1671 ratings | 1204 reviews | avg rating:4.18

Kathleen’s Year In Books

Kathleen’s 2025 Year in Books

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

Go to Kathleen’s 2025 Year in Books

Kathleen Rooney’s Followers (1,386)

Kathleen’s Bookshelves

to-read (839)
currently-reading (3)
read (1708)
abandoned (13)
books-i-ve-published-with-rose-meta (31)

Kathleen’s Friends (1,776)

Carl

40,228 books | 4,532 friends

Jessica

1,100 books | 776 friends

Grady

7,918 books | 821 friends

Kevin

1,856 books | 1,615 friends

Christine

633 books | 33 friends

Sara Planz

4,499 books | 354 friends

Jesi Bender

303 books | 186 friends

|Life Spent Reading|

2,481 books | 343 friends

More friends…

Kathleen Rooney

Goodreads Author

Born

Beckley, West Virginia, The United States

Website

http://www.kathleenrooney.com/

Genre

Fiction, Nonfiction, Poetry

Member Since

February 2008

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Kathleen Rooney is a founding editor of Rose Metal Press, a publisher of literary work in hybrid genres, and a founding member of Poems While You Wait, a team of poets and their typewriters who compose commissioned poetry on demand.

She is the author, most recently, of the novels Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk and Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey. Her latest collection Where Are the Snows, winner of the XJ Kennedy Prize, was published by Texas Review Press in September 2022. Her novel from Dust to Stardust, was published by Lake Union Press in Fall of 2023, and her debut picture book--co-written with her sister Beth Rooney and illustrated by Betsy Bowen--was published by University of Minnesota Press in Fall of 2025.

Her fifth novel, Man Overboar ...more

364 posts
Kathleen Rooney's Blog

30…

…is the number of poems that we–Ola Faleti, Mel Satmar, Nidhi Singh, I– did while writing Poems While You Wait at the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame’s Song of the Lush Cocktail Party fundraiser: Thanks to the CLHoF for having us and stay tuned to the PWYW Instagram for the results!

The post 30… appeared first on Kathleen Rooney.

Combine Editions
Kathleen Rooney’s books

Average rating: 3.86 · 37,469 ratings · 6,243 reviews · 35 distinct works • Similar authors

	Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk 3.84 avg rating — 33,373 ratings — published 2017 — 21 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
	Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey 3.97 avg rating — 2,430 ratings — published 2020 — 8 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
	From Dust to Stardust 3.87 avg rating — 614 ratings — published 2023 — 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
	Live Nude Girl: My Life as an Object 3.98 avg rating — 181 ratings — published 2009 — 7 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
	Robinson Alone 4.47 avg rating — 103 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
	O, Democracy! 3.91 avg rating — 117 ratings — published 2014 — 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
	For You, for You I am Trilling These Songs 3.91 avg rating — 116 ratings — published 2009 — 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
	Oneiromance by Kathleen Rooney (Goodreads Author), Patty Seyburn (Editor) 4.48 avg rating — 69 ratings — published 2008 — 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
	Reading with Oprah: The Book Club that Changed America 3.46 avg rating — 70 ratings — published 2005 — 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
	Where Are the Snows: Poems 4.55 avg rating — 33 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

More books by Kathleen Rooney…

Kathleen is Currently Reading

Kathleen is currently reading

Lives of the Saints

by Nancy Lemann

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Mar 03, 2026 05:16PM

Kathleen is currently reading

I Do Know Some Things

by Richard Siken

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Feb 11, 2026 05:59AM

Kathleen is currently reading

Driver

by Mattia Filice

bookshelves: currently-reading

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Nov 14, 2025 02:23PM

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Kathleen’s Recent Updates

Kathleen liked Beth Rooney's review of Man Overboard!: "I read this book chapter by chapter as Kathleen wrote it, and I found myself wanting her to write faster and faster because I couldn't wait to hear what happened to Kick! You will love it! And so will your friends. Buy a copy and ask your library to " Read more of this review »
4 hours, 48 min ago · see review
Kathleen wants to read Laughter (Green Integer) by Henri Bergson	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
9 hours, 43 min ago · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Laughter by Henri Bergson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Laughter by Henri Bergson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kathleen rated a book it was ok Solaris by Stanisław Lem	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
Because this is a classic, I was ready to like this, but I did not. It was slow, exposition-heavy, unbeautifully written and boring. I made it to p. 49 and bailed.
Mar 03, 2026 05:17PM · 1 like · like · see review
Kathleen started reading Lives of the Saints by Nancy Lemann	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
Mar 03, 2026 05:16PM · like
Kathleen is currently reading Solaris by Stanisław Lem	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
Feb 28, 2026 06:07AM · 2 likes · like
Kathleen liked Kristina Smith's review of Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk: "Poetic! "
Feb 26, 2026 06:38PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kathleen liked Carol's review of Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk: "DNF"
Feb 26, 2026 06:38PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk by Kathleen Rooney <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kathleen liked Heather Laskow's review of Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey: "Oh my gosh, I loved this book. So interesting and original. Based on a true story, told from the perspectives of a WW1 soldier and a homing pigeon that was used in the war. Happy, sad, thought provoking, and eye opening. "
Feb 26, 2026 06:37PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey by Kathleen Rooney. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Cher Ami and Major Whittlesey by Kathleen Rooney <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Kathleen rated a book it was amazing The Bridge of San Luis Rey by Thornton Wilder	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
"Anyone else would have said to himself with secret joy: 'Within ten minutes myself...!' But it was another thought that visited Brother Juniper: 'Why did this happen to those five?' If there were any plan in the universe at all, if there were any ...more
Feb 26, 2026 06:31PM · 7 likes · like · see review
Kathleen wants to read The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller by John Truby	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
Feb 23, 2026 05:08AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Anatomy of Story by John Truby. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Anatomy of Story by John Truby <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Kathleen's books…

Quotes by Kathleen Rooney (?)

“I thought at times that poetry might be an elegant way of screaming.”
― Kathleen Rooney, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

tags: anger, expression, feeling, poetry

44 likes

“The point of living in the world is just to stay interested.”
― Kathleen Rooney, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

tags: keep-on, living, motivation, resilience

36 likes

“If you love something, know that it will leave on a day you are far from ready.”
― Kathleen Rooney, Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

tags: loss, love

29 likes

See all Kathleen Rooney's quotes »

Polls

February 2020 Member 's Choice Book Selection

Voting will stay open until Jan 16th.

Please vote for your favorite among the nominees.

Thanks and enjoy reading....

Lillian Boxfish Takes a Walk

by Kathleen Rooney

8 votes, 21.6%

A Place for Us

by Fatima Farheen Mirza

6 votes, 16.2%

Nothing to See Here

by Kevin Wilson

6 votes, 16.2%

The Untelling

by Tayari Jones

5 votes, 13.5%

I Know Who You Are

by Alice Feeney

4 votes, 10.8%

Running on Red Dog Road: And Other Perils of an Appalachian Childhood

by Drema Hall Berkheimer

3 votes, 8.1%

What the Wind Knows

by Amy Harmon

3 votes, 8.1%

The Sisters Brothers

by Patrick deWitt

1 vote, 2.7%

Stones in the Road

by E.B. Moore

1 vote, 2.7%

This Was Not the Plan

by Cristina Alger

0 votes, 0.0%

37 total votes

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