446 ratings | 410 reviews | avg rating:4.28

David’s Year In Books

David’s 2025 Year in Books

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

Go to David’s 2025 Year in Books

David Guy’s Followers (43)

David’s Bookshelves

to-read (1)
currently-reading (10)
read (445)

David’s Friends (56)

Ramsey

1,905 books | 5 friends

Chad Oakley

3,431 books | 230 friends

Carol

6,885 books | 1,171 friends

David4439

1,079 books | 11 friends

Steven Chernikeeff

169 books | 232 friends

Craig Pywell

476 books | 71 friends

Carolyn

656 books | 59 friends

Taryn Gesmundo

2,965 books | 22 friends

More friends…

David Guy

Goodreads Author

Born

in Pittsburgh, PA, The United States

Website

http://www.davidguy.org

Member Since

April 2009

edit data

I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which in some way still seems like home, though I haven’t lived there for years. I attended Shady Side Academy, graduating in 1966, and enrolled from there in Duke University, where I studied with Reynolds Price and Wallace Fowlie, earning a BA and eventually an MAT. My first job was as an English teacher at Forsyth Country Day School in Winston-Salem. I moved back to Durham in 1976, and have lived here ever since, except for a two-year stay in Cambridge while my wife was in graduate school.

I was eleven years old when I first saw that there was something about language that fascinated me, fifteen when I decided—God help me—that I wanted to be a writer. Though I have worked in libraries and I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which in some way still seems like home, though I haven’t lived there for years. I attended Shady Side Academy, graduating in 1966, and enrolled from there in Duke University, where I studied with Reynolds Price and Wallace Fowlie, earning a BA and eventually an MAT. My first job was as an English teacher at Forsyth Country Day School in Winston-Salem. I moved back to Durham in 1976, and have lived here ever since, except for a two-year stay in Cambridge while my wife was in graduate school.

I was eleven years old when I first saw that there was something about language that fascinated me, fifteen when I decided—God help me—that I wanted to be a writer. Though I have worked in libraries and taught at various schools and in different capacities, writing has been my true vocation. I have sometimes thought of it as the work I do, other times as a pastime, but it has always been the activity I most enjoy. In the decade beginning when I was 32, I published four novels, Football Dreams (1980), The Man Who Loved Dirty Books (1983), Second Brother (1985), and The Autobiography of My Body (1990). I also published articles in various publications during those years, and was active as a book reviewer.

In 1991, when my wife dragged me to a class at the Cambridge Insight Meditation Center, I discovered the spiritual practice that became central to my life, and grew interested in Buddhism. I think of myself as a “householder yogin” (in the words of Reginald Ray, quoting Chogyam Trungpa) and see “the sitting practice of meditation” as my “primary life commitment.” I have practiced in the Vipassana, Tibetan, and Zen traditions, but don’t consider those distinctions important. Since 1995 I have practiced with Josho Pat Phelan at the Chapel Hill Zen Center, with regular forays back to the Insight Meditation Society.

I worked with my first meditation teacher, Larry Rosenberg, on two books, Breath by Breath: The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation (1994) and Living in the Light of Death: On the Art of Being Truly Alive (2001). I wrote for various Buddhist publications during those years, and published The Red Thread of Passion: Spirituality and the Paradox of Sex (1999).

In 2001 I began working at Duke’s Sanford School of Public Policy, teaching in both the MPP and Hart Leadership Programs. I retired in 2014, though I still work part-time for Hart Leadership. Working at Duke freed me to get back to narrative writing, and in 2007 I published Jake Fades: A Novel of Impermanence. I currently live part of the year in Durham and part in Asheville, and spend my time writing, reading, sitting, swimming at various pools, taking long walks, and getting together with friends.
...more

Combine Editions
David Guy’s books

Average rating: 3.72 · 254 ratings · 40 reviews · 7 distinct works • Similar authors

	Jake Fades: A Novel of Impermanence 3.82 avg rating — 129 ratings — published 2007 — 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
	Autobiography of my Body 3.43 avg rating — 61 ratings — published 1991 — 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
	The Red Thread of Passion: Spirituality and the Paradox of Sex 3.70 avg rating — 37 ratings — published 1999 — 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
	Football Dreams 3.93 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 1980 — 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
	The Man Who Loved Dirty Books 3.83 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 1983 — 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
	Autopilot Profit Formula: The Complete Step By Step System To Automated Income 0.00 avg rating — 0 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 David Guy…

