The Weekly Wrap

The Weekly Wrap: February 22-28

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The Weekly Wrap: February 22-28

Intelligence

I look for juxtapositions in my life. This week I’ve been reading of Anthropic’s unwillingness to give the Pentagon unfettered use of its Artificial Intelligence tools. That seems a scary proposition to me and I’m glad that Anthropic, so far, has resisted.

I also just finished reading Elyse Graham’s Book and Dagger. It’s the story of how our government recruited nerdy academics to play a key role in the nascent OSS, the predecessor to the CIA, during World War 2. Someone figured out two things about these people. One was that they weren’t bored by spending long hours searching for information in dusty archives. The other was that they had an uncanny ability to recognize the important information to be gleaned from mundane things like phone books, railway schedules, flyers and ticket stubs.

They also had the ability to look at problems from different angles, and sometimes arrive at counter-intuitive solutions. For example, they were given the task of figuring which parts of bombers should be reinforced against anti-aircraft fire. They studied bombers returning from runs and noticed lots of holes in fuselages, wings, and tails. Did they recommend reinforcing those areas? No. Instead, they recommended reinforcing the engines, even though they found few bullet holes in them. Why? Planes survived the other damage. There weren’t any with lots of bullet holes to engines. Those didn’t return.

This is an age that seems to devalue academics, and exalt computers. While I believe computers have their place, I wonder if the different kind of intelligence of humans will continue to be vital, in war or peace. Who knows what dogged researchers and analysts might uncover? Who knows what that booknerd might find? I just hope someone is intelligent enough to notice.

Five Articles Worth Reading

A number of years ago, I was in the audience for a fascinating debate between a theist and an atheist. One of the most interesting admissions for the atheist was that the problem of explaining the origins of consciousness was the most difficult problem for his beliefs. David Eagleman states in “Michael Pollan Wants to Know Where Consciousness Comes From” that “A coherent explanation of consciousness eludes modern science.” Pollan’s book is A World Appears and this review makes me want to check it out.

This week, Antonio Melechi explores the other side of our mental life in “Daydreamers and Sleepwalkers: Crossing the Borderlands of the Unconscious.” Fascinatingly, this also continues to be a mystery to the greatest minds.

Ann Godoff died this week. I didn’t recognize the name, but she was the long-time editor and founder at Penguin Press. Among the authors whose work she edited were Ron Chernow, Zadie Smith, Salman Rushdie, and Thomas Pynchon. In “The Ruthless Benevolence of a Great Editor,” Franklin Foer profiles her and describes his own experience of her as his editor.

Then I also learned that Michael Greenblatt died last week. Michael Who? Jynne Dilling asserts in “You’ve Done It Again, Michael” that Michael Greenblatt was the greatest reader of our generation. He recorded 48,000+ minutes of interviews with a Who’s Who of authors, and when he did this, he read everything each author wrote.

Finally, Thomas Pynchon’s name has already been mentioned here in connection with Ann Godoff. Whatever one’s experience of reading him, he’s one of the major authors of my generation. This is the year I’ve decided to try to read him. This profile, “It’s Thomas Pynchon’s America,” sets the corpus of his work in helpful perspective for me.

Quote of the Week

A Clockwork Orange author Anthony Burgess was born February 25, 1917. I got a laugh out of this quote:

“Laugh and the world laughs with you, snore and you sleep alone.”

Miscellaneous Musings

I inherited from my mother what is now an over century old set of the works of Balzac that she loved as a young girl. While I’m not planning a trip to Paris, Michael Robbins “City of Blights” describes his Balzac pilgrimage through Paris. Is this a cue that it’s time to read Balzac?

Spring training for Major League Baseball began in mid-February and the season opens in just under a month, on March 26. That means it is time to find my baseball book of the year. Any suggestions?

As I go on with Mansfield Park, I find myself not rooting so much for Fanny as wondering when she and Edmund will wake up to their love for each other and why no one else sees this (at least as far as I’ve gotten). Yes, they were first cousins, but first cousins are not banned from marrying in Georgian England.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: The Month in Reviews: February 2026

Tuesday: Gerald L. Bray, Reading the Bible with Ten Church Fathers

Wednesday: Elyse Graham, Book and Dagger

Thursday: Brooke Borel, The Chicago Guide to Fact-Checking

Friday: Greg Carey, Rereading Revelation

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for February 22-28.

