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3782 ratings | 797 reviews | avg rating:3.73

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Traci Kismarton

2,586 books | 275 friends

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1,770 books | 117 friends

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Richard Seltzer

Goodreads Author

Born

in Clarksville, TN, The United States

February 23, 1946

Website

http://www.seltzerbooks.com

Twitter

seltzerbooks

Member Since

February 2020

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/richardseltzer

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Author of two dozen books, I've been editor, novelist, Russian translator, parttime spy, Internet evangelist, and ebook entrepreneur. I've published children's fantasies, historical novels, and pioneering books about how to do business on the Internet. As a spokesperson for Digital Equipment, a tech leader in the early Internet, I saw how consumer choices and business models molded the outcomes we live with today. My latest book, "In Flux," puts AI into context and suggest how we can nudge the future toward either serving us or oppressing us.

I graduated from Yale, with a major in English and went to grad school there in Comparative Literature. At Yale I had creative writing courses with Robert Penn Warren and Joseph Heller.

In my 70s I've fi ...more

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Richard Seltzer’s books

Average rating: 4.16 · 74 ratings · 38 reviews · 28 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Lizard of Oz really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 14 ratings — published 1974 — 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
	Beyond the 4th Door really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 8 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 Name of Hero 3.67 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 1981 — 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
	Let the Women Have Their Say: a Trojan Novel 3.14 avg rating — 7 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
	Nevermind 4.20 avg rating — 5 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
	Saint Smith and Other Stories it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2011 — 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
	Now and Then and Other Tales from Ome 4.67 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2008 — 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
	In Flux by Richard Seltzer (Goodreads Author), Tim Seltzer 4.67 avg rating — 3 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
	We All Are Shakespeare it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 2 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
	Parallel Lives 4.50 avg rating — 2 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

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Richard Seltzer's Blog: Richard Seltzer

Pushcart Prize XLV

The Pushcart Prize XLV: Best of the Small Presses 2021 Edition by Bill Henderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hidden gems are strewn throughout this collection. Look carefully.

My favorite stories --
The Master's Castle by Anthony Doerr
The Red One Who Rocks by Aamina Ahmad
Fall River Wife by Peter Orner
The Samples by Kristopher Jansma
Howl Palace by Leigh Newman
The Missing Are Considered Dead by V. V. Ga Read more of this blog post »

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Published on March 21, 2022 07:14

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Richard’s Recent Updates

Richard Seltzer rated a book it was amazing Eureka! The Discovery of New Worlds: how we think, how we learn, how we remember, how we matter by Richard Seltzer	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'm the author, so of course I love it. Eureka! is a unique journey of discovery, combining memoir, philosophy, and psychology. It's about how we think, how we learn, how we remember, how we matter. It's interwoven with personal memories, and leads to ...more
Oct 27, 2026 02:45PM · like · see review
Richard Seltzer rated a book it was amazing The 42nd Parallel (U.S.A. #1) by John Dos Passos	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
Brilliant. Like opening windows into the minds of dozens of people from all walks of life. History of a hundred years ago experienced as if you were there.
Oct 27, 2026 02:33PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Seltzer rated a book really liked it The Big Cats Dance Party (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, #27) by Alexander McCall Smith (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
Delightful observations about the special qualities o physical nature in Botwana and about the country's traditional culture. Also aobservations about human nature in generate and the importance of norms of behavior, and what is tyupical and right at ...more
Oct 20, 2026 09:19AM · 1 like · like · see review
Richard Seltzer rated a book really liked it A Tomb for Boris Davidovich by Danilo Kiš	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 series of absurd satiric stories from behind the Iron Curtain. Some are brilliant. Others I found difficult to decipher -- which, I'm sure, was my failing, not the author's. ...more
Oct 13, 2026 01:08PM · 1 like · like · see review
Richard Seltzer rated a book did not like it Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline	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
It is incredible that this book is consideed on of the best of the 20th century. The beginning is rambling and pointless. The end is rambling and pointless. In the middle there were passages that I enthusiastically marks for their insights as well as ...more
Oct 09, 2026 09:04AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Richard Seltzer rated a book The Iron Heel by Jack London	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 expected futuristic scifi. Instead I found a compelling description of an economic and political situation in the early 1900s that eerily mirrors what we are doing through today. Technology transforming society, generating wealth that instead of be ...more
Oct 06, 2026 07:06PM · 3 likes · like · see review
Richard Seltzer rated a book liked it We by Yevgeny Zamyatin	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
Important historically and futurologically, but for me it was a tough read. No character I could identify with. No coherent story.
Oct 05, 2026 09:03PM · like · see review
Richard Seltzer rated a book it was amazing Butterfly Stories by William T. Vollmann	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
Once it gets started, this book builds to absolutely amazing. Skip the first two sections (up to p. 43) and you will enjoy the book much better than reading it from the start.
Oct 04, 2026 02:56PM · 1 like · like · see review
Richard Seltzer rated a book it was amazing Olive Kitteridge (Olive Kitteridge, #1) by Elizabeth Strout (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 02, 2026 05:58AM · like
Richard Seltzer rated a book really liked it Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky	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
Premise -- Aliens stopped briefly on Earth while on their way to somehwere else. They had a "roadside picnic" here. leaving behind high tech gadgets taht to them were trash. They made no attempt to contact earthlings and probably don't intend to retu ...more
Oct 02, 2026 05:48AM · 1 like · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Richard’s Friend Comments

Comments (showing 1-7) post a comment »

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message 7: by Tracey

Sep 26, 2020 04:26AM

Thanks so much for the goodreads friendship Richard!

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message 6: by Majenta

Jul 17, 2020 11:06AM

Hello, Richard! Thank you for contacting me! Congratulations on your books. Happy reading, writing, and everything else. Happy Friday, have a great weekend! Blessings!
Best wishes from Majenta

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message 5: by Richard

Jul 04, 2020 07:49PM

Thanks. I'm new here.
I've kept a list of every book I read since 1958, and I'm entering them all here. So I'm quickly getting a high number of "books read" but I know very little about how goodreads works.
Richard

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message 4: by Via

Jul 04, 2020 07:40PM

Hi,

Thanks so much for the friend invite! Welcome to GR! :)

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message 3: by Tani

Jun 21, 2020 05:15AM

Thanks for the friend invite. Looking forward for your bookish updates. Happy Reading! <3

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message 2: by Richard

Jun 05, 2020 04:53PM

Kasia wrote: "Thank you for the friend invite, I've added covers to some of the books you had on here that were missing and I will fix some of the data as well so all links :)"

Thank you.
Richard

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message 1: by Kasia (last edited Jun 05, 2020 04:46PM)

Jun 05, 2020 04:46PM

Thank you for the friend invite, I've added covers to some of the books you had on here that were missing and I will fix some of the data as well so all links :)

reply | flag

Richard Seltzer’s Followers (140)

Richard Seltzer

Goodreads Author

Richard’s Recent Updates

See a Problem?

Preview — The 42nd Parallel by John Dos Passos

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Preview — Journey to the End of the Night by Louis-Ferdinand Céline

See a Problem?

Preview — Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky