Reading Books: 8 Books To Read If You Loved Third Wheel

"Third Wheel" by Richard R. Becker is my gritty, heart-wrenching coming-of-age thriller of betrayal, redemption, and the search for hope in the morally gray desert suburbs of 1980s Las Vegas. It follows fifteen-year-old Brady Wilks as he seeks freedom from an abusive home and a fleeting chance at love, only to find a treacherous world of lies, drugs, and feeling like a third wheel in every aspect of his life — a true outsider. 

This novel has really made the rounds, selling more than 1,500 copies in its first year and still going strong with seven literary awards and a 4.7-star rating on Amazon, 4.6-star rating on Goodreads.  And while my next novel — to be released later this year — is unrelated, Third Wheel (much like 50 States) serves a great introduction to my work, which often explores perception and identity (among other themes). 

There has always been something that draws me to stories about teens who face adult problems like Brady does (and I did growing up in the inner-city of Milwaukee and later Las Vegas). So, I thought it might be worthwhile to share a list of eight books with similar themes, settings, or tones, based on their exploration of adolescence, social dynamics, crime, or transformative personal journeys.

8 Books To Read If You Loved Third Wheel 

1. "The Outsiders" by S.E. Hinton. Often cited as a direct comparison, "The Outsiders" is a classic coming-of-age novel about teenage outcasts navigating social hierarchies, loyalty, and conflict in 1960s Oklahoma. Like "Third Wheel," it explores the struggles of a young protagonist (Ponyboy Curtis) seeking belonging amidst a backdrop of violence and fractured relationships. Both novels feature tight-knit friend groups, betrayal, and a raw depiction of youth. Readers of "Third Wheel" who enjoyed its emotional depth and group dynamics will resonate with this.

Key Themes: Belonging, class conflict, loyalty, growing up too fast. Setting: 1960s Tulsa, Oklahoma

2. "Rumble Fish" by S.E. Hinton. Another Hinton novel, "Rumble Fish" delves into the life of Rusty-James, a troubled teen idolizing his older brother and grappling with his place in a rough, urban world. Its gritty tone, focus on teenage rebellion, and exploration of fractured family dynamics echo "Third Wheel’s" portrayal of Brady’s struggles with his mother and criminal entanglements. The cinematic, almost noir-like atmosphere aligns with Becker’s vivid depiction of 1982 Las Vegas.

Key Themes: Identity, brotherhood, rebellion, loss of innocence. Setting: 1970s urban America. 

3. "All the Smoke" by Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson. While a memoir rather than fiction, "All the Smoke" captures the raw, unfiltered experiences of two NBA players growing up in challenging environments, facing peer pressure, and navigating risky social circles. Its focus on resilience and self-discovery mirrors Brady’s journey in "Third Wheel." The conversational style and emphasis on overcoming adversity make it a compelling non-fiction parallel for readers drawn to Becker’s realistic characters and themes of belonging.

Key Themes: Resilience, peer influence, and self-discovery. Setting: Various U.S. cities, 1980s–2000s.

4. "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. This iconic novel follows Holden Caulfield, a disillusioned teen grappling with alienation and the search for authenticity in a world he perceives as hypocritical. Like Brady in "Third Wheel," Holden navigates a complex social landscape without reliable adult guidance, making both stories resonate with readers who connect with themes of isolation and self-definition. Becker’s nod to Salinger as an influence further ties these works together.

Key Themes: Alienation, identity, rebellion, loss of innocence. Setting: 1950s New York City.

5. "Blacktop Wasteland" by S.A. Cosby. Cosby’s modern crime thriller centers on Beauregard “Bug” Montage, a former getaway driver pulled back into crime, set against a gritty Southern backdrop. While the protagonist is older, the novel’s exploration of loyalty, moral dilemmas, and the pull of a criminal underworld parallels Brady’s entanglement with drugs and the Mob in "Third Wheel." Cosby’s vivid prose and focus on personal transformation align with Becker’s storytelling, and Becker cites Cosby as an inspiration.

Key Themes: Crime, loyalty, redemption, family dysfunction. Setting: Contemporary rural Virginia.

