For the past decade, it seems, we have been getting rid of books (and they keep coming in!). One of the questions is, how do I decide what to keep? And that raises the question of what makes a book of enduring worth. Now I suspect that the answer to this varies from person to person.

But there are the books I ask, “why did I ever buy that?” Sometimes the cover blurb probably promised more than the book delivered. At other times, it was a book someone raved about that was, well, just O.K. Then there were the books that were current to a particular time but are hopelessly out of date.

Truthfully, most of the books I read I enjoy…but once is enough. Then there are those “pearls of great price” that are so well written, that truly add something, and have depths to which I want to return. Increasingly for me, this is poetry.

This week in the Weekly Wrap, I include articles on best sellers, what lasts (and doesn’t) and when to give up on a book. This is because we all want to read enjoyable and profitable books. As best as possible, we want to spend our money on “keepers.’

Five Articles Worth Reading

The Times ran an article “The 100 bestselling books of the past 50 years.” I was surprised to find only three that I’d read. It gave me some ideas of a few I’d like to read. I also found some where I said, “Oh, I remember when that was a thing….”

So, this raises the question of what makes a book that was a bestseller also of lasting worth. “What Lasts and (Mostly) Doesn’t Last” by Lincoln Michel explores this question well.

But sometimes we even find it hard to finish a book. Sophie Vershbow asks “When Is It Okay to Not Finish a Book?” She gives good reasons for not finishing a book, and at least one to keep going.

Some places definitely have more of a “literary culture” than others. But what goes into fostering that kind of culture. “‘We all read like hell!’ How Ireland became the world’s literary powerhouse” explores the factors that make Ireland one of those places.

One of the factors mentioned in that article is libraries. But libraries are under attack. Amanda Jones is one of the librarians in the U.S. who has been on the forefront of resisting book bans and other attacks. She’s written That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America. The New York Times interviewed her for its “By the Book” feature in this article: “Put Kids’ Interests First, This Librarian Insists.”

Quote of the Week

Poet John Dryden was born this week in 1631. He makes this pithy observation well worth reflection:

“We first make our habits, and then our habits make us.”

Dryden says in a sentence what it takes others whole books to say!

Miscellaneous Musings

I loved visiting Birch Tree Bookery, a new indie store in my son’s home town of Marion Ohio. I wrote about it this week in this bookstore review. Kudos to booksellers like these folks for the risk-taking and labor of love to launch an indie bookstore in a book desert.

I just finished Jon Meacham’s And There Was Light on the life of Abraham Lincoln. for me, Meacham is an author who never disappoints. He goes beyond the facts of biography to the values and convictions that animate the lives of great people.

I’ve become acutely aware of passive voice as I write and edit. This is a peculiar affliction of academics. I read a lot of them and getting rid of passive voice could do a lot to improve academic writing. Just sayin’.

Well, that’s The Weekly Wrap for this week!

Find past editions of The Weekly Wrap under The Weekly Wrap heading on this page.