On Reading

Advice To My Younger Reading Self

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Question of the Day: What advice would you give a younger version of yourself about books and reading?

I asked this question recently at my Facebook page and as usual got a wonderful variety of answers. I’ve been thinking a lot about that question and would have to say my response reflects how fortunate I’ve been to be exposed to books early in life and encouraged by parents and many others who read and shared that love with me, an influence that continually enriches my life as I read.

I would begin by reminding my younger self of how fortunate he was to have such access to books, booklovers, libraries, and friends who loved to talk books and opened doors to authors and subjects that further enriched my life. I would urge my younger self both to not take such things for granted and to “pay it forward” and be that person for others, and to advocate for greater access to literacy and the stuff of literacy–books of one’s own, libraries, hearing books read aloud, and being that person who delights in hearing what a younger friend is reading.

While I profited from recommendations from others, I would tell my younger self to refuse to let people “should” on you when it comes to what you read. Often the books that others said I “should” read were disappointing. The better guide that I’ve learned is, “does it pique my interest or answer a question or discuss a subject I care about?” Especially use this in evaluating the books “everybody” are reading.

It took me awhile to figure this out, but I learned that when I found a writer who really spoke to me, to get ahold of as much of what they wrote as I could. C.S. Lewis was probably the first such writer, but over the years, I’ve practiced this to great benefit with the likes of Eugene Peterson, David McCullough, Ron Chernow, Anne LaMott, Marilynne Robinson, Louise Penny, and Frederick Buechner, and others.

Conversely, I wish I’d learned to set aside authors who disappointed me. It’s not that there weren’t profitable things in them, but there was more in others. What’s worse is to go back and get disappointed again. Fool me once…

I would say to my younger self to be more selective in keeping books you’ve read. Now I have to cull through all that old stuff that no one wants. I’ve learned to get rid of most new books once I’ve read them while others still want to read them. Bookstores tend to pay you more for the new stuff. Take instruction from those sale bins in used bookstores and remember how many of those books everyone was reading five years ago…and now no one wants them.

Perhaps this goes without saying but I would urge you to be more careful about the books you let come home with you in the first place. You had the illusion that you could read them all eventually. I’ve had the task of getting rid of books that I wondered, “why did I ever buy that?” or concluded, “I will never read that.” Especially be wary of books on “contemporary issues.” Most have little staying power.

I would tell you that as much as you loved (and still do) canvassing bookstores, that you should get more of your books at the library. Especially those of contemporary concern. Some are important. But the good thing is that they don’t cost anything other than the taxes you pay and the library wants them back so you don’t have to figure out how to dispose of them!

This probably goes for much of contemporary fiction that is also a “one and done” proposition. If it’s amazing enough that you’d really want to re-read it, then buy it. I’m glad to own the works of Steinbeck and Stegner, for example, because they reward re-reading.

I’m glad when I discovered the benefit of reading hard but important books with others. I think of books I struggled with when I was younger that I would have gained far more from in the company of others.

I’m glad for Goodreads and this blog as a kind of journal or book log to remember what I’ve read. I only wish I’d developed that habit sooner. To my younger self, keep a book log, even if it is only a title, an author and a sentence or two about what the book is about.

If I go further in this vein, you might get the idea that I am pretty down on my younger reading self. That’s actually not so. Those younger selves so richly furnished my life with the books you read that I am profoundly grateful. I could not begin now to read the many good things you read over the years. Some I may get to re-read, but more I will remember–the season of reading everything Churchill wrote, the summer reading Calvin’s Institutes.

I am so fortunate to have been surrounded by so many who loved books and reading–mom and dad, Mrs. Smith who taught me to read, Sarah, Ray, Doug, Sue, Terry, Barney, Larry, a couple of Bobs, Jim, Tom, James, Dan, Byron, all those in Dead Theologians and our Smoky Row Book Groups and all my online friends at Bob on Books. Of course one cannot forget all those who bring us the books–writers, publishers, booksellers and librarians. A reader cannot be too thankful!

How Many Books Are You Currently Reading?

