About Sarah

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The ‘About’ page.  I typically associate ‘About’ pages to the foreword or afterword sections of novels.  In my mind’s eye, I classify potential readers in two categories.  The first category involves readers interested only in the content of the novel, consequently they typically skip the aforementioned sections eager to dive into the material or move to the next book. In my formative years I fully related to this first category, whereas upon opening a new novel, I would shrug off slight feelings of annoyance as I quickly flip through a forward to jump head first into the book. Also, once the last page was read, I would toss the book aside, immediately dismissing the book as already providing what it has to offer, thereby ignoring any afterword that might be there. However, thankfully there lies the other style of readers, individuals who are not only interested in the bulk of material, but also in the hand that is attached to the pen.  The foreword/afterword allows a brief glimpse into the mind of the author who is behind the literary world and insight into the thoughts of the writer during the creation of the novel.  I have grown into this second category of readers and still find myself amused during these short, often overlooked sections due to the author’s ability in articulating their presence of mind, while often clearly communicating their personality through their unique style of writing to their devote readers.  The authors use these sections to convey a variety of emotions derived from their literary work ranging from humbleness and humor to even contempt and bitterness.

Thus, I fully expect there to be two variations of blog readers. The ones, which bypass this section of ego grooming and jump directly into the content, being is a perfectly fine route to follow. However, it is the second group that motivates my effort in outlining the motivation behind this blog.

Having been raised in a small rural farming community in south central Michigan, I began my borderline obsession with the great novels from an early age.  My family was relatively poor, however when everyone else you know is poor too it doesn’t quite matter. Needless to say, my travel experiences, as a child did not involve worldly exploits or grand cross continental adventures.  Nevertheless, my world began to grow in the 5th grade. My English teacher assigned The Giver, a book that, at that time, most school children were required to read. For an unknown reason it sparked my imagination, with key details and concepts still resonate with me today. Shortly after reading The Giver, I picked up a Wrinkle in Time, which transported my young self into a world of magic and science, thus becoming an outlet for my imagination being, as it was, vastly fascinated with anything outside of my rural roots. Quickly though, my reading material delved into the likes of Spooksville, The Boxcar Children, and R.L. Stine, whereas my Mom decided to intercede and purchased the Chronicles of Narnia and the Lord of the Rings series. Reluctantly, and much due to her urging I started The Hobbit, which resulted in me quickly becoming enamored, having now read it at least five times. By early high school, I found my way into Dante, The Odyssey, and mythology in general, with the Count of Monte Cristo, Frankenstein, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pride and Prejudice, and Dracula, to name a few, following shortly behind. Despite the lack of travel during my youth, books have offered me an opportunity to explore not only our world, but hundreds of other worlds.  I’ve glimpsed into the minds of a myriad of characters, most of which struggling with situations I, myself, could barely have imagined.

When become immersed in a novel, I truly get lost in the story. Upon asking me questions or attempting to talk to me I won’t respond because I really don’t hear you. This has been a constant source of amusement or perhaps a better term would be annoyance for my family for years.  An anecdote my family is fond of retelling is based on my 16th birthday and upon receiving my drivers license I was unable to drive anywhere, even grandparents that lived 6 miles away, with out step by step directions. My sense of direction was completely lost due to continually having my nose in a book during my formative youth, whether we were getting the oil changed in my parents Dodge Minivan or driving to Grandma’s, which we went almost daily. My time in the car, whether for an hour or just a few minutes, represented a golden opportunity to lose myself, even if it was just for a few minutes, in another world full of adventure.

Far too late in college, I came upon the realization my dream career likely involve reading books for a living and assessing their plots, theories, characters, etc.  Alas, with the age of the Internet and the subsequently bountiful information it provides, I realized that my best move, career wise would involve continuing my education along the scientific route.  At this point I was already accepted into several graduated schools for chemistry, a topic I found fascinating and equally challenging. Therefore the career in literature took a backburner to my studies at hand. Now upon graduating with my Ph.D. in analytical chemistry in December of 2014, I decided to revisit a fleeting idea. Along with several of my coworkers, who share my enthusiasm for literature, we have decided to begin a blog in which we analytically assess the various books we read and formulate the responses in text instead of the lengthy conversations or perhaps debates we had previously engaged. Therefore, this blog represents a bit of my bucket list by affording me an outlet fuel my need to over analyze everything and anything I read.

