272 ratings | 30 reviews | avg rating:4.81

Daren’s Year In Books

Daren’s 2025 Year in Books

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

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4,638 books | 116 friends

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Daren Dean

Goodreads Author

Born

in Mexico (MO), The United States

November 17, 1967

Website

http://darendean.wix.com/daren-dean

Twitter

https://twitter.com/DarenDean1

Genre

Literature & Fiction, Fiction

Influences

Larry Brown, Flannery O'Connor, Dorothy Allison, Daniel Woodrell, Corm ...more

Member Since

January 2012

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/darendean

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Daren Dean is the author of the novel Far Beyond the Pale (2015) , I'll Still Be Here Long After You're Gone: Stories (2019), The Black Harvest: A Novel of the American Civil War (2021), and This Vale of Tears (2021). ROADS (2023). Of Roads, Ron Rash wrote, "From the opening page, Daren Dean propels the reader into his story and never taps the brakes as his characters move toward an inevitable reckoning. Dannie Gail Posey is the novel’s young heroine, and we cheer her on as she navigates a violent world that seeks to entrap her even as she dreams of escaping it. Roads confirms Daren Dean as an important new voice in rural noir." In 2025 he had three works published, The New Salvation (CJ Press), Lovesick (Louisiana Literature Press), and Sh ...more

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Daren Dean’s books

Average rating: 4.44 · 41 ratings · 14 reviews · 13 distinct works

	Far Beyond the Pale 4.36 avg rating — 11 ratings — published 2010 — 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
	I'll Still Be Here Long After You're Gone: Stories 4.83 avg rating — 6 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
	The Black Harvest: A Novel of the America Civil War really liked it 4.00 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
	Roads 4.50 avg rating — 2 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
	Shelter Me 3.50 avg rating — 2 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
	This Vale of Tears 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
	lovesick really liked it 4.00 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
	The New Salvation and Other Stories 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2025	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
	Shelter Me 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
	The Black Harvest 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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Daren Dean's Blog

Read the Kirkus Review of The Black Harvest The Black Harvest in Kirkus Reviews:

Here's an excerpt from the Kirkus Review of The Black Harvest: "Dean’s writing also offers a striking brew of poetry and punch, combining unflinching realism with delicately woven imagery. Although the portrayal of the war is as historically rigorous as it is dramatically affecting, the real core of the novel is Ashby’s inner conflict as he tries to salvage some vestige of his humanity during this Read more of this blog post »

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Published on August 25, 2021 19:12

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Daren’s Recent Updates

Daren Dean rated a book it was amazing The Wilds by Julia Elliott	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 very talented writer. I particularly loved RAPTURE. Her writing makes demands on the reader and I love that.
Jun 10, 2026 09:44AM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Wilds by Julia Elliott. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Wilds by Julia Elliott <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Daren Dean is now following Julia Elliott Author of The Best American Short Stories 2019
Jun 10, 2026 09:41AM · like
Daren Dean rated a book it was amazing The Good Brother by Chris Offutt (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
I've long been a fan of Chris Offutt way back since his memoir The Same River Twice. He's a true wordsmith. I remember when I first read this I couldn't help wondering at first if Chris Offutt was more in line with these Montana militia folks he was ...more
May 27, 2026 05:28PM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Good Brother by Chris Offutt. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Good Brother by Chris Offutt <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Daren Dean rated a book it was amazing The Collected Stories by Sheldon Lee Compton (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
Apr 14, 2026 02:29PM · 2 likes · like
Daren Dean entered a giveaway Python's Kiss by Louise Erdrich	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 18, 2026 09:17AM · like · see giveaway · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Python's Kiss by Louise Erdrich. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Python's Kiss by Louise Erdrich <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Daren Dean is now following Barbara Tsipouras Author of Aber ich liebe dich doch
Nov 26, 2025 11:28AM · like
Daren Dean is now following Nicole Bannister and Brian Beatty
Nov 26, 2025 11:28AM
Daren Dean wants to read Shelter Me by Daren Dean (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
Nov 26, 2025 11:27AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Shelter Me by Daren Dean. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Shelter Me by Daren Dean <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Daren Dean wants to read Crapalachia: A Biography of a Place by Scott McClanahan	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 16, 2025 11:11AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Crapalachia by Scott McClanahan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Crapalachia by Scott McClanahan <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Daren Dean (?)

“Getting cheated on is far worse than taking a beating. Just listen to all them records about it if you don't believe me.”
― Daren Dean

5 likes

Topics Mentioning This Author

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On The Same Page : USA	97	39	Dec 12, 2022 03:01PM

Daren’s Quotes

“That's the trouble with innocents. They aren't innocent of doing, just of knowing what they're doing.”
― Jack Butler, Jujitsu for Christ

tags: literary-fiction, southern

3 likes

“We need to develop a better descriptive vocabulary for lying, a taxonomy, a way to distinguish intentional lies from unintentional ones, and a way to distinguish the lies that the liar himself believes in – a way to signal those lies that could be more accurately described as dreams. Lies – they make for a tidy little psychological Doppler effect, tell us more about a liar than an undistorted self-report ever could.”
― Rivka Galchen, Atmospheric Disturbances

14 likes

“Life kept you busy fighting off troubles, and you looked up, and the best parts of your life were gone.”
― Jack Butler, Living in Little Rock with Miss Little Rock

1 likes

“I don't deserve any credit for turning the other cheek as my tongue is always in it.”
― Flannery O'Connor, The Habit of Being: Letters of Flannery O'Connor

tags: humor, wit

1140 likes

“It ought to make us feel ashamed when we talk like we know what we're talking about when we talk about love.”
― Raymond Carver