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At the moment? Seven in my case. Two are for book clubs of which I’m a part. Then I usually have at least two religious books I read, because I receive a lot of these for review. Then there is one on my Kindle, which is handy to read at breakfast and bed time. I have another that alternates between fiction and non-fiction. Finally, I have a book I can read in short snatches–often essays or poetry or something with short chapters.

I think personally that I have to take breaks from a book rather than read straight through. When I come back, my interest is renewed. I also have an interesting thing happen sometimes where it feels like my books are talking to each other–sometimes literally when one author mentions another, as is the case with the two books I’m reading for book clubs currently.

Some of this is shaped by interest and time of day, and some is shaped by my involvement in reviewing books. I find that I generally finish and am able to review four or five books most weeks (today is the rare exception when I didn’t have a book ready for review).

I posted a variation on this question on social media and was fascinated by the differences among reasons in this regard and the reasons for those differences. There is a group of people who like to read just one book at a time. For many of these people, reading more than one book at a time gets confusing. One person wrote, “I greatly prefer one book at a time. I’m confused enough by single books, and I can’t imagine trying to keep track of multiple plots, different genres simultaneously, etc.” The flip side of this is that some people choose books they can immerse themselves in and they just want to see how it all turns out without distraction. A person commented that you don’t watch two movies in different rooms at the same time (I personally suspect that there are some who try but I also think movies are different).

The picture seems to be more complicated for those reading multiple books at a time. Some are like me–they like the change. One person proposed that “A change is as good as rest.” They felt they could read more at a sitting if they switched off. Others mentioned getting into the habit of reading multiple books during their school years and never got out of it. For some, it is a question of the time of the day–more challenging material when one is fresh, more engaging or exciting material when they are tired and so they have different books for different times of the day. Some also read in different media–a printed book during a quiet moment at home, an audiobook while driving or working, an e-reader while commuting if not driving or on vacation or in bed. Others like to have a different book in different rooms in their homes to have a book available anywhere. One person reads multiple books because “I don’t have the self-control to finish one before starting another. I get too excited to see what the books have to say.”

I honestly don’t think there is a “right” answer to this question. In this as in other aspects of reading, I go with the axiom, read as you can, not as you can’t. Attention and memory seem to be two key aspects. For some, attention wanes if they go on and on in one book without a break; while for others, a book’s not worth reading if they cannot immerse themselves in it–perhaps reading all night to finish it. Some seem to have no problem remembering the plot or key ideas of multiple books while others can’t keep multiple books straight in their minds. We’re all wired differently, and the best thing we can do is understand what works for us.

Bottom line? It’s not a competition, no matter how many reading challenges are out there. You do you.

Favorite Summer Reading Places

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One of the joys of warmer weather is the chance to take one’s reading outdoors. There are a so many places that go well with a book in the summer months. Here are a few that I thought of, and have enjoyed.

Front porches. I grew up in a neighborhood of front porches. Ours had awnings to shade from the afternoon son but were open to catch any cooling breezes. And it was easy to run in the house for a cool iced tea or lemonade.

A bench under a shady tree. We lived near a park with lots of shady areas and conveniently placed benches to make the most of the shade. I’d stick a paper back in a bike bag, go for a ride and find that perfect shady spot.

A hammock. Can you think of a more perfect picture of relaxation? Shade, the hammock perfectly molded to one’s body. The only challenge is staying awake! Better take a thriller with you.

A sidewalk café under an umbrella. Maybe in the cool of the morning with a hot coffee and scone, watching people on their way to work, perhaps reading a newspaper (remember those?) or perhaps a collection of Mary Oliver poetry.

A cabana at the beach. Sure, you can read on a lounge chair in the sun, but when you reach a certain age, you think of all the sand, sun screen, and feeling like you are baking, and a shaded structure to catch the breezes and the glare of the sun on the page makes this an ideal spot at the beach.

On the porch of a cabin by a mountain lake. Getting up early, perhaps with devotional or spiritual literature, listening to the waterfowl and the lapping of the water.

A backyard gazebo. I’ve known a few friends who have them and it can be delightful to slip away to curl up on a bench, take in the view, and lose oneself in a good novel.

