Portrait of a Reader: Sarah W.

Welcome,  Sarah! Please start by introducing us to yourself and your family.

We live outside Dallas and operate a Christian retreat center. My husband is a pastor, and I’m a part time Middle School principal at the Christian school my children attend.  I have two children at home and one in her first year at college.

So when did you first come to identify yourself as a “reader,” Sarah? What do you most enjoy reading? Do you consider yourself a casual reader, a sporadic reader, a serious reader or an all-out bibliophile

I read quite a bit as a child, then stopped reading for pleasure when I got to the age in school where you are “required” to read.  It didn’t seem fun then!  After college, I started reading again and haven’t stopped. I love books and am never without one now.

I do love it when readers talk about really starting to read after college. It gives me hope for my kids! So what do you most enjoy reading now?

I love historical fiction, particularly Lynn Austin. I also love Siri Mitchell. I read so much that I’m constantly trying out new authors, usually those recommended by friends or my sister. I read John Grisham’s books as soon as they come out.  Sometimes I’m just in the mood for Jane Austen and will pick up a book I’ve already read and go through it again.

I love Lynn and Siri, too! And I love re-reading, though I have little time for it these days. What is the last book you finished and what are you currently reading? 

The last book I read was Against the Tide by Elizabeth Camden.  I am now reading Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy by Eric Metaxas.  It’s taking me a long time because it’s pretty heavy!  I usually read a novel a week.

Against the Tide was soooo good! And hubby has read Bonhoeffer twice, so I guess I need to get to that one. Do you have a favorite time and place to read

I love to get in bed early and read until I go to sleep.  It relaxes me.

It does, doesn’t it? That calm at the end of a busy day. What is the most unusual circumstance/place in which you’ve been found reading?

We went to Universal Studios this summer and stood in line for the Harry Potter ride for almost two hours.  I hate to stand in line, so I read on the Kindle app on my iPhone.  Plus it was a Siri Mitchell book I didn’t want to put down!

Lol! Siri’s books can be like that! Isn’t it so great that if you get stuck in a line somewhere you can read from your phone? Bliss! And I guess that partly answers the next question: do you read physical books, ebooks, or both?

These days I read most books on my Kindle.  I fought getting a Kindle for a long time because I love the feel and smell of physical books, but now I love my Kindle.  I can go on vacation and have all the books I need at my fingertips instead of having to lug them all with me.  If I’m caught out somewhere without a book I use the app on my iPhone.  I read all of Anna Karenina on my phone in the pick up line at school!

Love it! So do you buy your books, borrow them from friends or check them out of the library? (Or all of the above!)

I hardly ever use the library anymore.  I mostly buy them on my Kindle (usually free on or on sale), but sometimes borrow from friends.

Do you have any favorite foods or drinks that generally accompany your reading?

Hot tea.

Always a good choice! Finally, it’s true confessions time: have you ever forgotten something important (to fix dinner or that dinner was in the oven or an appointment, etc) because you were lost in the pages of a book? 

I don’t think I’ve ever forgotten anything…but I frequently stand in the kitchen reading while I’m waiting for something to come out of the oven.  Multi-tasking at its best. 🙂

Thank you so much for sharing a little bit of yourself with us today, Sarah. Keep one eye on the oven as you read! 

Happy Reading, Y’all!