📖 FIELD GUIDE 27: Can We Read?

Today, we are joined by fellow Substacker, Sarah Miller, who writes Can We Read?

She shares her passion for reading, books, family, and reading books with her family in her publication. She offers tips, tricks, relatable struggles of time management, newfound love for titles that have made their way onto her bookshelves, and so much more.

If you have learned anything about me since FIELD GUIDE started, you know I love books.

This week I sat down and did a little Q&A session with her to learn what makes her and her and her publication tick.

Name

Sarah Miller

Habitat

Madison, Wisconsin

Occupation

Reader, writer, wife, mom, marketing and communications guru

Soundtrack

(Spotify)

Who are you? Where are you from?

I was born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, and I now live in a small suburb with my husband, two daughters and our cat. I work in marketing and communications for a nonprofit IT organization that serves research and education institutions in Wisconsin. I also write a newsletter called Can we read?, which is a weekly guide to children’s books, raising readers, and how to build a culture of reading in your home.

Got any fun facts?

I live in a small town that’s considered “the troll capital of the world.” Like, the short, stocky, “Who’s that tripping over my bridge?” creatures – those guys.

Tell me, what is your focus for Can We Read? 

My focus is two-fold: I want to have fun doing it, and I want caregivers to find support, advice and actionable ideas to use with the children in their lives, whether that’s at home in their own families, long distance with their loved ones, or in their classrooms and libraries.

How did doing this publication come about? Was it something that you planned out and executed or did it happen by accident?

On the Friday night before Memorial Day in 2020, I sat down at my computer after I put my daughters to bed – at the time they were 3 and 5 – looked up Substack and created one of my own. I didn’t think it out; I just knew that during lockdown, working full-time from home with two small children, I needed something to keep me sane, something that was all my own that made me happy. I took photos, wrote my first post, and sent it to my friends and family, and that was it. Can we read? was born.

Why do you love it so much?

It’s so fun. And I get to feel like I am serving people in some small way. (This is the same reason I love my day job – being of service to people is my purpose.) When I hear from subscribers that I’ve helped them find books their families love, or helped them change their reading routine, or what have you – that’s super rewarding, and I love that my newsletter gives me that. 

You offer so much more than just book reviews, recommendations, and tips for squeezing in that quiet time even when we feel like we don’t have the time. You are incredibly relatable in your writing (to me, as a mom) and you’re super easy to get in touch with. How do you offer so much for your Substack subscribers/community with work and your home life?

I honestly don’t know the answer to this! I’m on top of things and always have been; it’s just who I am. Part of it (perhaps a lot of it) is that there are so many moving parts to my life, so many hats I wear, as you said, that if I put things off – like answering an email I have time to answer right now – the system goes down, it all falls apart. I try never to steal time, energy, or ease from Future Sarah, but instead help her and set her up for success as much as possible. I take care of things that need to be taken care of and I get things done. 

That said, I have strong boundaries – this is part of having a sustainable career, being an engaged partner and a parent, while also staying healthy in body, mind and soul. When it comes to my newsletter specifically, I don’t often let it ooze out of the limits I’ve set for it. It matters to me – a lot – but it’s not a top priority. The best of me goes to my family, some goes to my job that fulfills me (and pays my bills), and whatever’s left over goes to the newsletter

Where do you want Can We Read? to take you?

In the beginning, and for a long time after, I didn’t know. Now, I’d like it to become a book – I don’t know if that means taking my archives and transforming it into something with structure, or something else I haven’t conceived of yet, but that’s where I’d like it to take me. My plan is to write and continue as I’m doing now for five years without any active action or momentum to that end (I’m two years and a few months into this timeline); if, after five years, a book has not magically created itself from all this work 😉 I’ll figure out the next steps with more intention.

What are two of your most favorite moments in the time you’ve been publishing Can We Read?

I really only have one, and it’s more like a collection of many moments, but it’s hands-down my favorite. Early in 2022, I was asked by Substack staff to participate in a program that would connect a small group of 8-10 fellow writers for four weeks of support and structured guidance. I was definitely going into it as a more seasoned Substacker speaking to those new to the platform, but I am always open to learning, and paying it forward is a core belief of mine, so I said yes. Every Friday in February, our cohort Zoomed into a larger Substack event before moving into breakout rooms where we discussed different topics.

Needless to say, these wonderful, talented people became a huge part of my newsletter life – I got so much out of talking to them. After the program ended, we decided to keep meeting and still Zoom every other week. They’re thoughtful and generous, and they offer me very real support, feedback, encouragement, and friendship.

Glenn Cook of Our Reality Show, Hope Henchey of Family Scripts, Caitlin Mallery of Caitlin Chats, Olivia Mardwig of For the Love of Words, Tania Rabesandratana for Why Would Anyone, and Jessica Wilen of A Cup of Ambition – they are my favorite moment.

How do you keep going on days when you just don't feel like it?

I don’t. I’ve built a scaffold for my newsletter that allows for ebbs and flows. I work several weeks, usually about a month, in advance so I can be in a space where I’m not feeling it, take care of myself, and issues still get sent and subscribers are none the wiser.

That said: I’m a professional writer by training and trade, I’ve been writing on the internet for 20 years, and if I have to dig deep, I just dig. It doesn’t matter if it’s hard; hard doesn’t necessarily mean bad. (This is on my mind a lot right now, as the busiest time of year for my newsletter commenced just last week, with my special edition on fall – which will be followed very shortly and in quick succession by special editions on Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Winter, along with all my regular posts and issues. I have to pep talk myself a lot this time of year. I have to be very efficient about my workload, and I have to create margin wherever I can.)

How many books do you think you have in your home library’s collection?

I asked my husband this question last night and then walked over to the nearest bookcase (of children’s books), counted the books on one shelf, did some highly unscientific back-of-the-napkin math, and came up with: 2,500 books. Maybe closer to 3,000. (He couldn’t stop laughing. I told him he knew I was a book hoarder when he met me and he immediately said, “No, you’ve gotten so much worse.”) 

To be fair, I’m counting everything – not just children’s books but every book in the house. (Still. I know. It’s a lot.) 

What's your most favorite book of alllll time?

Harriet the Spy by Louise Fitzhugh tied with The Facts and Fictions of Minna Pratt by Patricia MacLachlan. Yes, they’re both children’s chapter books. I’ve read many amazing books for adults and as an adult and my answer remains the same. 

Any books you’re willing to admit you dislike with the intense fire of a million suns?

I don’t have a particular individual title, but I hate any and all books based on an animated character or cartoon/movie franchise.

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Walking away from getting to know Sarah left me feeling like (much) less of a book hoarder and like I have a lot of catching up to do.

She also left us with a nugget of wonderful advice:

Set future you up for success whenever you can.

See you next week!

—Skyler