The pergola in my backyard in the morning. I spent the mornings of one summer under our pergola reading my way through Calvin’s Institutes in the cool of the morning at a picnic bench with a cup of coffee at hand.

Our air conditioned library on a hot summer afternoon. It isn’t outdoors, but sometimes outdoors is just too hot unless you are in the water. It is a great place to retreat and realize just how many books there are in the world–enough to last a lifetime!

A bookstore with a café. Pick up that new novel or the latest in a mystery series, and head over to the café for an iced drink and get started reading your latest find!

Isn’t it wonderful how many places go well with a book? What are some of your favorites?

Banning Books When Children Aren’t Reading

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The rise in book challenges and bans is disturbing for a number of reasons. In 2019, 566 books were challenged. That number has jumped to over 2500 in 2022, according to NPR. I don’t want to add to the spate of articles about this phenomenon except to say that the mark of a free society is that we mutually agree to protect the freedom of those who are saying things we don’t like. The arguments that those who are on the religious and cultural right use to challenge certain books can be used by others to challenge or ban the Bible and religious texts.

Instead, I want to address another aspect of the reading lives of our children that I do not hear mentioned–children are reading less, especially just for the fun of it. Fewer are cultivating the lifelong love of reading that carries so many benefits from being lifelong learners to greater empathy and expanded horizons. For example, in both 1984 and 2012, 53 percent of nine year olds read for fun every day. That number has dropped to 42 percent in 2020, according to a Pew Research Center article. Meanwhile the number of children who never read for fun has risen from 9 percent in 1984 to 16 percent in 2020.

This seems to me what we should be talking about.

Instead we are sending the message that books (at least some of them) are dangerous. We are de-funding libraries, where generations have learned to love reading, especially among those of low and moderate incomes. Instead of books having warm associations of bringing people together around the love of story, we are fighting about books. I suspect the kids have noticed.

While these are good reasons to re-consider our culture wars on books, it is also important that we pay attention to the ubiquitous presence of screens in children’s lives. Tweens and teens are spending seven to ten hours a day using online media. While part of this is educational, a good amount comes in various forms of social media or video gaming. Now isn’t some of this actually a good thing? We are reading when we are on the internet in at least some instances. Yet there are real questions as to whether this is changing the way we think, and particularly our ability to focus and concentrate for extended periods, important for solving complex problems, learning intricate processes, and following an extended argument. This article at Online College offers a balanced perspective on this question.

It seems to me that there are some good places where we can begin

  1. Agreeing on screen free-times in households. You can do anything you want that doesn’t involve a screen.
  2. Read aloud together. So much of the love of reading comes in shared time reading stories everyone loves.
  3. We need to find ways to stop opposing reading for comprehension and reading for fun. It seems that the fun of reading ought only be enhanced by understanding what we are reading. Too often, I hear that the focus of reading comprehension is for the passing of standardized tests. I don’t think it was always like this. I loved reading, and I did just fine on standardized tests.
  4. It also seems that reading education is often focusing on parts of texts rather than whole stories. A recent Atlantic article asks if this is part of the problem. Children love whole stories.
  5. It seems that we need to help children find the kinds of books they like to read and at the level where they are able to read, or perhaps stretching that just a bit with something they are really interested in. Librarians are great at this and ought to have all the resources they need to do this.
  6. Perhaps we also need to consider our own reading habits. Children are great imitators. My mom loved to read and often we’d either read or talk about what we were reading at lunch times.
  7. Do we have books around the home and do children have books of their own? I remember Scholastic Book Clubs and being able to choose a couple books that I could order and have for my own. This is also the genius, it seems, of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in which children can be signed up to receive a free book in the mail each month. C.S. Lewis grew up in a home filled with books and loved reading from an early age.

Rather than talking about what books shouldn’t be available to our children, a matter over which various constituencies disagree, why can’t we focus on something I suspect most thoughtful individuals do agree upon–that cultivating the love of reading in our children, not just a proficiency measured by standardized tests, is a worthy goal of our educational efforts? We cannot leave this just to lawmakers, librarians, and teachers, however. We ought to give this attention in our homes and places of worship and in the various extra-curricular activities in which children participate. We could introduce children who love sports to great sports writing. For those who love the arts, there is a wealth of books on the arts. Budding scientists may find math puzzle books and science texts and biographies to be great fun.