David is Currently Reading

David Guy is currently reading

7 Greeks

by Guy Davenport

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 09, 2025 08:09AM

David Guy is currently reading

The Zen Master's Dance: A Guide to Understanding Dogen and Who You Are in the Universe

by Jundo Cohen

bookshelves: currently-reading

read in March 2025

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

David Guy said: " I’ve heard the name Jundo Cohen in Zen circles for years, and associated him with his teacher, Gudo Nishijima. Some time ago, I read a book that the two of them co-authored, A Heart to Heart Talk with Zen Master Gudo. Nishijima is a unique teacher, a ...more "

Sep 20, 2025 05:08PM · see review

David Guy is currently reading

Why We Swim

by Bonnie Tsui (Goodreads Author)

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

May 24, 2025 01:06PM

rss
David’s Recent Updates

David Guy rated a book really liked it Devouring Time: Jim Harrison, a Writer's Life by Todd Goddard (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
In the late seventies, when my writing career was getting started, I followed the literary world the way other men follow the sports pages, and I vividly remember the event that put Jim Harrison on the map: Esquire published the entirety of one of hi ...more
Feb 12, 2026 07:38AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Devouring Time by Todd Goddard. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Devouring Time by Todd Goddard <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Guy rated a book really liked it The Magus by John Fowles	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 can’t remember ever being as exasperated by a book that I basically liked as I was by The Magus. What I read—after my enthusiastic reading of The French Lieutenant’s Woman—was that, while that was considered his greatest novel, The Magus was his mo ...more
Feb 12, 2026 07:35AM · 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 The Magus by John Fowles. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Magus by John Fowles <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Guy rated a book it was amazing Tremor of Intent by Anthony Burgess	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 12, 2026 07:30AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Tremor of Intent by Anthony Burgess. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Tremor of Intent by Anthony Burgess <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Guy rated a book it was amazing Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon	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 12, 2026 07:29AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Guy rated a book it was amazing True Nature: The Pilgrimage of Peter Matthiessen by Lance Richardson (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
Jan 01, 2026 07:31AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of True Nature by Lance Richardson. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — True Nature by Lance Richardson <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Guy rated a book it was amazing The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner (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
Rachel Kushner is a writer who is so riveting line by line that you forget to step back and ask yourself what you’ve been reading. Then your wife asks and you say, it’s about an art student in New York named Reno (named for the city she’s from). She ...more
Dec 15, 2025 08:25AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Flamethrowers by Rachel Kushner <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Guy rated a book it was amazing The French Lieutenant’s Woman by John Fowles	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 French Lieutenant’s Woman was one of the favorite novels of my friend Levi, who had read it multiple times. In fact, I believe he gave me the copy I have, for my birthday or for Christmas; like most book lovers, he gave his favorite books. I’m al ...more
Dec 15, 2025 08:23AM · 1 like · like · see review
David Guy rated a book it was amazing Nothing Like the Sun by Anthony Burgess	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 am constantly amazed by Anthony Burgess. Using the evidence of the surviving poetry, especially the sonnets, and what is known about the chronology of the plays, Burgess has spun an utterly credible narrative of Shakespeare’s early life. More astou ...more
Dec 15, 2025 08:21AM · 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 Nothing Like the Sun by Anthony Burgess. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Nothing Like the Sun by Anthony Burgess <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Guy rated a book really liked it I Am a Part of Infinity: The Spiritual Journey of Albert Einstein by Kieran Fox	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 basic premise of this book is that Albert Einstein’s life’s work stemmed from an essentially religious feeling of awe and wonder at the workings of the universe. Kiernan Fox cites an early moment when one of Einstein’s uncles gave him a compass w ...more
Dec 15, 2025 08:19AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of I Am a Part of Infinity by Kieran Fox. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — I Am a Part of Infinity by Kieran Fox <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
David Guy rated a book it was amazing A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess	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 the early seventies, there were three movies that took violence in cinema to a whole new level: The Wild Bunch, Straw Dogs, and A Clockwork Orange. My wife and I saw Straw Dogs, which portrayed Dustin Hoffman as a confirmed pacifist who was dealin ...more
Dec 15, 2025 08:16AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">