Book Groups

Many of us who enjoy reading love to discuss what we are reading with others. I’ve been a part of one book group or another for nearly thirty years. And I have to say that the books I’ve discussed in groups have been the ones that have stayed with me.

I’m thinking of this because the book group of which I’m a part just finished our latest book. Now, the idea of getting together to talk about books seems inherently nerdy. Our group probably takes that to another level. We dig into theological texts, usually a chapter at a time, a week at a time, working through a book. Our latest was N.T. Wright’s The Challenge of Acts. And if that sounds nerdy, our next book is Judea under Greek and Roman Rule by David deSilva, which looks at critical background behind the Gospels and Acts.

What makes it work is we are reading what we want to read. And while our choices might seem strange, I think the principle is important, whether the group is into romantasy, historical or literary fiction, or non-fiction. We also talked about something else important. We look for books that don’t just inform us but give us something to discuss or even disagree with. They engage us, stretch our horizons, make us think and re-think.

I’d enjoy hearing from others who have been part of book groups that you thought were good. What made them work?

Five Articles Worth Reading

Her latest book, Onyx Storm, broke first week sales records, selling 2.7 million copies. In “Rebecca Yarros’s ‘Onyx Storm’ Is the Fastest-Selling Adult Novel in 20 Years,” Alexandra Alter explores her phenomenal emergence as the leading romantasy author.

There is a renewed fascination with analog–vinyl records, VHS and audio cassettes, film, hand-drawn game maps, letters–you name it. In “The Stranger Things Effect Comes for the Novel,” Mark Athitakis explores this phenomenon as it manifests in recent fiction.

Agnes Callard considers the shift she has seen in children’s literature to characters that are “weird” in some way in “Where the Wild Things Aren’t.” She explores why this is important to children and what this signifies.

Have you wondered why we refer to characters in a text as uppercase or lower text? Mental Floss answers this question in “The Surprisingly Literal Reason We Call Letters ‘Uppercase’ and ‘Lowercase’.”

Finally, I probably don’t have to do much to convince this crowd of what a good thing libraries are. But we may need to advocate for that in some communities that don’t see the value. James Folta summarizes a new study by the New York Public Library that confirms “It’s official: Research has found that libraries make everything better.“

Quote of the Week

“To read is to surrender oneself to an endless displacement of curiosity and desire from one sentence to another”

David Lodge, who was born January 28, 1935 was an English author, critic, and professor. This statement caught me up short, making me reflect on what may be one of the reasons for my undying love of reading. David Lodge died on January 1, 2025.

Miscellaneous Musings

I’m still trying to figure out how I feel about the announcement by the publisher of Simon and Schuster that they will no longer require authors to solicit “blurbs” for their books. Sometimes the practice seems excessive, when I have to wade through page after page of these endorsements. But I also have to admit, that with an unfamiliar author, who endorses them tells me about their audience and serves as a clue as to whether I’ll like it. What do you think?

I’m about 200 pages into Haruki Murakami’s The City and Its Uncertain Walls and it feels a bit like walking through a labyrinth, with a surprise around each corner, and no clue what lies at the center. It plays on questions of what is real, what is substance and shadow. I’ll let you know what I thgink of it when I figure that out! But I’m enthralled.

I’ve loved the idea of Bookshop.org as an online platform that supports indie bookstores. To date, they have generated nearly $36 million for over 1900 stores. This week, they expanded their capacity by offering a way to purchase e-books and support your favorite local indie. you can read more about it here.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: The Month in Reviews: January 2025 (21 reviews)

Tuesday: Samuel Parkison, To Gaze Upon God

Wednesday: Stuart M. Kaminsky, Lieberman’s Choice

Thursday: Timothy P. Carney, Family Unfriendly

Friday: Amy Peeler, Hebrews

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for January 26-February 1, 2025!

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