What is Reading Rachel?

And what can you expect if you subscribe?

Reading Rachel is a weekly Substack publication written for people who love all things books and learning.

What can you expect from Reading Rachel?

On the first Wednesday of each month, I publish a “reading wrap-up” in which I rate, summarize, and review every book I read in the previous month. The ratings are done on a five-point scale and all reviews contained in these posts are completely spoiler-free. I read a wide variety of books, both fiction and nonfiction, so there is something here for nearly every kind of reader. My favourite genre is fantasy and I enjoy reading authors such as Shannon Messenger, Marissa Meyer, Rick Riordan, Brandon Sanderson, Roshani Chokshi, and Tui T. Sutherland.

Each of my monthly posts on the third Wednesday covers a chapter of an Old Testament book. I use several commentaries to craft an informative and accessible 1000-2000 word Bible study, pulling on details from the cultural background behind the text. Many images are used in these posts to give the reader a visual understanding of various aspects of the passage, and anyone wanting to learn more about the Old Testament should find them helpful.

The other posts here do not fall into one particular category and vary from week to week. Some of them are about books and consist of book recommendations by genre, online book tags, and general thoughts on my reading experiences from the perspective of an avid reader. I also write about living as a self-diagnosed autistic adult and issues affecting autistic people in the 21st century. Additionally, I have posts about the Bible, theology, and ancient history as someone with a passion for each of these subjects. Occasionally, I will review a movie or TV show adaptation of a favourite book of mine or write something about a significant work of classic literature.

Who is this Rachel anyway?

I am a twenty-one-year-old Canadian who is chronically online but somehow still lives under a rock and is often the last person to get a joke. My time is spent reading, working at my cleaning job, going for walks in the neighbourhood, watching an absurd amount of YouTube videos on the most obscure topics, going down rabbit holes on Wikipedia, and of course, writing posts for my Substack. Furthermore, I am also a Christian who happens to be autistic, aroace, and a vegetarian. As an INTJ, I value efficiency, logic, organization, and time spent alone to ponder big ideas.

One of the best experiences of my life was doing two years at a small Bible college, something that taught me many things. I aspire to be a lifelong learner and someone who is not afraid to question my beliefs. You can follow me on other social media platforms such as Goodreads, Instagram, and X.

What are the sections and what do they mean?

This publication is divided into three sections: Books & Movies, Bible & Theology, and Autism & Real Life. Each post (excluding general updates about my Substack) is in one of these sections. The first one includes all my nerdy book content, basically anything related to books, reading, and occasionally, movies or TV shows. Bible & Theology encompasses posts about history and religion, mainly Bible-related and on Christian topics. Finally, the last section covers subjects ranging from neurodiversity to stories from my life and real-world things in general. When you subscribe to Reading Rachel, you will be automatically signed up for posts from all three sections, but if you do not want emails from one or two of these sections, you can adjust that by clicking on “manage subscription” from the drop-down menu by your profile picture.

Are you interested yet?

If yes, I would love to have you join this small but flourishing online community for readers worldwide by hitting the subscribe button to receive an email from me every Wednesday. You can also learn more by reading my Substack about page or browsing the full post archive.