Will we allow ourselves to be distracted by the purveyors of outrage into crusades against books or will we pay attention to the fundamentally important work of cultivating in our children a love of reading? If we do not, I fear those who would ban will be far more successful than they dreamed. It is not that children will not read books considered “inappropriate” or “woke.” It won’t be a problem. Children just will not read. Period.

Project Gutenberg: Where the Original Internet Still Lives

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Screen capture of Project Gutenberg homepage 3/15/2023

Do you remember when you first discovered the internet? For me, it wasn’t until around 1995, the first time I bought a computer with a modem. At that time, we had Freenet, which was text based. Green text on a black screen. Yet it was amazing. Libraries of information, and all of it for free. There was a primitive search engine called Yahoo. And there was Project Gutenberg. One could access thousands of books online–for free!

At that time, Project Gutenberg was about twenty-five years old. It was the brainchild of a University of Illinois student, Michael Hart, who in 1971 uploaded a transcribed copy of the Declaration of Independence onto what was then the ARPANET in its infancy, making it freely available to anyone who had access to that network. It was his way of saying “thank you” for the free computer access he enjoyed at a time when this was a precious commodity. In so doing, Hart became inventor of the e-book.

Other freely available texts followed in what he named “Project Gutenberg” for Johannes Gutenberg, the printer who invented movable type, making the printing revolution possible. Hart believed one day the public would have wide access to computer networks, and he envisioned making books and other texts in the public domain available at no cost to anyone. His goal was to make 10,000 e-books available by the year 2000.

By 1995, Project Gutenberg had moved to Illinois Benedictine College. Hart had a number of volunteers working with him. Until 1989, text was manually digitized. Optical scanners sped up the process, with volunteers enlisted to proofread scanned text for accuracy against the original. In 1994, Pietro Di Miceli took on developing the Project Gutenberg website, which won many awards for design in its early years. This was at the time when Mosaic became a widely available internet browser and we moved from text to graphical user interfaces.

By 2003, a DVD was released with 10,000 items from Project Gutenberg, most of the collection at that time, realizing Hart’s goal within three years of his original target. Today, Project Gutenberg is hosted at the University of North Carolina and offers more than 60,000 items in its collection. It continues to be a volunteer driven project, with volunteers selecting books to digitize. Distributed Proofreaders allows volunteers to collaborate on digitizing books, both lightening the load and speeding the process.

If you have not used Project Gutenberg, the homepage serves to help one navigate the site. You can search and browse by author, title, subject, language, type, popularity, and more. There are Bookshelves of related e-books by topic. You can look up the most downloaded titles (tops is Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet). You can look up the recently added works. There is a section on Tablets, Phones and eReader How-tos. There are options to download books as e-pubs, in Kindle formats, and in other formats.

And all of this is still free. While much enhanced since my first visits in 1995, it still reflects the values and vision of the early internet, which so many thought a wondrous place. At the page, 50 years of e-Books: 1971-2021, there is this statement:

Everyone should have free, unlimited access to the world’s literature. Whenever they want, with a variety of formatting and delivery choices. “Literature,” said Hart, “should be as free as the air we breathe.”

At a time when some state and individual actors are trying to limit access to particular texts, it seems this work is more important than ever, even if it is focused on books in the public domain. These books also have “dangerous ideas” — ones that speak to our basic human rights and the liberties that we can never take for granted. Hart’s first upload, The Declaration of Independence, was one of those.

Remembering What We Read

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Memory is the treasure house of our lives, unless it is a gallery of our nightmares. And sometimes it is both. The memories we carry of our lives are a substantial part of our sense of self. A visit after many years to a conference center where we worked for over twenty years for parts of every summer evoked a raft of memories as we thought about conversations in a particular cabin, speakers in the meeting house, and so many special moments with our son. Perhaps one of the best part of the week was recalling these parts of our lives, of re-membering them in the sense of infusing them with life once more. What is so difficult about memory loss is our loss of parts of our lives, whether the immediate past, or more distant parts.

