The Weekly Wrap: December 14-20

A Reading Holiday?

Our consumer economy wants us to spend the day after Christmas shopping after-Christmas sales. But I came across a good counter-suggestion yesterday. Jamie E. Davis is the genius behind “Because All The Books,” one of my favorite sites for bookish memes. Yesterday, she posted one that said, “I think the day after Christmas should be officially declared a reading holiday.” While I love the idea, I think there is little chance of that happening. However, the U.S. President just spoke of making the days before and after Christmas federal holidays. While he is not a great fan of reading, it doesn’t mean we can’t make the day after our reading holiday.

There are good reasons to do this. Many of us readers are introverts. All the holiday visits, fun as they are, mean extroverting. The last thing we need is all the crowds at the sales! We’re ready to curl up and read!

Then, there are the new books we received as gifts, or the ones we bought while gift-buying. They are calling!

But, you may say, “I didn’t get any books, just some gift cards burning a hole in my pocket!” The last thing I want is singed clothing, so if you can’t wait, go ahead (and often you can do this online on a reading break). But if it means a trip to a bookstore, I always find it more relaxing when there aren’t too many people around, especially in my favorite sections.

Above all, I like the idea that Christmas just begins on Christmas Day. Remember the twelve days of Christmas, which end January 6. Why not give yourself the gift of a reading holiday?

Five Articles Worth Reading

“The Pamphlet That Has Roused Americans to Action for 250 Years” explores why Thomas Paine’s Common Sense has continued to be read.

Henry James often wrote of the magic of Venice. Departing from her usual writing, Anne Applebaum retraced his steps and discovered that the city, facing inundation, still has that magic. “Henry James’s Venice Is Still Here” is a delightful photo essay of her journeys.

Literary Hub is one of my sources for thoughtful writing on all kinds of books. If you’ve not discovered this online resource, “The Most Popular Lit Hub Stories of 2025” is a great place to start. And if you do follow Literary Hub, it is a great recap of this year in books.

A new short story by J.R.R. Tolkien has just been published, The Bovadium Fragments. It’s a satire rooted in Tolkien’s deep seated aversion to motor vehicles. Christian Kriticos reviews it in “Isengard in Oxford.”

Finally, The Public Domain Review posted Robert Louis Stevenson’s A Christmas Sermon, piblished in pamphlet form in 1900, six years after his death. No matter your religious persuasion, I think you will like his ideas.

Quote of the Week

john Greenleaf Whittier was born December 17, 1809. He remarked:

“When faith is lost, when honor dies, the man is dead.”

This quote reminds me of the question Jesus asks, “ What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?”

Miscellaneous Musings

I’ve been reading Louis Markos’ Passing the Torch. It is an argument for an educational curriculum for youth built around the classics and other great books as well as the trivium and quadrivium. I’m conscious of how these elements were not part of my childhood education and of my unsystematic efforts to make up for this deficit as an adult. He also helps me understand the growing movement of classical education in both Christian and secular contexts. I hope he will offer some critique as well as affirmation before he finishes.

Manitou Canyon is the 15th book in William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor series. In some ways, it strikes me as a parable of the consequences of when we cede the implementation of technology to those who will most profit from it.

I posted about this earlier this year but Publishers Weekly reminded me in “Last Call for Mass Market Paperbacks” that the death of the mass market paperback is upon us. I wonder if some of those classics will become collectors items?

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Gordon Fee and Cherith Fee Nordling, The Kingdom of God is Among You

Tuesday: Michael Grunwald, We Are Eating the Earth

Wednesday: Gerald L. Bray, Athens and Jerusalem

Thursday: Audrey Davidheiser, Grieving Wholeheartedly

Friday: Alan Noble, You Are Not Your Own

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for December 14-20.

My best wishes to you all for your holiday celebrations, including that reading holiday!

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