Discover new books on Goodreads

Meet your next favorite book

Sarah

https://www.goodreads.com/books-n-pickles

Sarah’s Bookshelves

to-read‎ (1611)
currently-reading‎ (6)
read‎ (1058)
did-not-finish‎ (24)
diversity‎ (607)
historical-fiction‎ (511)
fantasy‎ (509)
nonfiction‎ (420)
contemporary-ish‎ (363)
diversity-by-and-about‎ (271)
picture-books‎ (250)
young-adult‎ (249)

recommended‎ (245)
fairytales-legends-myths-folklore‎ (241)
read-with-the-kiddos‎ (237)
history‎ (233)
kids‎ (225)
retellings-and-adaptations‎ (223)
short-stories-and-essays‎ (202)
classics‎ (184)
strong-female-characters‎ (184)
graphic-novel‎ (180)
great-world-building‎ (174)
just-fun‎ (172)

mystery-thriller‎ (166)
animals‎ (160)
science-fiction‎ (143)
great-characters‎ (142)
biography-and-memoir‎ (141)
nice-design‎ (137)
childhood-memories‎ (106)
clever‎ (103)
physically-gorgeous‎ (103)
books-about-books-and-words‎ (96)
historical-fantasy‎ (92)
sea-stories-and-pirates‎ (91)

wicked-awesome-women‎ (87)
board-book‎ (86)
from-library‎ (84)
beautiful-words‎ (82)
arts-music-performance-food‎ (81)
favorites‎ (77)
horror‎ (75)
science‎ (74)
urban-fantasy‎ (73)
humor‎ (72)
places-i-ve-lived‎ (71)
friends-recommend‎ (62)

Stats | More…

Sarah is Currently Reading

Sarah is currently reading

Split Scream Volume Six

by David Corse

bookshelves: currently-reading, horror, short-stories-and-essays, friends-recommend

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 23, 2026 06:25AM

Sarah is currently reading

It Rhymes With Takei

by George Takei

bookshelves: biography-and-memoir, diversity, diversity-by-and-about, from-library, graphic-novel, history, currently-reading

Reading for the 3rd time

read in October 2026

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

Sarah said: " Super heavy, but surprisingly hopeful, at least to me. The anxiety Takei felt while closeted absolutely reeks off the page (don't read this before bed if you can't hit a neutral or upbeat stopping point), but his passion for life, activism, politics, Super heavy, but surprisingly hopeful, at least to me. The anxiety Takei felt while closeted absolutely reeks off the page (don't read this before bed if you can't hit a neutral or upbeat stopping point), but his passion for life, activism, politics, and, of course, Brad, are just as palpable. I follow Heather Cox Richardson, and most of her historical posts concern events so long ago that it seems impossible that this country could rustle up the same righteous anger to drive reform again. But Takei really puts into perspective just how fast things can change---from devastating lows to new high-water marks. Heck, his story reminded me that I'd lived through the turbulent ups and downs of California's marriage equality laws. (I was a spoiled kid living in once-and-done Massachusetts). So maybe it's possible that we'll make it out the other side of this fascist looting, somehow.

I had no idea Takei was so politically active! But I think that might ultimately be what held back that one star for me. As a politician, he knows when and how to push buttons, and sometimes it felt like he was holding back. His Twitter takedowns and recapturing of the #ProudBoys tag feature, but that level of burn doesn't really show up in the book. And there were two key moments that felt like they deserved, well, anything: his first sexual experience with a counselor at summer camp is stated as a fact, with no comment about what he might have felt about the age and consent issues; and whether or not he came out to his parents, or whether they might have known. Takei says Brad drove his mom around town, and he's very open about how his brother cut him out of his life, so I'm not sure why there isn't a moment of reflection about how his parents did or might have reacted. It's hard not to see these as intentional omissions, given his campaigning savvy.

That said, Takei's ability to tell his story, weaving intimate confessions and emotions in and out of local and American history is remarkable. In so many ways, he embodies the phrase, the personal is political: as a gay man, a Japanese American, an activist and organizer. How unjust that the whims of society should bend anyone's life from the path they would walk. How lucky I am to live in a time when I can learn the stories of such remarkable people who have found so much happiness in a life with a disproportionate helping of darkness.

I wish, as I wish for my older relatives and friends, that Takei's life could be rounding out on one of the course of justice's upward arcs. I hope he and Brad have each other as long as possible as we all see where this road is going next. ...more "

Oct 19, 2026 06:14PM · see review

Sarah is currently reading

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1)

by Sarah J. Maas (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Reading for the 2nd time

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

progress:

(20%)
"Giving this a second chance on the adamant advice of a friend. I was a fan of Queen of Glass, the original story that Maas posted on Fiction Press, which was much darker, and when I read the published version I found the YA-ification utterly dismaying. Friend insists the other books are better and darker, so I'll give it a try. Listening now so I can do crafts at the same time." — Oct 16, 2026 06:10PM

Oct 16, 2026 06:10PM

See all 6 books that Sarah is reading…

Sarah’s Quotes

“Critics who treat 'adult' as a term of approval, instead of as a merely descriptive term, cannot be adult themselves. To be concerned about being grown up, to admire the grown up because it is grown up, to blush at the suspicion of being childish; these things are the marks of childhood and adolescence. And in childhood and adolescence they are, in moderation, healthy symptoms. Young things ought to want to grow. But to carry on into middle life or even into early manhood this concern about being adult is a mark of really arrested development. When I was ten, I read fairy tales in secret and would have been ashamed if I had been found doing so. Now that I am fifty I read them openly. When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”
― C.S. Lewis

tags: adult, childhood, children, maturity

2288 likes