Sarah J. Sloat


#94 best reviewers
year in books

Sarah J. Sloat’s Followers (371)

member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
member photo
Clifford
1,578 books | 3,209 friends

Kyle Minor
351 books | 1,331 friends

Antoinette
4,766 books | 484 friends

Corey
4,250 books | 2,948 friends

Nina
2,759 books | 184 friends

Keiralika
690 books | 459 friends

Vesna
501 books | 868 friends

Jenna
503 books | 1,176 friends

More friends…

Sarah J. Sloat

Goodreads Author


Born
in Plainfield, NJ, The United States
Genre

Member Since
November 2007

URL


I love poetry, literature and non-fiction.

Occasionally I go on a diet of short stories. I like the literary, the mainstream, the experimental and the un-categorical. I write poetry. I like the mysterious. I like history, too.

Long ago in another lifetime, I studied Chinese. I'm from NJ but have lived more than half my life outside the US.

As I get older I'm only interested in reading books that are wonderful and otherwise remarkable.

In poetry and otherwhere, the lower-case i/I doesn't bother me, nor does a lack of punctuation, etc.

Regarding my shelves, I won't be listing all the instruction manuals, young adult and children's books I've read unless there's something really important I want to say about them. Which I don't, mostly.

If you wa
...more

Photograph

Today I recall being in Philadelphia at the start of the year while my mother was fading away and how harrowing it was. At the start I hoped so much that she’d make it but as she continued deteriorating I wondered what life waited for her if she  recovered at all and needed to be discharged. How much she would suffer in an old-age home, and what arrangements and resources we’d need if we wanted to Read more of this blog post »
 •  0 comments  •  flag
Share on Twitter
Published on May 18, 2025 12:41
Average rating: 4.54 · 381 ratings · 91 reviews · 11 distinct worksSimilar authors
Hotel Almighty

4.54 avg rating — 231 ratings — published 2020 — 2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
In the Voice of a Minor Saint

4.47 avg rating — 38 ratings — published 2009 — 3 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Excuse me while I wring thi...

4.53 avg rating — 34 ratings — published 2011
Rate this book
Clear rating
Homebodies

4.75 avg rating — 20 ratings — published 2012
Rate this book
Clear rating
The Dirty Napkin, Volume 1....

by
4.18 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 2008
Rate this book
Clear rating
Classic Crimes

4.86 avg rating — 14 ratings2 editions
Rate this book
Clear rating
Inksuite

4.83 avg rating — 12 ratings — published 2013
Rate this book
Clear rating
The Dirty Napkin (Volume 2....

by
it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 6 ratings — published 2008
Rate this book
Clear rating
Heiress to a Small Ruin

4.50 avg rating — 6 ratings
Rate this book
Clear rating
Sugar House Review #13: Spr...

by
really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 2 ratings — published 2016
Rate this book
Clear rating
More books by Sarah J. Sloat…
Underworld
Sarah is currently reading
Rate this book
Clear rating

 
Citizens: A Chron...
Rate this book
Clear rating

 

Sarah’s Recent Updates

Sarah is on page 204 of 827 of Underworld
Underworld by Don DeLillo
Underworld
by Don DeLillo
progress: 
 
Rate this book
Clear rating
John Tyler, the Accidental President by Edward P. Crapol
""John Tyler talked the talk of republicanism but did not walk the walk."

To be honest I thought this book was going to be boring. The cover looked boring and usually when the text is tiny I know im going to be in for a dry read....but I'm happy to rep" Read more of this review »
Sarah is on page 72 of 827 of Underworld: so impressed and frankly delighted with the prologue
Underworld by Don DeLillo
Underworld
by Don DeLillo
progress: 
 
Rate this book
Clear rating
Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West by Cormac McCarthy
"What can I possibly say about this book? I feel like it’s all been said and done already. I need to let it linger for a while before writing my thoughts, but let me just say that I am amazed by McCarthy’s brilliance and ability to paint such vivid pi" Read more of this review »
Sarah and 9 other people liked J’s status update
Sarah started reading
Underworld by Don DeLillo
Rate this book
Clear rating
Sarah rated a book liked it
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Rate this book
Clear rating
The writing is elegant and beautiful but there's no plot or any particular character to latch on to, so it's largely 100+ pages of gazing at earth from a spaceship, watching the sun rise and set. It is lovely, but I grew bored. ...more
Sarah wants to read
The Land in Winter by Andrew  Miller
Rate this book
Clear rating
Sarah is currently reading
Orbital by Samantha Harvey
Rate this book
Clear rating
Sarah wants to read
Thus Were Their Faces by Silvina Ocampo
Rate this book
Clear rating
More of Sarah's books…
Quotes by Sarah J. Sloat  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“I might walk vast expanses
of earth and always be beginning
and I love beginning
or could learn
to love it.”
S. Jane Sloat

“My heart is small, like a love of buttons or black pepper.”
S. Jane Sloat, In the Voice of a Minor Saint

