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Sarah’s Year In Books

Sarah’s 2020 Year in Books

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2021 Reading Challenge

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Sarah Langan

Goodreads Author

Born

in Mineola, The United States

Website

https://sarahlangan.com/

Genre

Suspense, Thriller, Horror

Influences

Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, W. Somerset Maugham, Joyce Carol Oates, ...more

Member Since

October 2015

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Sarah grew up on Long Island, got her MFA in creative writing from Columbia University, her MS in environmental toxicology from NYU, and currently lives in Los Angeles with her family and house rabbit.

Her next novel GOOD NEIGHBORS is due out from S&S on February 2, 2021.

Bram Stoker award winner for outstanding novel in 2007 - The Missing. Bram Stoker award winner for outstanding short story in 2008 - The Lost. Bram Stoker award winner for outstanding novel in 2009 - Audrey's Door.

Blog:https://sarahlangan.com/blog/ ...more

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What are you currently working on?

Sarah Langan I’ve just finished a new novel called THE CLINIC and I’m really excited about it. It’s very much in the same vein as my previous books, but I’ve grown…moreI’ve just finished a new novel called THE CLINIC and I’m really excited about it. It’s very much in the same vein as my previous books, but I’ve grown a lot and I think gotten more sophisticated as a storyteller.

I started the book about three years ago, having no idea why I’d abandoned two other novels to work on it. I only knew that something felt uneasy in my life as a new mother for the second time, and in my marriage, too. I’d become obsessed with Mad Men, and in retrospect, for good reason. The show isn’t about the 60s; it’s about now. Just as our own parents grew up getting more rod than carrot, we grew up in a world where dads (and I’m talking about the subset, here, of middle and upper middle class families that stayed together) were the boss and moms did the laundry. In theory the laundry, caring for extended families, cooking, and helping with homework were just as important as taking the train into on office, but in reality, no way. I grew up thinking what my mom did was stupid. Frankly, I grew up thinking women were less important. I was less important.

And then our generation of women was supposed to grow up and be equal with our partners, which is easy when you don’t have kids, and pretty impossible once you do. Who does those stupid jobs, like running the house and the schedule? And hey, wait, they’re not actually stupid jobs, are they? They’re pretty vital, it turns out. They’re just not valued financially, though, in fact, they do have a real financial value. They’re also very lonely jobs.

I don’t think I’m alone in my utter bewilderment, trying to figure out my place in all that. I think it’s generational. We’re the talking generation. Which is what makes me think we’ll do a good job at resolving it.

All that aside, the story’s about a struggling family whose son is sick. He’s got cancer. But it turns out, what he has isn’t really cancer. And the hospital that’s treating him isn’t really out to help him. The corporation that owns the hospital is killing senators and presidents to acquire global water rights. They’re treating the water with anti-malarial chemicals. Except, the chemicals don’t just kill malaria.

It’s the first book in what I hope will be a three book series called INVISIBLE MONSTERS.
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The keeper series is in my opion one of the best written horror in years, and I was wondering how did you come up with the incredibly bleak and dark setting? I mean, is it something you based on personal experience or did it just come to you? :)

Sarah Langan Dear David,

Thanks for writing!

I wrote The Keeper when I was still in my twenties. In fact, I started it when I was 21 and finished it at 29. I bring t…moreDear David,

Thanks for writing!

I wrote The Keeper when I was still in my twenties. In fact, I started it when I was 21 and finished it at 29. I bring this up because those are intense years. It reminds me of this quote from Lawrence of Arabia:

“Young men make wars, and the virtues of war are the virtues of young men. Courage and hope for the future. Then old men make the peace. And the vices of peace are the vices of old men. Mistrust and caution. It must be so.”

I was basically a hot head, waging war against an inherently unfair world. The town of Bedford loosely resembles Waterville, where I went to college, and also Old Town, just outside Bangor. Both are in Maine. Paper mills are the focal points of a town because of their giant smoke stacks. Even when they’re closed down, you can’t take your eye off them.

My characters were invented. One of my grad school teachers could never remember that Susan wasn’t based on someone real. She called me “Susan” instead of Sarah. Another teacher was sure I’d had an affair with a professor in high school. Nope. But I let him believe I had because he was so pleased that he’d had the insight.

On the other hand, my characters in many ways are very true, but they’re not based on other people. Like most writers, they’re aspects of me. Susan is an embodiment of all the rage I had back in those days, for reasons both phantom and tangible. Poor Liz was my low self-esteem. Paul was the narcissist every writer needs to be. Georgia had a head on her shoulders, mostly.

I think, ultimately, Keeper is as bleak as it is because I was so young. An older, wiser person might see the light at the end of the tunnel. An older, bitter person wouldn’t be able to tell the story at all. I could never write that story again, but I’m so glad that I did. It speaks to people. Maybe it calls to that hot-head kid we all used to be, and still are. It’s the hot-heads who act. Everybody else stays on schedule.

