Meet the Team, Betsy, 2025

It’s been 5 years since our last round of Meet the Team. It has been an eventful 5 years, so half a decade later, here is our Christmas 2025 edition. Today we’re introducing you to our Editor-in-Chief, Betsy Farquhar. (Interview conducted by Hayley.)

As we head into the fall/winter season, what is your beverage of choice?

Cinnamon hot tea (anything with cinnamon in it: Constant Comment, Cinnamon Spice, etc.)

Now, are you the kind of reader who likes to snack while you read? Do you have a favorite holiday snack?

I often read a book while I’m eating lunch, but I do not ever really feel the need to munch while I’m reading. In other words, if I’m reading, I’m in the zone. Food rarely crosses my mind. If I’m eating and it’s just me at home, I’ll grab a book to keep myself company while I eat. 

Hmmm, I think I’m a much more snacky-reader! Let’s return to books though: Looking back over 2025, what are some of your favorite books you read this year?

Grown-up books: Ooh, I read so many really thought-provoking ones. One book I read early in the year that was just outstanding was Digital Liturgies by Samuel James. Highly recommended. I really enjoyed Soul School by Amber O’Neal Johnston, and I also loved our own book, The Redeemed Reader. It was an honor to contribute to a book with my team because everyone did such a wonderful job!

I read Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver thanks to Holly Mackle’s mention of it in our Fall Quarterly. I like Kingsolver’s writing, even though I often disagree with her politically and philosophically. Demon Copperhead was a super hard read (note: it is FULL of “messy” elements: language, sexuality, violence, drug use), but it was a very thought-provoking read at the same time. 

I read a poem every day (yes, it’s true!) and this year, I read two truly amazing books in this category: Glory in the Margins by Nikki Grimes (my Sunday read) and Poems by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, as selected by Robert Browning. My little Elizabeth Barrett Browning volume was published in the early 20th century, and I’ve had a hard time tracking down a contemporary version with the same selections. But her poetry is just delightful: well-written, deeply spiritual, and with a refreshing feminine sensibility (not feminist).

Bright Red Fruit was a stand out young adult title for me, as were Embergold and Lunar New Year Love Story. When I read the latest Hunger Games book (Sunrise on the Reaping), I ended up re-listening to the original trilogy again. It’s got a lot to chew on for readers with enough maturity.

For middle grades, I found Nayeri’s Teacher of Nomad Land such a poignant story. His spare text just gave the story such oomph. I also really liked The Bletchley Riddle (I may have read that in December of last year) and The Song of the Stone Tiger by Glenn McCarty.

Picture Books: loved all the books I had to read and analyze for our Picture Book of the Year committee, but A Pinecone! was definitely a standout. I also enjoyed A Big Change Happened by Darby Strickland, Magic in a Drop of Water by Julie Winterbottom, Otto and the Story Tree by Vivien Mildenberger, and Just Like Millie by Lauren Castillo.

So many good books! Changing the question slightly, do you have a favorite book that someone gave you this year? 

You know, people rarely give me book gifts anymore. I have to beg them (their rationale is that I already get so many books via mail/publishers that why would I want another book….). And yet, books just for ME are rare. Some of the books on my wish list include The Flavor Bible (thanks to Janie’s recommendation for the Feasting Issue of our Quarterly), Creation Care by Jonathan Moo (I liked his Let Creation Rejoice, reviewed here), and The Comfort of Crows (which I know Amanda Cleary Eastep has enjoyed).

Books ARE such great gifts! (Even when we get so many already!) What new books have you discovered this year that you are looking forward to giving/recommending as gifts?

Consider the Birds by Jennifer Grant. I’m planning to give The Outsider and The Songs of a Warrior to my twin niece and nephew. I’ve already given both the Elizabeth Barrett Browning book and Glory in the Margins to people this year!

Now, do you have a favorite Advent book or tradition? 

My family has watched White Christmas every single year since my daughter was a baby. She’s now 20. We’ve seen it in old, vintage theaters on the big screen and on our home TV. We know every word, and it never gets old. On a more spiritual level, I really enjoy the liturgical aspects of Advent, and I always appreciate it when my church encourages us to take time out to focus on this. I’m not part of a tradition that fasts during Advent or even truly follows the historic church calendar, but I appreciate even the small part we do. Our church gives an Advent devotional to everyone. This year, the families with young children at home received Promises Made Promised Kept by Marty Machowski. My own family has been asked to do the Advent wreath lighting/reading this year, and that’s going to be a new experience for us. We’ve never done it before!

What is your favorite picture book about Christmas? Beyond picture books, favorite Christmas story?

Picture book: I really love Christmas Is Here by Lauren Castillo. It’s the biblical text but with a contemporary family (they’re looking at a live nativity play, if I remember). 

Favorite Christmas story is absolutely The Best Christian Pageant Ever. No contest. I laugh. I cry. I’m forced to examine my own heart. It never gets old.

2025 was a year of changes for our team; what did that look like for you? What are you looking forward to in 2026? 

I had an Old Yeller moment this fall when my sweet, 13-year-old dog (Barley) came staggering up to me, foaming at the mouth. I knew, instantly, that this was the end. Not because he had rabies, but because whatever had just happened to him in the moments before was the point of no return. My husband and I observed him, tried to help him, and then made the call to the emergency vet. Upon reflection later, we think he had a stroke. He was the 3rd dog I’ve walked to the end of the road with as an adult, sitting with the dog as the vet administers the final shot, and every single time, I think of Old Yeller. It’s why we read those sad/hard books with our kids, to help them try on some of those feelings and learn what it means to make hard, courageous decisions before the actual time of hard, courageous decisions come. We knew Barley was on borrowed time this fall, but it’s always hard when the final end and decision come. We’re empty nesters, as of this fall (all 3 kids are in college), and it was strange to go through Barley’s final moments, knowing the kids would come home and relive it all over again. So, it was a transitional moment in many senses.

What I’m looking forward to … Watching my children continue to grow and mature (they’re all at Covenant College this year, and all seem to really be doing well). I’m also looking forward to some time to work on the back end of our website, making it serve both us and our readers better – Lord willing! Tech issues are always just around the corner, so I’m praying we’ll have the time to make improvements, not just put out fires. We’d love to grow Redeemed Reader to reach more people. I’m also enjoying this empty nest stage with my husband. We’ve got a couple of trips on the horizon.

Read the Interviews with the Rest of the Team!

• Meet Janie
• Meet Megan
• Meet Hayley