6. "Less Than Zero" by Bret Easton Ellis. Set in 1980s Los Angeles, this novel follows Clay, a college student returning home to a world of privilege, apathy, and drug-fueled excess. Its bleak, unflinching look at youth caught in destructive social circles mirrors "Third Wheel’s" depiction of Brady’s descent into Las Vegas’s criminal fringe. Both novels capture the era’s underbelly and the emotional toll of seeking connection in a morally compromised world.

Key Themes: Alienation, decadence, loss of innocence, peer pressure. Setting: 1980s Los Angeles.

7. "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers. This young adult novel follows Steve Harmon, a Black teenager on trial for his alleged involvement in a robbery gone wrong. Like "Third Wheel," it explores a young protagonist’s struggle with identity, peer influence, and the consequences of association with crime. The emotional weight of navigating a harsh adult world and seeking redemption makes it a strong parallel, especially for readers who appreciate "Third Wheel’s" socio-analytical depth.

Key Themes: Identity, justice, peer pressure, moral ambiguity. Setting: 1990s New York City.

8. "Tangerine" by Edward Bloor. This young adult novel centers on Paul Fisher, a visually impaired teen navigating family dysfunction and social challenges in a new Florida town. Like Brady, Paul seeks belonging amidst peer dynamics and uncovers darker truths about his surroundings. While less crime-focused, its coming-of-age themes and focus on resilience in a flawed world align with "Third Wheel’s" emotional core.

Key Themes: Identity, family secrets, resilience, social dynamics. Setting: 1990s Florida.

These books were chosen for their shared focus on coming-of-age struggles, complex social dynamics, and/or gritty settings. While "Third Wheel’s" blend of thriller elements and emotional depth makes it unique, the listed books capture similar vibes through teenage protagonists, crime, or transformative journeys. 

Like "Third Wheel,", these books can be found anywhere books are sold. "Third Wheel," along with my short story collection "50 States," will be featured on part one of my 2025 national book tour. 

Signing Books: Early Summer Book Tour '25

Yesterday was a breezy Saturday in Las Vegas, but it still made for a beautiful day for a book signing. I had set up an Authors & Artists tent at the Art in the Park event at Bruce Trent Park to gauge interest in some new prints of Jenna Becker's artwork. (We still need to set up an online store for her.) 

This was the second time I attended the event. The first time was in 2021 to show her what it might be like to meet people and sell her work as a high school sophomore. This time I was on my own (with my wife's help) because Jenna is studying art and psychology at Augustana College in Illinois. Her presence was missed, but it was nice to do this for her. We'll send a check of her proceeds in a few weeks.

Book signings and author events.

One of the vendors sitting across from me thought I was doing it wrong, introducing myself and then my daughter's work as I gauged which might interest them more. I usually steered the conversation to whichever side of the table they leaned toward. The vendor, a Russian immigrant selling handmade Italian clothing, would say: "No, like this! Here is an award-winning author. Look, look! Here he is. Signing books. Today only!" 

I had to laugh because inevitably someone would gravitate to my tent and buy a book when she did this. It's the kind of thing someone can do for you, but you can't do it on your own for yourself as an author. Of course, it's a little different at bookstores. Book lovers always seem interested in authors, even if you don't write their genre. If you greet them at the door, many will come and say hello. I had a virtual sellout in Reno last March, so I had to add inventory to what the store had ordered.

The Reno signing coincided with visiting my son. The early summer signing coincides with driving my daughter home from school for the summer. I'll fly into Chicago, drive to Rock Island, and start the tour. 

Pretour Warmups

March 1: Barnes & Noble in Reno, Nevada 

April 5: Art in the Park in Las Vegas, Nevada

Early Summer Book Tour '25

May 24: The Atlas Collective in Moline, Illinois 

May 25: Lion's Tooth in Milwaukee, Wisconsin 

May 27: Paperbacks and Pieces in Winona, Minnesota 

May 28: B&N Sioux Falls in Sioux Falls, South Dakota 

May 29: Books A Million in Rapid City, South Dakota 

May 30: Bookin' IT in Casper, Wyoming 

May 31: Barnes & Noble - Sandy in Salt Lake City, Utah 

Late Summer Book Tour '25 

Stay tuned! 