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

The Weekly Wrap: February 15-21

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The Weekly Wrap: February 15-21

Am I Being Shelfish?

Do you have more books than shelves to put them on? So do I. And so do most bibliophiles I know. Books on tops of books. Books behind books. And books in piles on any available flat surface. I’ve used all those strategies.

I look enviously at those images on social media of elegant shelves of books lining the wall of a study. There is a wall in my office that is a mix of shelves, storage, and a low table. I dream of converting it to a wall of shelves.

And I realize that I would probably have those shelves immediately filled.

Then, in moments of stark realism, I realize I’m in my eighth decade. One way or another, the day is coming when those books must be disposed of. Perhaps it is time to think about shrinking my books to the shelves I have. My fifties might have been the time for that wall of shelves.

Sure, bibliophiles like Umberto Eco built huge libraries of books (50,000 in his case). But it seems to me that it might make more sense to pare my books to the ones I treasure. I have enough shelves for those.

Five Articles Worth Reading

I’ve read a couple of books recently that incorporate the idea of conferring personhood on nature. Another approach is to calculate the cost to nature of economic activity. Nick Summer reviews three new books that explore this idea in “Want to Put a Price Tag on Nature? Ask an Economist.”

I’m glad I’m not the only one put off by the look-alike book covers in the fiction sections of bookstores. Ted Gioia argues that the death of midlist publishing is part of the reason in “The Day NY Publishing Lost Its Soul.”

Yascha Monk argues that his colleagues in academia are wrong that AI is not creative or intelligent, that these tools are “stochastic parrots [that] can do some impressive things like summarize an email or write boilerplate corporate language; but they are congenitally incapable of making a genuine intellectual or artistic contribution.” In “The Humanities Are About to Be Automated” he describes how he used Claude, an AI tool, to create a credible academic paper in two hours. And he includes the paper.

Then there is the technology of war. In the past, it was aircraft, ships, armaments. People are present in the place where these are utilized. But the new face of warfare is drones. Nic Rowan explores the impact of this new dimension of warfare in Ukraine in “A Kiss in the Killhouse.”

Finally, there are times when it is hard to find time to read. Bekah Waalkes recommends “Seven Books to Read When You Have No Time to Read.” One of her recommendations was Ali Smith’s Gliff which I thoroughly enjoyed last year.

Quote of the Week

Jewish novelist Chaim Potok is one of my favorite authors. His birthday was February 17, 1929. He offers this delightful invitation:

“Come, let us have some tea and continue to talk about happy things.”

Of course, the books we are reading are among those happy things!

Miscellaneous Musings

In the Introduction to Book and Dagger, Elyse Graham quotes this statement from Jewish writer Heinrich Heine: “Where they burn books, they will ultimately burn people too.” She notes Germany began burning books in 1933 and began burning people in 1941. This makes me think about thresholds. When we breach one, burning or banning books, and get away with it, we are emboldened to breach others including getting rid of people we consider a threat. While we are not yet burning people, we are banning, disappearing and deporting those we don’t like, and not just those here illegally, in the United States. In the last ten years, we began increased efforts to ban books. Now we are buying warehouses around the country to “detain” refugees for “vetting,” even though the refugees came here legally and most have no criminal record. It should trouble all of us. If we accept all these things, it won’t end with them.

I’ve been reading a book on fact-checking. I find it challenging to see the rigorous standards for those who do this for a living, many as free-lancers. More of us are publishing than ever. I personally think all of us who publish in any form, including re-posting memes making claims, have the obligation to check our facts, if we care about truth and not just rhetoric. But that is a big “if’ that I think we increasingly are indifferent to.

