Hello!
Welcome to my newsletter! I am Sarah Orman, and I am an obsessive reader. Almost every major decision that I’ve made in my life has been driven by my passion for reading. I have worked in bookstores in Austin and Brooklyn, studied Russian literature at the University of Wisconsin, volunteered as a reader for Narrative Magazine and worked as an assistant literary agent in New York. In 2022, I stepped down from a successful career as an attorney for public schools to focus on writing and freelance editing. You can find out more about me and my work here.
If you consider reading and writing a way of life, A Reader’s Compendium is for you.
What is a compendium?
While dictionary definitions vary, the word compendium can be understood as “a collection of concise but detailed information about a particular subject,” a “collection of things,” or, my personal favorite, “a concise treatise containing what is needed.” (Thank you, New Webster’s Dictionary and Thesaurus of the English Language.)
I came up with this title for my newsletter because, in addition to my obsessive reading habits, I am also an obsessive collector of information about the subjects of reading and writing. I keep writing notebooks for poetry and prose, a commonplace book for quotes, a notebook for words, one for noteworthy sentences, and more. Click here for live footage of me collecting interesting links on the internet.
These are the seven notebooks next to me right now.
A Reader’s Compendium is a place for people who love reading and writing to find:
Book reviews and recommendations
Poetry
Writing advice
Bits of random internet beauty
Essays about the writing life
Once or twice a month, I send out a free newsletter about what I’m reading, writing, and thinking about. I might also write about music, food, my attempts to learn how to play guitar, or the shows I am watching with my husband, co-owner of the best Italian restaurant in Austin (and now the best pizza shop, too!), and our two teenage kids. Maybe I’ll even interview some of my writer friends in Austin. Who knows? I’m just getting started here.
This is my dog, Woody. He is my favorite reading companion.
Why subscribe?
Good question! You may have noticed that all my posts are currently free. I am doing this because I want to give you all a chance to read my stuff and decide if we can be friends. Even if this changes in the future, I promise to keep sending out at least one free post every month.
Please consider subscribing at any level if you want to support my work! If you become a paid subscriber now, you can ensure that you will continue to get full access to the newsletter and bonus materials.
If you like this newsletter, please consider sharing it with your bookish friends!