The second book tour will take place toward the end of August and the beginning of September when my daughter returns to school. Just like the early summer tour, it will follow a different route than last year's cross-country adventure or the one I am sharing above. Several people have asked me to visit Kansas, so I'd like to draw a route through Arizona, southern Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, and Illinois. 

We'll see. Bookstores sometimes influence my route. I'm more apt to stay in and highlight communities where I sign books. This worked very well last year, when I chronicled the trip with my daughter on the first half and my wife on the second half of the tour on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, X, and elsewhere. 

It was a lot of fun, leading me back to this post's beginning. I didn't sell many books at Art in the Park, and that's okay, as I also don't expect every signing to be like Reno (more than 40 in two hours). While it's always nice to sell well or out, I measure success with every connection I make—the readers, managers, and owners—and every experience it affords me with my son and/or daughter. 

I will continue doing it, too, as long as giving her rides back and forth across the country makes sense. (I may even duplicate the first leg of the '24 Book Tour in 2026 as I'll have a new book out by then!) And when it doesn't? Then, I'll likely set up some New England and southern state tours with my wife. 

We'll see. The point is that in-person events aren't just about sales. They're about enjoying a life well lived. You can't ask for more than that, except maybe Book Tour T-shirts. Ha. 

Blogging: An Evolution Over 20 Years

"Words. Concepts. Strategies.," which was sometimes called the Copywrite, Ink. blog started in 2005, was the same year the first blogger received White House press credentials, The Huffington Post was founded, and YouTube was launched. It was nine years after the first blog was created by Justin Hal in 1994, which meant I was a latecomer to blogging but still an early adopter.

I remember telling students about the blog in my Writing for Public Relations course at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Many were working professionals in the field, trying to navigate how to write a decent news release that wasn't automatically filed in the trash can. 

My company wrote scores of news and feature releases in those days, which populated many newspapers, magazines, and trade journals. It was relatively easy work compared to advertising campaigns, mainly because I always approached the business of public relations (in part) like a journalist. Simply put, journalists want good stories, so public relations practitioners should be keen on providing great ones.

They understood the point, but not the next one I made in 2005. Even then, I saw the writing on the wall. 

"The importance of business blogs shouldn't be underestimated," I told them. "While you can sometimes get your message out through the media, you can always get it out on a blog."

They laughed in 2005. Nobody laughed in 2010. Nowadays, blogs have become so integrated and essential for websites that some people wonder if standalone blogs matter anymore when compared to the more common methods of engagement—social networks like Facebook, Threads, Instgram, BlueSky, X, etc. or video platforms like YouTube and TikTok. 

What's The Takeaway After 20 Years of Blogging. 

Admittedly, sometimes I wonder if it's fair to say I've been blogging for 20 years here, given how sporadic I've been with any new material. While this used to be a daily between 2007 and 2010, I've struggled to meet the minimum — one post-every-month goal — that I set in 2016. Maybe this will be the year I hit it! 

It's not for lack of creating content. I'm engaged daily on social networks and produce two or more videos a week across multiple channels. I also write blog posts for other companies — most of which read like articles with varied degrees of formality. 

Most of the other people I used to engage with on blogs have moved on, too. If they write anything, it's likely to appear on LinkedIn or Medium instead of a blog. And, more likely, they mention whatever they used to write about in podcasts and vodcasts, having abandoned their blogs long ago. 

I even wrote about that one. For all those who once dreamed their words of wisdom would be permanently etched into the Internet, it turned out that all they really created was a 404 crisis — thousands of once interlinked posts now lead nowhere. On occasion, I'm even asked why I bother, given that I could probably put my url to better use as an author website. Except ...

This blog has about 3.8 million views and about 30,000 visits a month, whether I add new content or not. The traffic is primarily the result of more than 1,700 posts, many of which are more akin to articles. And for everyone who visits and opts for the way it looks on the web, they can easily find other ways to connect or find my books. In sum, it would be crazy to give it up. It makes much more sense to add to it, here and there, when I have some time. And when it makes sense. 

What are some of the top most-read articles on this blog? 

Knowing When To Post | 17k reads. This was one of my first living case studies on why not everybody was right for the blogging world. Every now and again, the post surges when someone wants to understand the early social media crisis sparked by one company. 