212 comments

    • Hello! It is lovely to meet a fellow chemist and book enthusiast! I completely agree; during incubation times you can find me passing the time with a book. What are some of your recent reads you’d recommend? I’m always looking for a good book!

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      • My book reading tastes are a bit eclectic, and I haven’t had a lot of time to read of late, but (of recent releases) I’ve really enjoyed Stolen Songbird by Danielle L. Jensen and The Winner’s Curse by Marie Rutkoski. Both are the first books in trilogies. The second books are already out too–I just haven’t had a chance to read them yet. Have you heard of the Thursday Next series by Jasper Fforde? It’s heavily infused with references to classic books and plenty of humor. I would *highly* recommend if to those who love reading.

        I liked your reviews of Red Rising and Golden Son, by the way. I bought Red Rising months ago, and seeing your review reminded me to bump it back up to the top of my to-read list!

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    • Thank you for liking my latest post. This is coming from another over analyzer of fiction :). In my situation, I wanted to practice my writing. At the same time, I wanted to be comfortable with sharing what I write. So I ended up with a book review blog that focuses more on what the author may have wanted to convey at the time of writing. I’m glad to see that I’m not alone in this.

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  2. Thanks for the recommendations! I’ll add all of those to my reading list, especially the Thursday Next series! You should read Red Rising. I won’t be surprised if it is the next big movie series! Also, in lieu of our science background if you haven’t read Seveneves yet, you should add it to your list.

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  3. I tend to read the About/Afterword/Historical Notes sections of a book before I start reading the book…thanks for the like on my review..

    PB aka Hoover Book Reviews aka Historical Fiction reviews 🙂

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      • Well I could give you quite a few I could share with you; Area 51 Annie Jacobsen (nothing to do about aliens), Lost city of Z by David Grann, Skeletons of the Zahara by Dean King. Maybe we could get a recommendation swap going!

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      • These sound like wonderful suggestions. A recommendation swap would be awesome! I really enjoyed Lost City of Z. I’ll add your other suggestions too. Have you read Red Rising or Queen of the Tearling? Those have been my recent go-to suggestions.

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  5. Thanks for checking out my book review for The Siren. Its great to meet someone else who enjoys analyzing the books they read and wants to share their thoughts.

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  8. Thanks Sarah for liking on of my reviews! I am following you because you listed many books worthy of reading and you had me at Wrinkle In Time! (I was an English major in college!) South-Central Michigan, eh? Well for me, at an graduate level, it is Go Broncos! : )

    Have a blessed day!

    Jim

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  11. Thanks for visiting and liking Gone Again by James Grippando (a book blurt). Like you, I also enjoy reading and ages ago thought I could read for a living. I read for a living all right, but more like dry business stuff. As dry as toast, so I am happy to get lost in the wonderful world of fiction and some interesting non-fiction too.

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    • A true lesson in being careful exactly what you want! I should have specified to my young self to read what I would like when I’m older. Not dense scientific texts! As fascinating as it can be it doesn’t compare to getting lost in a good novel.

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  13. I’m not sure I paid too much attention to Forewords and Afterwords until I started writing frequently! Now I read everything except the blank pages lol.

    Throne of Glass is a favourite post .. that’s on my TBR list! If only there were more reading hours (and writing hours!) in each day…. 🙂

    I can’t claim any chemistry wizardry, but I do love mathematics, formulae, and computer programming – maybe that gets me a brownie point!

    Joanna, from The Lazuli Portals blog.

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  15. Shalom Sarah! 🙂 Thanks for the like on my blog! 🙂

    I also love to read – there are several Boxcar Children Mysteries waiting for me on my virtual bookshelves for the summer, so it was cool seeing you mention them. 🙂

    I tend to over analyze everything, too. 😛 Almost surprising I ever post anything – except I have a lot I want to say. 😀

    Chaya

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    • I’m sure you have 99.9% of people beat in that category! 🙂 I’ve tried to reread the series at various stages of my life to see how the story impacts me differently. Still the same love!

