Beginning

Since I was very young, I was a reader.

I’ve always loved books. I love the quiet of them, the feel of the pages, the smell. I love the escape of books – how the world around me always falls away as I start a story. I love the history of how each one is handed around from friend to friend. And I really love the conversations that books (both good books and terrible ones) begin.

My idea for this blog is that it will offer a thought-provoking and, well, fun guide to the books you should read (and to the ones you should go to all lengths to avoid). Reading is such a solitary and time-consuming pursuit that sometimes I wonder at its real value outside my own mind. I know that it enriches my inner life hugely; I’m always happier when “into” a book or, better yet, into a productive author – but my reading does no real work unless I'm sharing something about what I read. Besides, I’ve always loved giving book “prescriptions” based on someone’s reading preferences. I’m bossy helpful like that, but it does make me honestly happy when someone really loves something I’ve given them to read.

Also, I read a lot of everything. Don’t expect me to go into raptures over Homer or Joyce here (at least, not regularly). I read some hot mess TRASH. And I read a lot of really smart stuff too. Prepare yourself for chick lit (some of it is great! I promise), as well as mysteries (lots!), creative non-fiction, and yes, some classics. But what I really don’t want is for this space to become a collection of book reports, because NOTHING is more mind-numbing than the dreaded book report (the horror). My hope is that this blog will grow into an intellectual zone for discussion among readers about all sorts of books and how they relate to our lives, how they make us think in new ways.

Here’s the problem: This scares the shit out of me. Writing something completely creative (other than a facebook status update) is out of my comfort zone. Like, way out. I am VERY critical of what I read, so I expect that you are too – of this. That means that I’m terrified not only of the blank page, but of the audience (you! You scare me!) who will be judging my opinions. Plus, I fear the commitment this will entail, and I worry that my writing time will consume my reading time, which is why I’ve never really been a writer, not even of a diary. So I’m basically terrified of all of it, of the entire blogging process. (I am woman; hear me, uh, stammer?) But as a SAHM of three small children and a thinking person, I need this. I need something I’ve created, just for myself.

I’m Sarah and this is my blog. I hope to hear from you!