Signing Books: Five Places I Visited For 50 States | 16.6k reads. It's a story about the bookstores I visited during my first year as an author. I still need to write one up pertaining to the national book tour I took last year. Who knows? Maybe next month. 

The Elephant In The Room Of Banned Books | 15.3k reads. This post remains relevant for two reasons. First, because people keep banning books, which is as stupid as it is sad. Second, the point of the article was to illustrate it isn't a red-blue issue. Everybody is up for banning what they don't like. 

Writing Books: Third Wheel As A Debut Novel | 11.7k reads. This post should answer the question many authors ask regularly. Would starting a blog be worth it? Granted, this blog is 20 years old. However, seeing that two of the top five posts are related to my books, I'd say there is something to it. 

Being Steve Jobs: Where The Open Forum Got It Wrong | 10.7k reads. My well-read rebuttal to an American Express article continues to be read and referenced as I made the case that, yes, business owners do want to be like Steve Jobs. Sure, they don't want to be exactly like him. But there was plenty to learn. 

Incidentally, the Steve Jobs and Third Wheel posts are among the top reads in the last 12 months, with 5.45k and 3.29 reads, respectively. Others that always get traction include If 80 Percent of People Won't Change, Why Force Them?, Revealing Weakness: Brian Solis On Authority, and Understanding Viewers.: TV's New Consumers. The latter is one of many articles I wrote about a television show called Jerico, which was canceled only because it had the misfortune of being launched during the dawn of streaming services. 

Nowadays, networks and streaming services would love to have that audience. (The same could be said for Veronica Mars and The Black Donnellys, too). And that brings me to another reason I'll keep this blog around. It is a a written history as it happened — personal, global, and within the blogosphere.

And with that, I will end on one final point. I miss the days when banging out a post in an hour to start my day was part of the routine. It was fun and exciting to see them catch people's interest. But more than that, there was a note of civility and sometimes even chivalry during the golden age of blogs. 

Words weren't so easily tossed about like quips and clubs and weapons, nor were they so easily thrown away. Reputation seemed to matter, and responses were well reasoned. I think we could use a bit more of that today instead of always shooting for the soundbite. Alas, that, too, is part of history.

Fact Checking: The End Of An Experiment

Some writers have the ability to put one word in front of another and make whatever they write about feel as real as if it happened. Great literary writers do it out of habit. The best copywriters, myself included, are trained to weave whatever differential facts they are given with fantasy to make a brand story come to life. And journalists, although the public likes to pretend otherwise, frequently chase down whatever theories they have in their heads before they ever begin to write. 

Sure, people think stories are supposed to land in the laps of journalists out of convenience, but that's not true. Most stories are fabricated out of thin air, with journalists chasing hunches, for better or worse. We mostly hope it will be for the better, but often, it's for the worse or, more precisely, something in between.

All stories are made by the tellers.

The very first article I ever wrote was not much more than speculation. I was a university student enrolled in a basic reporting class when a 6-foot-8 football player injured two security guards at a fraternity party. One of the wounded guards had his face slashed when he was thrown through a window. 

Since the fraternity was sanctioned by the university and the Greek house was on the university grounds, I wondered whether the school could be held liable. To prove my hunch, I called more than a half dozen attorneys until I found one willing to be quoted. He said, simply put, that any decent attorney could bring a liability suit against the school. It was couched in the idea that any attorney could sue anybody for anything, but I left that part out when I talked to other sources. 

I also left the part out when I learned what was said by asking the coordinator of campus standards what she thought. She said she feared the lawyer was right, especially because all events that serve alcohol must be approved by the fraternity's adviser, her office, and the university president. Without a waiver of liability, at minimum, even the idea that the event would even need security guards was an admission. 

It was a great story, but one that never sat well with me despite being the reporter. I had opened up a can of worms because of what had occurred at the frat party despite no liability suit ever being filed. And worse, several people who trusted me enough to speak candidly found themselves in hot water. 

Yes, anyone can assume that new policies must be made. But that's not the point of this piece. I want to offer it as evidence that facts are not magical truths but malleable constructs. Even someone with a college sophomore's worth of experience can do it in a few hours. Despite no liability suit in existence, the article I wrote resembled fact, even if it remained untested in court. 

