books…

Polls

Which book would you like to read for our Category 1 read for February/March?

Object of Desire by William J. Mann

11 votes, 34.4%

Everything I Have Is Blue: Short Fiction by Working-Class Men About More-or-Less Gay Life by Wendell Ricketts

8 votes, 25.0%

Swish: My Quest to Become the Gayest Person Ever by Joel Derfner

7 votes, 21.9%

The Charioteer by Mary Renault

5 votes, 15.6%

The Persian Boy by Mary Renault

1 vote, 3.1%

32 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

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Queereaders: February - March nominations	18	33	Jan 28, 2010 02:37PM
The Next Best Boo...: Author Alphabet	3700	3111	Mar 14, 2013 03:16PM

Wendell’s Quotes

“It's always wrong of course to say that you can't do this or you can't do that in fiction. You can do anything you can get away with, but nobody has ever gotten away with much.”
― Flannery O'Connor, Mystery and Manners: Occasional Prose

tags: fiction-writing, writers-on-writing, writing, writing-fiction, writing-style

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