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  17. I’ve also seen the films for “The Lord of the Rings” 3x, and that contributed to my step daughter’s early addiction to books. Before she was even a teen, she borrowed my combined collector edition of “The Lord of the Rings” (without me knowing) and wore it out reading the book repeatedly under the covers when she was supposed to be sleeping, but that was years ago. Today she is 24, married, a Stanford grad and has a job in the private sector for a company developing a smart phone with a hologram for a screen image.

    Her name is Lauryann and as a teen and college student she liked to have an annual “Lord of The Rings” sleepover with her friends where they watched the trilogy in one sitting. I have lost count on how many times she’s watched all three films in the series. Since she doesn’t borrow my copy of the three films anymore, I don’t think she’s done that for a few years because with a job and a new husband she has other things in her life to distract her.

    Hmm, I don’t have an audio edition of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit”. Maybe its time to start listening. I started listening to audio books when in the car on the road back in the 1980s and now it is a habit I prefer to anything the radio has to offer.

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    • I love the concept of ‘Lord of the Rings’ sleepovers! What fun! Lauryann sounds incredibly driven and intelligent, plus she has excellent tastes in books! I did love the movie translations, especially the Hobbit. I was initially disappointed that the Hobbit was overlooked in the first trilogy.
      I recently discovered the appeal of audiobooks. When I was training for my half marathon last year I grew so bored of my music and decided to try an audiobook while I was running with delightful results. I have been chain listening every since! I usually try to listen to nonfiction books to attempt to increase my general knowledge base.

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  18. Without an audio book playing, I’d probably fall asleep at the wheel in a half hour, but with a story unraveling as I drive, I’m trapped. I’ve driven long trips for hours even through the dark of night and had no problems staying awake and paying attention to the road too.

    There is no way I’m going to fall asleep or be distracted and miss what’s happening in a story. Back in the 80s and 90s, my drive to work was often one hour one way but with audio books I had no sense of the time and often didn’t want the drive to end and was eager for my long work day to be over so I could continue the story on the hour drive home.

    While drivers around me were boiling with road rage in the crush of afternoon traffic that often turned highways into parking lots, I was engrossed in the stories I listened to and didn’t mind the crawl. :o)

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  19. Completely agreed! Several times a book has moved me to tears or had me laughing as I’m driving along and I’ve had the thought that I hope the other drivers won’t glance over and see the lady next to them having a visible emotional response. I doubt their first response would be that she must be listening to a good book! 🙂

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  20. I’ve listened to a lot of books over the last few decades while driving,and there is only one I have not forgotten – one that I read with my ears more than twenty years ago.

    It’s nonfiction and it’s called “The Great Railway Bazaar” by Paul Theroux. I checked this audio book out of a library so it cost me nothing at the time.

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  21. Fascinating. My daughter is an analytical chemist, too. I saw you dropped by my blog to check out The Splendid Years. As a writer, I’m interesting in criticism, too and particularly how writers should grasp and embrace it, turning it to their advantage. I’ve blogged about this, a few times, particularly in a series of recent blogs that began with Embrace the Criticism and Learn. https://dermotthayes.com/2016/06/13/embrace-the-criticism-and-learn/

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  24. I love hearing about the adults in your life (teacher and mom) who influenced your reading and reading choices. I had the same influences and as a former teacher can not say enough about the importance of literature. You are the perfect example. You love your scientific side, but relish the pleasures of literature as well. Down to the “standardistas” who want to drive fiction out of the classroom!

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    • Thanks Linda! I am incredibly lucky to have had great influences in my life! My Mom and I have discussed many times the recent drive toward standardization of education, specifically of science and find it frustrating from both the educator and student standpoints. Hopefully, it is a short lived trend!

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  25. Hello Sarah,

    Thanks for the like on my review of Real Tigers. I must say this is an amazingly detailed and well-done About page. I have come around some very good About pages here on WP and yours is surely one of them. Like you, I’m also a huge book reader, although I haven’t read the classics you have mentioned, as yet. Looking forward to checking more of your blog.

    Happy blogging. God bless 🙂

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  28. OK – so now I know where to come for ideas of what to read next. Lovely blog. So you’re a Michigander. Love that! I have lived in MI for a couple of years way back and loved it. Also Happy Blogiversary!