Facebook's policy change is the right course. 

I have many friends who are fearful of Facebook's upcoming policy changes on fact-checking. They think Facebook and other Meta platforms will descend into a misinformation free-for-all akin to what they think happened on X when Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion. 

"It's time to get back to our roots around free expression. We're replacing fact checkers with Community Notes, simplifying our policies and focusing on reducing mistakes," said Mark Zuckerberg in his video. 

My view is slightly different, but then again, I was one of the mistakes Zuckerberg is talking about. My original Facebook account was shut down by fact checkers who mistook fictional stories as political statements. Specifically, when the network's strict policy was implemented, it retroactively lit my account up like a Christmas tree because some of the characters in my stories were wrong or politically incorrect or whatever. And unfortunately for me, neither the algorithm nor the fact checkers could tell the difference. Their decision would be akin to All In The Family being taken off the air for whatever Archie said. 

It was a painful experience, largely because I had years of personal memories attached to the account, alongside 1,400 people eagerly awaiting my debut novel. My connections to them were gone overnight. 

The state of media today isn't always a matter of fact. 

Technology is an excellent and crazy thing. Every day, today's journalists do just what I did as a college student except with a zillion times more efficiency. They use platforms to call for experts on this subject or those with very specific beliefs. Then, they elevate those voices to weave together stories with all the strength of reality. Those stories, in turn, are then used to silence other stories that are either late to the party or slanted away from a preferred narrative. 

Fundamentally, this is what was wrong with third-party fact checking all along. People operated with different facts, and then fact checkers used their biases to decide which might be right, even if none were correct or much more than a theory. 

Even some of Meta's own employees struggle to see this as problematic, saying that Meta is "sending a bigger, stronger message to people that facts no longer matter, and conflating that with a victory for free speech.” But they are wrong. 

Facts do still matter. But the Internet has to work out that the pendulum went too far in one direction by building a foundation of "facts" that weren't really facts and then judging all other evidence or speculation or theory against a fabricated set of standards. As Mark Twain once said: “Facts are stubborn things, but statistics are pliable." And words, I might add, are even more pliable than that, given how much bodies of fiction — in books and film and online — shape our moral compasses. 

Give the policy change its day. You might be surprised to find that the old adage about free speech that I learned as a journalist will hold true: The abuse dies in a day, but the denial slays the life of the people and entombs the hope of the race. 

Producing Video: A Shift In Content Creation

Last year, video accounted for over 82 percent of all web traffic, with TikTok boasting 1.04 billion active users and YouTube setting the high bar at 2.6 billion. Latecomer Facebook Reels is just under 620 million. 

These numbers represent a significant shift from when blogs were content drivers ten years ago. So, while blogs and articles still play an essential role in SEO and easily digested nonlinear content, video isn't something to dismiss. While traveling on my Late Summer National Book Tour in August, I learned just how important video content can be.

I teed up every bookstore signing with a video shot the day before while on the road. Views for these videos ranged from 1,251 to 2,984 on TikTok and 1,081 to 1,688 on Facebook Reels. On TikTok, the least viewed was at the Lee's Legendary Marble Museum in York, Nebraska, and the most viewed was The Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Ironically, The Gateway Arch was the least viewed, and Lee's Legendary Marble Museum was the most viewed on Reels. 

The real test was more tangible than views. Some readers expressly mentioned the videos at the signing, especially in Nebraska — something that stuck with me long after I returned home, which is why I've since invested in making more video content. 

New Video Content Highlights 

60-Second Writing Tips: I'm sharing a 60-second writing tip every Monday. The tips will likely alternate between very general tips, like which style book to use, and very specific tips, like using possessive pronouns to improve clarity. Since returning from the tour, I've already produced five videos. 

Inside The Audiobook: Two of my books were released as audiobooks and narrated by the incredibly talented Brian Callanan. In the weeks ahead, starting with Third Wheel, I'll share a highlight of something from each chapter or story and share a narrated sample from the audiobook. The first few chapters are up. 