“God have pity on the smell of gasoline
which finds its way like an arm
through a car window,
more human than kerosene,
more unctuous, more manly.”
S. Jane Sloat, In the Voice of a Minor Saint

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
Goodreads Librari...: This topic has been closed to new comments. GR Author merge 952 882 Sep 03, 2011 08:09PM  
“The written word, obviously, is very inward, and when we're reading, we're thinking. It's a sort of spiritual, meditative activity. When we're looking at visual objects, I think our eyes are obviously directed outward, so there's not as much reflective time. And it's the reflectiveness and the spiritual inwardness about reading that appeals to me.”
Joyce Carol Oates

“I was reading the dictionary. I thought it was a poem about everything.”
Steven Wright

“My heart is small, like a love of buttons or black pepper.”
S. Jane Sloat, In the Voice of a Minor Saint

“For a moment the radio wavered between stations
and I was so busy
making myself marvelous.”
S. Jane Sloat, In the Voice of a Minor Saint

“God have pity on the smell of gasoline
which finds its way like an arm
through a car window,
more human than kerosene,
more unctuous, more manly.”
S. Jane Sloat, In the Voice of a Minor Saint

28172 Poetry Readers Challenge — 646 members — last activity Jan 08, 2026 06:18AM
Let's talk about poetry books. This group's members read poetry collections, with the goal of reviewing twenty in a year. C'mon. Do it. It's good for ...more
2740 Language & Grammar — 2162 members — last activity Mar 13, 2026 04:49AM
This group is for word lovers and has topics both serious (grammatical questions and concerns) and not so serious (word play and word games of all sor ...more
2083 NYRB Classics — 1490 members — last activity Apr 16, 2026 09:28PM
For friends of NYRB Classics
435 History is Not Boring — 2060 members — last activity Feb 10, 2026 05:12PM
Why do people think history is boring? I don't get it. ...more
220 Goodreads Librarians Group — 320803 members — last activity 3 minutes ago
Goodreads Librarians are volunteers who help ensure the accuracy of information about books and authors in the Goodreads' catalog. The Goodreads Libra ...more
27842 Moderator Support Group — 2197 members — last activity Apr 16, 2026 01:50PM
For Moderators and Co-Moderators: This is a dedicated group for discussing ideas, sharing answers, and finding solutions with the challenges of runni ...more
1177401 "The Best American Poetry" Annual Anthologies — 17 members — last activity May 21, 2023 08:39PM
This group is dedicated to the annual poetry anthology The Best American Poetry [insert year here]. A discussion group will be created for each year's ...more
31996 Sarabande Books — 8 members — last activity Mar 31, 2010 12:18PM
Sarabande Books is a nonprofit literary press founded in March 1994, in Louisville, Kentucky. Our focus is on poetry and short fiction, genres that in ...more
148815 The Roundtable — 68 members — last activity 10 hours, 46 min ago
Welcome to the Roundtable If you enjoy books that ask a little more of the reader--and give more back in return--you’ll likely feel at home here. We ...more
11608 Persephone Books — 1429 members — last activity Apr 13, 2026 09:38AM
Persephone Books specializes in rediscovering 20th century novels, neglected women writers, twentieth century women writers and out of print books. Th ...more
More of Sarah’s groups…
Comments (showing 1-14)    post a comment »
dateDown arrow    newest »

message 14: by Helle

Helle Thanks for the friends request, Sarah. Looking forward to sharing books with you.


Anastasia Hi S. Thank you for being my friend.


message 12: by Ken

Ken OK, Sarah, I've got my Moby pic up and ready for sail come late October (note look of fear and loathing).


message 11: by Hesper

Hesper So far she's been clever enough to stay away from it. It is a bane of a word. It kills entire sentences.

I've been loving your selections for the PotD, btw.


message 10: by Mia

Mia Hi S.,

thank you for being a friend.

Mia


message 9: by Slim

Slim Tree Thank you Jane.
You are so lovely.
Cheers.
Slim.


Flying Thank you for adding me as a friend.:)


message 7: by Sarah

Sarah Thanks so much, Tom. Nice of you to say so.


message 6: by Tom

Tom Loved your poem "from train 21," posted on your blog, Sarah. The seemingly contradictory tone / pace of headlong rush and reflection is quite effective.

It also makes me think of Pound's "In a Station of the Meto" -- The apparition of these faces in the crowd; / Petals on a wet black bough.


Benjamin Zapata Hi Sarah,...


Tráese Salut S! Good to see you here and be GR buds!

-shanti *t


message 3: by Noran

Noran Miss Pumkin Just wanted to stop in and wish you the best of the holiday season! Merry Christmas!-Noran
Hammond,IN :)



message 2: by Sarah

Sarah Hi Brooklyn,
I recommend "The Bell" above all. Thanks for asking. I would like to read it again. I also loved "The Sea, The Sea." "A Word Child" would be third in line.... maybe tied with "The Sacred and Profane Love Machine."
sarah


Nicole love the addition of the stephen wright quote: he's some kind of low-key genius, no?


back to top