For those of us who are readers, we while away hours in our books. Yet it is funny how often it is hard to remember what we have read last week or month. The Atlantic re-ran an article titled “Why We Forget Most of the Books We Read,” that captured the oddities of our forgetfulness and our memories when it comes to reading. Sometimes we remember where we bought the book or where we were when we read it or the book group we discussed it with, but precious little of what is in it.

Some of it is the reality of our lives. The article noted that we may “read” 100,000 words a day, although how much attention we give them all is a question. Much never makes it out of our short term memories. Perhaps we read too much. There are times when I’d love to set aside reading multiple books for reviews, and so much else on my news feeds, and just savor a good book, perhaps a significant book, perhaps an old friend I read many years ago, the memory of which I’d like to renew. And perhaps, the time will come when I shall.

Some of us use writing to crystallize our thoughts about our reading. This is how this blog began–originally as Goodreads posts whose main purpose was just to remember what I’d read. Others keep notebooks, jotting down significant ideas, or just keeping a list of what they’ve read. And some will debate you about whether writing undermines memory. At least for me, it allows me to capture what I want to take away from a book.

Still, this has its limits. The other day, someone commented on a review of Under Western Eyes from 2014. I barely remembered reading the book in this case and did not remember enough to reply to what was an interesting comment. It makes me wonder why I remember some books and not others. I think it has to do with the fact that there are some, that because they engaged or provoked me, I keep revisiting and sometimes re-reading. For some it is the emotional context, such as The Long Winter by Elizabeth Ingalls Wilder that we read aloud as a family during a particularly cold winter in the 1990’s.

I think it makes a difference of whether the book is in sight. Often seeing the book, even the title on the spine, reminds me of what I read. My treadmill is in front of one of my shelves, and I often recall the content of books as I wrack up the steps. I squirrelled Under Western Eyes away somewhere and probably haven’t seen the book since I read it.

Some reader friends don’t think it matters so much. It is the enjoyment of the moment. And with some books, more may not be worth it. They were just a pleasant diversion. Yet even the best of these sort are memorable. I think of Thurber’s “The Night the Bed Fell.” His stories were both a delight and memorable.

Sometimes, it is the sheer intensity of the book that makes it memorable. Every one of Kristen Hannah’s books have been like that, and more than one has had me lying awake at night, none more than The Nightingale. While not as intense, Anthony Doerr’s All The Light We Cannot See stayed with me when I closed the covers.

Still, I wish I were C.S. Lewis when it came to memory. It seems that he remembered just about everything he read, down to being able to tell you on what page you might find a particular quote or statement. But that is not my gift and won’t be.

What can I say about remembering more of what we read? At this juncture in life, the question for me seems to be as I read a book, what is worth remembering? I find myself praying that I might be attentive to what matters out of all the information, all the words, that I will inevitably forget. What is worth pondering, considering, even taking to heart? It might be a single sentence out of a book. Is it worth it? If it is a nugget of intellectual gold, absolutely! I will ponder it until it is added to my treasure house of memory.

Bob on Books 2023 Reading Challenge

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Often, reading challenges seemed to be framed by how many books one reads. Now I have nothing against reading many books. But I read what I want to read. One of the things I want is to broaden my horizons when I read. I know I can’t read or know everything but that still doesn’t keep me from trying! So that’s my philosophy when it comes to reading challenges. It’s not about how many books we read but to delight in and have our lives enriched by the books we read. If it’s just amusement I want, I can turn to a screen. I read books to engage my imagination and open my eyes to the world around me. There are twelve challenges here. One for each month. They are my challenges but you are welcome to join me in one, some, or all. Maybe you will use this as a model to write your own challenge, I’d love to hear about it!