Behind the Writer's Desk: Every few weeks, I'll highlight one of my current projects or discuss my writing process. The first episode discusses part one of a story that will appear in my upcoming newsletter, Scraps by Rich Becker. 

Upcoming Interviews and Shout-Outs: In addition to those mentioned above, I'm currently experimenting with several formats to host a new interview series with special guests. I'll share more about this new monthly (or so) series in the weeks ahead. Likewise, I'll give shout-outs to bookstores and more on TikTok and Facebook Reels in the days ahead, anything I can do to help my friends and associates.

Other Content Found Around The Web 

While some of the video content still has a few rough edges while I become more comfortable with it, it's only a matter of time before everything clicks. In fact, to help me become more comfortable on the other side of the screen, I recently put my name out as an actor for fun and was cast in a commercial and short film within weeks.

While there is an uptick in video content overall, I'm still active on many social networks, publish a newsletter, and sometimes devise other ways to share content. For example, an interactive Google map highlights where readers can find signed copies of my books or libraries with copies to check out. This site will eventually average an article a month again. 

The point is pretty simple. Different content deserves different media. It has always been this way and will likely always be this way. Creatives need to create content that best serves the people they want to reach in a way they want to be reached. So, with that in mind, I hope to see you!

Signing Books: Late Summer Book Tour

My daughter played her last travel softball game a few weeks ago. It's surreal to think, given I once wrote about her in the context of overcoming hurdles. Yet, here we are: Weeks away from taking a road trip to her college, where her next game will be at the collegiate level. 

Along the way, I'm hoping she learns a few things, too. Some of what I hope she learns comes full circle to that column I wrote ten years ago. The overemphasis on image, popularity, and crowd thinking in social media life has a long history of undermining good ideas, worthwhile efforts, and individual actions.  

Ten years ago, I wasn't a novelist. I'm on a book tour this summer. 

People tend to ask authors two common questions. First, what advice would you give to any aspiring writers? Second, what was the worst advice you ever received? 

I have a variety of answers to the first question in interviews but the one that stands out the most hit me today. Don't wait. We spend far too much time fretting over reasons not to pursue our passions. 

The second goes hand in hand with the first. Don't start because you'll never finish it is the worst advice I ever received. And if you finish it, they cotninued, no one will ever read it. It doesn't even matter if we hear this bad advice from someone else or that little voice in the back of our head that prefers practicality over aspiration. Don't believe it. I've sold thousands of books.

I've also lined up a book tour that coincides with the trip. We'll take in some sights and stop at bookstores along the way. You can follow us on TikTok, Instagram, X, Facebook, and elsewhere. Or, even better, drop by if I am in your area (or afterward to snap up a signed copy left behind). Event times will be posted on Facebook as they are finalized. 

Pretour Warmup

July 16: The Book Haven in Prescott Valley, Arizona

Summer Book Tour

August 26: Barnes & Noble Grand Junction (signing) in Grand Junction, Colorado 

August 27: Old Firehouse Books (visit) in Fort Collins, Colorado

August 28: Barnes & Noble SouthPointe (signing) in Lincoln, Nebraska 

August 29: Bumble Books (signing/reading) in Amana, Iowa 

August 31: The Atlas Collective (visit) in Moline, Illinois 

September 2: Wordsmith Bookshoppe (signing) in Galesburg, Illinois

September 3: Spine Indie Bookstore (author showcase) in St. Louis, Missouri 

September 5: Commonplace Books (signing) in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

September 6: Barnes & Noble Coronado (signing) in Albuquerque, New Mexico

September 7: Page 1 Books (signing) in Albuquerque, New Mexico 

Posttour Wrapup 

October 19: Las Vegas Book Festival in Las Vegas, Nevada

Stay tuned. I might be adding another mini-book tour in early October. My sights are set on Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The trip is still tentative, but I hope it will help move my next WIP forward. It's set in Maine and will become my second novel, and fourth or fifth book (depending on what happens in the next few months). Pretty exciting — stuff I would have done sooner had I already carved out time to write fiction alongside client work. And that's the point. 

I've never been happier writing fiction. In fact, doing so has elevated my commercial work too. And that's what I want my daughter to learn before I drop her off at her new home away from home. Don't wait. Be happy.