Discover new books on Goodreads

See if your friends have read any of Sarah L. Johnson's books

1124 ratings | 168 reviews | avg rating:4.02

Sarah’s Year In Books

Sarah’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Sarah’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Sarah’s 2025 Year in Books

Sarah L. Johnson’s Followers (176)

Sarah’s Bookshelves

to-read (672)
currently-reading (2)
read (1547)
did-not-finish (0)
all (0)
books-to-ill (0)
dnf (6)
tbr-challenge-2013 (14)

Sarah’s Friends (274)

MBP

7,822 books | 157 friends

Carla

14,318 books | 250 friends

Micheal

4,148 books | 1,513 friends

Danielle

2,146 books | 172 friends

Courtney « semi IA dealing with health nonsense »

442 books | 1,496 friends

Pilar

3,935 books | 15 friends

Gloriana

5,760 books | 168 friends

Jared Quist

2,610 books | 61 friends

More friends…

2026 Reading Challenge

2026

READING

CHALLENGE

Sarah has read 58 of 85 books.

68%

Sarah L. Johnson

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

http://www.readingthepast.com

Twitter

readingthepast

Genre

Reference, Historical Fiction

Member Since

August 2007

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/readingthepast

edit data

Reference librarian, readers' advisor, avid historical fiction reader, NBCC member. Book review editor for the Historical Novels Review, regular reviewer for Booklist and Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries. Winner of the American Library Association's Louis Shores Award for book reviewing (2012). Blogging at Reading the Past since 2006.

I live out in the country in east central Illinois with my husband, too many cats, and an even larger number of books.

Note: I'm not the Sarah L. Johnson who writes dark crime fiction/horror, but Goodreads keeps assigning that author's books to me. ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Sarah L. Johnson questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Sarah L. Johnson’s books

Average rating: 3.93 · 69 ratings · 8 reviews · 3 distinct works

	Historical Fiction: A Guide to the Genre (Genreflecting Advisory Series) 3.84 avg rating — 45 ratings — published 2005 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Historical Fiction II: A Guide to the Genre (Genreflecting Advisory Series) 4.19 avg rating — 21 ratings — published 2009 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Information Professional's Guide to Career Development Online by Sarah L. Nesbeitt, Rachel Singer Gordon, Sarah L. Johnson (Goodreads Author) 3.33 avg rating — 3 ratings — published 2002 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

1467 posts
Sarah L. Johnson's Blog

A librarian of mystery: Emily Dunlay's The Library of Leaving - plus other historical fiction news

The most affecting espionage novels offer high stakes with political and emotional consequences, both, and Emily Dunlay’s second novel (after Teddy) belongs among them.

Pub. by Harper (Sept. 2026). The UK publisher is Fourth Estate/HarperCollins.

Helen Fox is a woman of secrets. In 1926, she works alone at the American Library of Geneva and lives a tranquil life in its attic apartment. The libr Read more of this blog post »

View more on Sarah L. Johnson's website »

Like • 0 comments • flag

Published on September 21, 2026 06:00

View all 1467 posts »

Sarah is Currently Reading

Sarah is currently reading

The Original

by Priya Parmar (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Sep 15, 2026 07:53PM

Sarah is currently reading

Trivia Factory

by David L. Faucheux (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Oct 19, 2025 08:01AM

rss
Sarah’s Recent Updates

Sarah rated a book liked it King's Son by Norma R Tree	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 22, 2026 07:19PM · like
Sarah finished reading Goliath: A Novel by Ronald Lee Robertson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 20, 2026 12:20PM · like
Sarah is currently reading Goliath: A Novel by Ronald Lee Robertson	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 15, 2026 07:53PM · like
Sarah is currently reading The Original by Priya Parmar (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 15, 2026 07:53PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Original by Priya Parmar. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Original by Priya Parmar <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sarah finished reading River of Dreams by Robin Blackburn McBride (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 12, 2026 05:04PM · like
Sarah is currently reading River of Dreams by Robin Blackburn McBride (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 11, 2026 06:23AM · like
Sarah finished reading King Devil by Charlotte MacLeod	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 09, 2026 12:26PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of King Devil by Charlotte MacLeod. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — King Devil by Charlotte MacLeod <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sarah rated a book really liked it Edmonia by Brianne Baker (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 09, 2026 09:21AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Edmonia by Brianne Baker. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Edmonia by Brianne Baker <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sarah finished reading A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2026 02:37PM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sarah is starting A Disappearance in Fiji A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao (Goodreads Author) progress:	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Sep 07, 2026 02:37PM · like · see status · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Disappearance in Fiji by Nilima Rao <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

More of Sarah's books…

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
THE WORLD WAR TWO...: Intelligence Operations & Units During WW2	504	446	Sep 15, 2026 05:12PM
THE WORLD WAR TWO...: Novels of WW2	1070	861	Sep 16, 2026 02:29PM
THE WORLD WAR TWO...: New Release Books on WW2	3380	1319	Sep 19, 2026 04:50PM

More…

Sarah’s Quotes

“I really didn't realize the librarians were, you know, such a dangerous group.
They are subversive. You think they're just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn't mess with them.”
― Michael Moore