Author You Like. Have you ever read something that you really liked and found yourself hunting down everything the author wrote? This past year I caught up with all of Louise Penny’s books in the Gamache series and discovered and loved the works of Willa Cather. The author I read: _______________

Books You’ve Been Given. I know as readers, we don’t always like others to give us books, because they may not be ones we’d choose. That’s true of the books my son buys me. But I often find myself surprised and glad I read his gifts. If nothing else, at least try. Don’t feel obliged to finish. It’s just a nice way to acknowledge the gift, and you might be surprised as I have been. The gift books I read are: ________________

A Regional and/or New Author. It’s not always easy for new or local authors to break onto the national literary seen. I discovered that is how Colleen Hoover became such a phenomenon. Her readers spread the word. Your local bookstore, especially if it is an indie bookstore, is a good place to start. You might even have a chance to hear the author do a book presentation. The regional or new author I read is: _______________

A Bookstore or Librarian Recommendation. This can be either in-person, in a newsletter, or even the cool, hand-written recommendations you will find in some bookstores. A bookstore owner turned me on to James Lee Burke, for example. Don’t feel obliged to read something you don’t think you’d find interesting. Read something that piques your interest! The recommended book I read is: __________________

A Book You Disagree With. Most of us like to be agreed with. But I find books I disagree with stretch me the most. They help me understand how others can think differently. They force me to think about their arguments against what I think and examine my own understanding and reasoning. Rarely at this juncture of life will such a book make me change my mind in a wholesale way. But I may consider if there is a better way to think that incorporates the strength of what the author proposes. The book I disagreed with that I read is: _______________

A “Just For Fun” Book. After reading a book you disagree with, read a book that is just good fun to read. This can be a page-turning thriller, a mystery, a romance novel, a children’s story, or even a “how to” book–as long as it’s fun. This may be the book you take to the beach or the summer cottage or that “airport read.” My “just for fun” book is: ________________

A Biography of Someone You Admire. Is there someone currently living or who has lived in the past that you admire? Reading their biography, especially if well-researched, often sheds light on the sources of the traits we admire–how they were formed and used. We also usually learn of their flaws but even this can encourage us. There is hope for us as well as we try to emulate the qualities we admire. The biography I read: _______________

A Book Written Before 1000 CE. There is a lot of great literature that was written before 1000 CE. Here is a list from Goodreads that is only a small sampling. Allusions from these works fill much of our more recent literature. And the great thing is that there are free or inexpensive versions of many of these works, including many from online sources. The pre-1000 CE book I read is: _______________

A Book Award Winner. Usually in the fall, a number of book award winners are announced. I’m always surprised by how many I’ve never heard of. While I happen to like the books I’ve chosen to read, a number of people thought those award winners worth reading. Some awards include winners in multiple genres and some focus on specific genres. Here’s a list of some of the major awards. My suggestion and personal goal is to pick one, but you are welcome to be more ambitious! My Book Award Winner is: ________________

A Book of Poetry. I came across this quote from poet Thomas Gray today: “Poetry is thoughts that breathe, and words that burn.” In reviewing my 2022 reading, I discovered I’d only read one work of poetry out of over 200 books. Poetry awakens me to the power and skillful use of words. The book of poetry I read is: ________________

A Book in the Arts. I have often spoke of my love of books being about a love of the good, the true, and the beautiful. Without attention to the arts, we end up with a dreary, uninspired, banal society. Choose a book on music, dance, visual art, spoken word, drama, landscape architecture–you name it. It could be a book on technique, on the work of a particular artist, or a biography of an artist. The book in the arts I read is: _______________

A Book on Ultimate Questions. The pandemic has faced us with profound questions, questions that are perennial questions of human life: why are we here? is there a God? what happens when we die? There are many more. They are questions that disturb us because they make us examine how we live our lives. Books can help us explore how others have wrestled with these questions, whether they are sacred texts like thBible or the Qur’an, or works of philosophy, or the wealth of religious (including atheist) literature through history. Since “the unexamined life is not worth living” the book I read on ultimate questions is: _______________

Most of these lend themselves to doing one a month. Reading a number of works by an author you love might be a year long project. You will note that I’ve not recommended any particular authors or books. That’s where you get to make this your own. And if you take up one or some or all of the challenges here, I’d love to have you stop by and leave a comment of what you read and how that went for you. And sometime in 2023, I’ll give you an update on how it is going for me!

