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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

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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

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Combine Editions
Sarah L. Johnson’s books

Average rating: 3.93 · 68 ratings · 8 reviews · 3 distinct works

	Historical Fiction: A Guide to the Genre (Genreflecting Advisory Series) 3.84 avg rating — 44 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.

1426 posts
Sarah L. Johnson's Blog

Inspector Ian Rutledge returns in the post-WWI mystery novella A Christmas Witness

Can a story be haunted and heartwarming at the same time? Just like the holiday classic that inspired it, Charles Todd makes this unlikely pairing work in his latest entry in the Ian Rutledge series.

In late 1921, Rutledge, Chief Inspector at Scotland Yard, gets asked by his superior to take on a case of the utmost sensitivity. Rutledge knows that as a single man with a recent promotion, work Read more of this blog post »

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Published on November 28, 2025 06:41

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Sarah is Currently Reading

Sarah is currently reading

Trivia Factory

by David L. Faucheux (Goodreads Author)

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Oct 19, 2025 08:01AM

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
THE WORLD WAR TWO...: Intelligence Operations & Units During WW2	484	434	Nov 04, 2025 04:26AM
THE WORLD WAR TWO...: Novels of WW2	1063	851	Nov 28, 2025 03:03PM
THE WORLD WAR TWO...: New Release Books on WW2	3314	1279	Dec 19, 2025 04:34PM

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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

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“Never apologize for your reading tastes.”
― Betty Rosenberg

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Sarah’s Groups

Goodreads Librarians Group — 304235 members — last activity 4 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

Plagues, Witches, and War: The Worlds of Historical Fiction — 92 members — last activity May 23, 2014 06:09AM
Coursera course

Ask Carol McGrath — 23 members — last activity Nov 13, 2014 06:46AM
...June 05, 2013 to July 05, 2013...

Step into the Story Historical Fiction Reading Group — 13 members — last activity Feb 07, 2024 04:43AM
Step into the Story is a labor of love for Barb Tanner-Wallace and Donna Jones Alward, historical fiction authors and best friends who love all things ...more

The Plantagenets — 377 members — last activity Dec 01, 2025 10:47PM
This is a group for those who enjoy reading nonfiction and fiction about one of England's most fascinating dynasties. Discuss the Plantagenet kings, t ...more

Jewish Historical Fiction — 747 members — last activity Sep 16, 2025 06:01AM
For those that love Jewish historical fiction representating as many cultures, countries, and time periods as we can find.

Australian Women Writers Challenge — 971 members — last activity Oct 29, 2022 10:17PM
AS AT JANUARY 1st 2022, THIS GROUP IS NO LONGER IN OPERATION. This group is for participants in the Australian Women Writers Challenge. Everyone who ...more

Minotaur Book Club — 270 members — last activity Mar 31, 2017 01:24PM
Hello, mystery and thriller lovers! Join us as we read and discuss a new Minotaur release each month.

Chicago Book Club — 100 members — last activity Jun 20, 2017 08:23AM
This group is created for readers and writers in Chicago and for out-of-towners who want to celebrate our local literary community as well as books se ...more

NetGalley Readers — 6539 members — last activity 4 hours, 17 min ago
This is a group for those who participate in NetGalley.com to discuss the books that they have been reading from the website, share helpful hints, and ...more

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