The Missing had a different impetus. I was having fun. How cool to start a vampire-zombie origin story. I loved writing that—it was hard, of course, but most of it just flowed. Fenstad and Meg were such a fun couple, and their daughter Maddie was so funny. I fact, I found the whole thing funny. It was a comment on current events, particularly the war in Iraq, but it was also pretty gleeful. Or at least, I thought it was gleeful. Then again, Kafka thought Metamorphosis was so funny he couldn’t read it without bursting in laughter. So, to each his own!
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Sarah Langan’s books

Average rating: 3.74 · 20,698 ratings · 2,814 reviews · 44 distinct works • Similar authors

	Good Neighbors 3.62 avg rating — 3,963 ratings — published 2021 — 11 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 Keeper (Keeper, #1) 3.32 avg rating — 2,151 ratings — published 2006 — 15 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
	Audrey's Door 3.39 avg rating — 1,491 ratings — published 2009 — 15 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 Missing (Keeper, #2) 3.60 avg rating — 1,528 ratings — published 2007 — 15 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 Lost 4.04 avg rating — 26 ratings — published 2008	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 Changeling by Sarah Langan (Goodreads Author), Natalie Naudus (Narrator) 4.18 avg rating — 17 ratings	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
	Is This Seat Taken? Tales From Beyond The Pale by Sarah Langan (Goodreads Author), Larry Fessenden (Narrator) liked it 3.00 avg rating — 2 ratings	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
	Mom's Night Out it was amazing 5.00 avg rating — 1 rating	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
	Good Neighbours really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 1 rating	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
	Brave New Worlds by John Joseph Adams (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Cory Doctorow, Paolo Bacigalupi (Goodreads Author) 4.05 avg rating — 2,469 ratings — published 2010 — 10 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

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Where to Buy Good Neighbors, now that it’s out of stock at Amazon (!), thanks to Sarah Jessica making it an informal book club selection.

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Published on April 04, 2021 11:34

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Series by Sarah Langan

Keeper (2 books)
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Sarah Langan (Goodreads Author)

3.44 avg rating — 3,679 ratings

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Jun 20, 2019 05:20PM

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Sarah Langan rated a book it was amazing St. Ivo by Joanna Hershon (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
Apr 13, 2021 07:46AM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of St. Ivo by Joanna Hershon. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — St. Ivo by Joanna Hershon <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sarah Langan made a comment on Where to Buy Good Neighbors, now that it’s out of stock at Amazon (!), thanks to Sarah Jessica making it an informal book club selection. " Thank you! I was inspired by "The Monsters are Due on Maple Street," so there's definitely a connection! ...more "
Apr 12, 2021 11:16AM · see blog post
Sarah Langan rated a book it was amazing The Last House on Needless Street by Catriona Ward (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
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Sarah Langan rated a book it was amazing A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet	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
Mar 18, 2021 05:34PM · 1 like · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — A Children's Bible by Lydia Millet <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sarah Langan and 1 other person liked Nicholas Kaufmann's review of Good Neighbors: "Sarah Langan's new novel is a riveting and brilliantly realized character-driven thriller. Full of tension and tightly controlled prose, GOOD NEIGHBORS is also achingly suspenseful, aided by brief forward flashes in the form of after-the-fact article" Read more of this review »
Mar 02, 2021 01:38PM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Good Neighbors by Sarah Langan <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
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Feb 28, 2021 08:23AM · 7 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sarah Langan rated a book it was amazing The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (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
This is Hendrix's best novel. I loved it. There's this line in age of Innocence, where Newland Archer is surprised that his wife knew all along, that he was in love with her cousin. Of it, he thinks, "after all, some one had guessed and pitied.... An ...more
Jan 25, 2021 10:24AM · 4 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sarah Langan rated a book it was amazing Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (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
Unique, and sticks the landing.
Jan 21, 2021 09:53AM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sarah Langan is currently reading The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix (Goodreads Author) Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee in Best Horror	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
Jan 21, 2021 09:53AM · 2 likes · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Sarah Langan rated a book it was amazing Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam (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
Unique, and sticks the landing.
Jan 21, 2021 09:52AM · 2 likes · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Leave the World Behind by Rumaan Alam <iframe id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">

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Quotes by Sarah Langan

“The sight of her made him understand why he'd lost his faith in God.”
― Sarah Langan, The Keeper

tags: atheism, fiction, god, horror, human-cruelty, humor, novel, religion

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“Like, if your life isn’t perfect, you keep your mouth shut and don’t talk about it until it is perfect, and then you brag.”
― Sarah Langan, Good Neighbors

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“Even if spirits exist (watching us, haunting us, inhabiting alternate universes that subvert time), granting them entrance through the spaces in our minds, or the structure of our homes, and any other doors we might construct, can only result in man’s utter destruction.”
― Sarah Langan, Audrey's Door

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Polls

Which halloween themed book do you want to read in October?

The Woman in Black A Ghost Story by Susan Hill

10 votes, 52.6%

The Shining by Stephen King

5 votes, 26.3%

The Keeper by Sarah Langan

4 votes, 21.1%

19 total votes

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Challenge: 50 Books: Deborah's 50	11	37	Dec 29, 2010 05:41PM
The Seasonal Read...: 50.1 - Butterflycager's task: Let's Build a Haunted House!	120	166	Nov 24, 2011 10:31AM
Challenge: 50 Books: Vicki's 2011 Books	13	61	Dec 10, 2011 06:01AM
2021 Reading Chal...: September's Industry Challenge	168	107	Oct 01, 2012 03:47PM
The Lost Challenges: Quarterly Back to School Challenge	101	130	Nov 21, 2012 02:13PM

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Sarah’s Year In Books

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2021 Reading Challenge

Sarah Langan

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