Books I’m Looking Forward to Reading This Winter

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I’m between reviews right now and so I thought it might be fun to share a few of the books on my TBR (To Be Read) pile that I’m really looking forward to reading on those cold winter mornings or evenings. I have others, but these have especially caught my eye.

James Patterson by James Patterson. Do you know that I have never read a James Patterson book? But I like autobiographies, and I’d love to know how he cranks out so many books and why he thinks he’s been so successful. And I love that he has done so much to support bookstores.

One of Ours by Willa Cather. A friend suggested one of her books and she’s been my “author find” of the year. How did I go so long without discovering the fine writing of this American writer?

Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. OK, I saw this on the buy one, get one 50% off at Barnes & Noble. I keep seeing Murakami turn up and thought I’d take a chance on this one. Maybe he will be my “author find” for 2023.

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. This was the partner to Murakami on the buy one, get one 50% off table. Zafon is another of those authors I keep hearing about and a plot that occurs in the Cemetery of Forgotten Books has to be interesting. Right?

The Song of the Cell by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Cells are one of the basic constituents of all living organism other than viruses. There is so much that have been discovered about them since my high school biology courses. Time for a refresher and this book keeps turning up on Best Science Book lists. I love good science writing!

Untrustworthy by Bonnie Kristian. Amid the conflicting claims and the climate of distrust, how do we know what is true. I think we really are in the midst of an epistemic crisis and I’m concerned that at some point charisma will win out over truth. I’m intrigued to see how the author will address this…and will I trust her recommendations?

Cultivating Mentors edited by Todd C. Ream, Jerry Pattengale, and Christopher J. Devers. There is a lot of talk about mentoring in the higher ed circles in which I work but many people struggle to find good mentors. I hope this book sheds some light on the gap between ideals and reality.

Hardness of Heart in Biblical Literature by Charles B. Puskas. The topic intrigues me. The image has always been a chilling one–a hard heart does not seem much different than a dead heart. How does one become hard and is there hope for such a person? The book holds special interest because it is written by a scholar who was something of a mentor to me back in the Jesus movement days before going on to a career in biblical scholarship, teaching, publishing, and pastoring.

The World Beyond Your Head by Matthew B. Crawford. I liked his Shop Class as Soul Craft, which I read this year. This appears to be a book on attention, something I am convinced is important to everything from repairing a car to singing in a choral group to effective research to encountering God. I want to see what he will say about all this.

The Revolutionary: Samuel Adams by Stacy Schiff. I think we hear more about John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, George Washington, and Alexander Hamilton, but it can be argued that it was Samuel Adams who lit the match that started the whole conflagration of the American Revolution. I know little about him other than he is related to John.

These won’t be the only books you see on this blog in the months ahead. I suspect there are some other “sleepers” that I’ll really like. But these are some that I’m looking forward to curling up with when the winds of winter are blowing outside my door–at least until I have to get out and clear the snow!

Let me know what you are looking forward to reading. Some of these ended up on the pile because of the recommendations of friends.

Bob on Books Gives Thanks

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I am blessed that I will be at a table like this today. Not everyone has that opportunity and I so appreciate those who extend food and hospitality to those otherwise not able to celebrate.

I also consider myself deeply blessed to be able to read, review, and write about books. I don’t make money from that other than the exchange of getting books for free in exchange for writing reviews. I’ve always loved reading and sharing what I’ve learned, from the time I was a kid, and to do this is a gift for which I’m thankful.

I’m thankful to you, the reader. It is wonderful not to talk to oneself, to know others are reading, and interested, like me in finding that next great book to read. Reading is social and not just solitary–when you discover a good book, you can’t help but talk about it. I’ve been blogging over nine years now, and our interactions, even when you correct my grammar or infelicities, has made it so rewarding.

I’m always so thankful for the writers who pour their energy into getting words on the page. When I read about the writing life, I find most writers only write a few hours a day. It’s not because it is an easy life, but rather it is some of the most demanding work to put a story or a narrative into words. Thank you Celeste Ng, James Baldwin, John Steinbeck, Ngaio Marsh, Louise Penny, and so many others who have enriched my life through your hard work.

