My Librarian: Sarah

About Sarah

I loved books starting with my earliest memories. I’m the youngest in my family by several years, and my big brother and sister could read when I was born so I had to catch up quickly. We had a lot of books in our house, but we went to the library often too.

My father was in the United States Navy, so we moved around a lot while I was growing up. One thing I could always count on was that wherever I lived there would be a library, and books never judged you for being “the new kid.” That’s how I got into reading fantasy, dystopian, and science fiction novels.

They were a chance to escape your circumstances and visit different worlds, especially if it was an epic series because then you'd get to hang out in that world for a while.

I always liked post-apocalyptic dystopian novels because I find it fascinating to see how an author interprets what would happen if the world changed drastically, and I also tend to enjoy a good Bildungsroman (coming-of-age story) because I identify with people searching to define themselves. I am also a creative type, so I went to art school as an illustration major with the idea that I’d illustrate kids’ books (I still might).

Then I got into fiber art and was a craft & material studies major for a while. I ended up completing a bachelor’s degree in art history before I got my Master of Library and Information Science from the University Of South Carolina.

Because of my various interests, I like to keep up with new books about crafts and fine art as well as art history, and fantasy and science fiction are still my favorite fiction genres. I lean toward young adult titles nowadays because that’s my specialty as a librarian but I am no stranger to high fantasy.

If there’s a television show or a movie made from a fantasy or sci-fi novel, you can bet I read it already (and probably think the book is better). I can help you find that book that makes you sad when it’s over - in a good way.