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  30. I love your combination of interests in science and literature, and I too have a similar combination (including math). So I look forward to reading some of your thoughts from your unique perspective. So glad you stopped by and nice to be connected!

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    • Thanks Ramona! I love connecting with similarly minded people! I completely respect the math! I have a minor in math and those were some of the toughest classes I took!

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  32. Hello Sarah,
    First, thank you for visiting and liking my blog. As for you about post, I think I am in both categories. Sometimes I read the about and it actually turns me off and influences my reaction to the book if I read the about section first. If a book really captures my attention then, I will read the about section even if I read the book first.

    Shalom aleichem,
    Patricia

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  34. I always (almost) read the About page because I want to know what you’re about. About pages give a blogger an opportunity to explain the platform and why they blog or to just give a brief bio. So I wish you blessings and congrats on your blogaversary. I too am an avid reader. Thanks for stopping by The Fruitful Life recently and liking one of my posts.

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  35. Hey Sarah! Thanks for dropping by my blog and liking my post. 🙂 It’s very inspiring to read about your journey, and it’s nice to find someone who’s dabbled in both science and literature and can form a unique perspective from their experiences. I wish you future success and congratulations on the blogaversary!
    As for your About page, I am both types of blog readers, though I do go to both to collect ideas to improve my own blog posts and about page as well 😀

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    • Thanks Linh! You had a great, in depth review! And I’m always perusing to see how I can better improve my blog too! Everyone has such unique perspectives and ideas, it is fun to see what fellow bloggers do with their space.

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  42. As a Medieval history major we were taught early on that the dedication pages, forwards, prefaces, tables of contents, acknowledgements, afterwards, footnotes, even the index has the real information about the book and author. Even after all these years, I still check them over before I read any chapter! So thank you for providing so much material here 🙂

    And hey, I loved that your reading imagination was awakened with The Giver and A Wrinkle in Time. I am reading both during Banned Books Week after finding out their history. I had no idea A Wrinkle in Time is one of the most banned or challenged books of all time.

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    • What a fascinating major! I love it! I didn’t know A Wrinkle in Time was a banned book! I just reread it a year ago and almost wish I hadn’t. I was remembering it from the rose colored glasses of my youth.

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  43. As a Medieval history major we were taught early on that the dedication pages, forwards, prefaces, tables of contents, acknowledgements, afterwards, footnotes, even the index has the real information about the book and author. Even after all these years, I still check them over before I read any chapter! So thank you for providing so much material here 🙂

    And hey, I loved that your reading imagination was awakened with The Giver and A Wrinkle in Time. I am reading both during Banned Books Week after finding out their history. I had no idea A Wrinkle in Time is one of the most banned or challenged books of all time.

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  44. That’s awesome you’re a chemist! I’m an undergrad hoping to finish my degree in chemistry this upcoming spring 🙂 I have the same problem when reading! I get so wrapped up in the book that if anyone tries to talk to me, they get absolutely no response. I guess all our senses are tuned into the book 🙂

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  47. I’m so glad I found your blog, Sarah! I haven’t come across too many other people who have read the Hunchback of Notre Dame, despite it being an iconic piece of literature. Esmeralda sucks me in every time I re-read the book.

    The correlation you’ve drawn between bookworminess and a terrible sense of direction is interesting; like you, I always had my nose in a book when I was younger. I remember my family being very annoyed with me on a cross-country roadtrip we took because I was more interested in reading my book than looking out of the window at the Grand Canyon. haha. Today, my sense of direction is dismal!

    I’m also glad to find another scientist with enthusiasm for literature and the drive to act on that enthusiasm. I look forward to reading your carefully formulated reviews!

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  48. Hi, I really enjoyed reading your foreword! I too grew up on a farm and even though I already knew how to drive before I got my license, I too was terrified of getting lost because I too used all available moments of transportation to read. My husband told my daughter last week that when he met me when I was 16 he saw me reading a book while walking through the city to the railway station, looking up from time to time to avoid potholes and pedestrians. I too love chemistry and completed my PhD in 2003 and I use my blog as a way to record my reflections on the books I read now that I don’t have my book group to discuss them with. Best wishes as you embark on your career!

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