Speaking of Louise Penny, her latest book drops in the next week. That’s cause for Thanksgiving!

I’m thankful for publishing houses–for the work of acquiring manuscripts, negotiating contracts, editing draft after draft, and going from draft to publication. I’m especially grateful for some of the small publishers and university presses who provide a platform for great writing and scholarship outside the mainstream.

I’m grateful for the people who have embraced the calling of bookseller. The indie booksellers have my admiration, and whenever I can do it, my trade. As that big online bookseller scales back their book buying, indie booksellers have been filling the gap. The whole bookselling ecosystem gets my thanks though–from my local Barnes and Noble to the second hand sellers from Half Price Books to indie booksellers selling everything from recent backlist books to antiquarian books–in some cases, those treasures one finds when cleaning out grandma’s house.

I’m grateful for librarians who serve the public and, in educational settings, students and researchers. They do so much more than curate and check in books, sometimes even saving people from drug overdoses.

I’m grateful for teachers who cultivated my love of reading. I have several friends teaching young readers. I’m so grateful for you!

I’m always grateful for those book publicists who handle my review requests along with so many others, and often are key promoters of books. I’ve had the privilege of working with several who do this work with excellence, making my life as a reviewer so much easier.

I’m grateful for all the people who deliver books to my mailbox or doorstep. We like to complain about these people, but I’m grateful for all they do and can think of only rare instances when I’ve had delivery issues.

I’m grateful for the First Amendment that protects authors, publishers, and even reviewers like me. Our speech, press, and religious freedoms are remarkable when you consider global history. It is also something I don’t take for granted. It is always tempting to shut down ideas we don’t like. It can happen here.

Finally, I’m so grateful for books, this wonderful cultural invention. And I am profoundly grateful for the “village” that makes possible that stack by my bedside. Aren’t we all?

Happy Thanksgiving, my bookish friends!

Hibernating With Books

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This gentleman is not exactly hibernating. Perhaps he is waiting for a ride. For most of us the coming of winter means moving our reading indoors. In many ways it is welcome to me. It means a break from yard and garden chores for a few months and longer evenings to read.

So, how might one think of hibernating with books?

I’m a bit like the squirrels I watch in my yard, gathering acorns from my oak. The last weeks have been a time of “squirreling away” my reads. As a reviewer, that’s meant perusing various publishers for new and upcoming releases to review and requesting them.

I also keep an eye out for current books I’m interested in. I have Celeste Ng’s (an Ohio-born author) new book on my TBR pile and am looking forward to the release of Louise Penny’s newest Gamache later this month.

Long evenings, particularly in our dead of winter in January, are always a good time to lose oneself in a long book. I have a new novel, The Deluge, (actually coming out in early 2023) by Stephen Markley, another Ohio author. I also have a biography of Jonathan Edwards, a theological hero, by George Marsden, that I can’t wait to sink my teeth into.

Of course, libraries are a great source of winter reads. It’s a good place to learn about newly published books and get recommendations. If hauling home a stack of books isn’t your thing, e-book borrowing is simple and free. Find out what app, like Overdrive, they use and load up your e-reader.

Used book sales are another way to squirrel away books. Many libraries do this as a fundraiser. I have friends who make great finds at Goodwill.

Have you run out of shelf space? Winter can be a good time to cull out the books you won’t read again, or even for the first time. You can donate or sell them. I half joke that my local Half Price store is my ATM. Truth is, I haven’t been to an ATM since before the pandemic.

Maybe it’s time for more shelves. Winter’s good for that, whether you buy or build them yourself. Then there is the fun of arranging them. And even if you don’t add shelves, if you are like me you could stand to tidy them. You might even try to catalog your books. Apps like LibraryThing make it easy and even have barcode scanners.

“Hibernating” doesn’t mean being antisocial. Bundle up and go to a reading, join a book group, or even just invite a group over to talk about favorite books. A grad group I was connected with did a books and brownies night. I always came away with one or two reading ideas.

But there is also that simple delight of a comfortable chair, a good light, a warm beverage, and that book you’ve been waiting to read, with a few others nearby. Sometimes simple pleasures are the best. Happy hibernating with books!