I’m reading my second Jane Austen novel, Mansfield Park. There is a play that occupies a lot of space in the novel and I’m curious how much will turn on that play. And I find myself rooting for Fanny Price.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Matthias Henze and David Lincicum, editors, Israel’s Scriptures in Early Christian Writings

Tuesday: Rhonda Mawhood Lee, Suicide and the Communion of the Saints

Wednesday: Deborah Ann Appler and Terry Ann Smith, Ezra-Nehemiah

Thursday: Richard Powers, The Overstory

Friday: Karen J. Johnson, Ordinary Heroes of Racial Justice

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for February 15-21.

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

The Weekly Wrap: February 8-14

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The Weekly Wrap: February 8-14

Why We Love Old Used Bookstores

An informal poll on my Facebook group confirmed by a landslide that people prefer old used bookstores over shiny big box chain stores. However, some dissented because “old” often means musty and dusty, and for those with allergies, that’s a non-starter. But for the rest of us, that’s just how bookstores are supposed to smell. It just wasn’t a good trip unless you acquired a patina of dust!

Firstly, consider the personality of old bookstores. They have such unusual names. A local store that is no more was called Acorn. Another favorite was Blue jacket Books. Then some stores bear the name (and often the personality) of their owner. I think John King’s Books in Detroit is in the running for the king of bookstores. I could spend a week there! Then there is the name of a store in my son’s home town, Birch Tree Bookery. And often, as with this store, there is a story behind the name!

While serendipity is part of a trip to any bookstore, used stores offer the serendipity of the backlist. In those old stores, you might come across an old edition of a book you had thought about buying twenty years ago. Other times, I’ll hear about an older work, and then there it is! Whereas I’m often looking for a particular book at the big box store, my attitude at the old bookstore is surprise me!

Of course, price sometimes figures in. While I’ve found some great bargains, I’ve also discovered that booksellers who last know what they can get for a book, and many sell online as well as locally. Realizing that you are supporting an institution you want to survive helps.

Finally, old used bookstores are great for aging memories. For example, roaming through John King’s last summer, I was reminded of the books we were all talking about in the last half of the twentieth century! I spend most of my time reading and reviewing books from this decade, so it’s nice to refresh the library of my mind with some of those oldies!

Five Articles Worth Reading

We were out for an early Valentine’s dinner yesterday. However, it didn’t dawn on me for awhile why I was seeing all these articles about romance books! If romance is your thing, the New York Times “Let Us Help You Find Your Next Book” series just posted its Romance recommendations.

Speaking of great romances, if hearing about the film adaptation of Wuthering Heights has piqued your interest in the book, here are “Five Things to Know About ‘Wuthering Heights,’ Author Emily Brontë’s Only Novel.”

Another reading list that came to my attention this week is “100 Black Voices: Books for Adults.” The New York Public Library compiled this list. There are even 20 titles you can borrow via Libby! A great way to celebrate Black History Month!

Here’s your long read for the week. With government funding for the humanities drying up, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has become the premiere source for humanities funding in the United States. Tyler Austin Harper discusses the hidden danger of this in “The Multibillion-Dollar Foundation That Controls the Humanities.”

Finally, you may have noted that I review some children’s books and feature images from children’s books on my Facebook page. It’s not simply a matter of breadth of coverage. I believe reading starts here. Sally Rippin makes that case better than I could in “Parents, please don’t stop reading to your children – a great picture book could change their life.”

Quote of the Week

Composer and poet Thomas Campion was born February 12, 1567. He remarked:


“From heav’nly thoughts all true delight doth spring.”

Miscellaneous Musings

Well, I’m going to make it. I’ll be reviewing three very different Lenten devotionals next Monday to Wednesday, One even incorporates chant you can listen to or even sing along with, complete with Latin pronunciation. These are all gems and I’ll be reviewing them just in time for Lent.

I missed this when it was first published and so picked up a secondhand copy at a used bookstore! Richard Powers’ The Overstory is an engrossing story exploring the ecology of trees and an unlikely group that comes together to defend the right of an old growth forest to exist. This book makes me look at the trees on my own property differently!

While I enjoy a good sports biography, particularly of someone in baseball, I think there is only one Olympic biography that I’d be interested in reading, that of Jesse Owens. Part of it has to do with his Ohio State connection and part is that his is a heroic story. Are there some I’m overlooking? I’d love to know!

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Editors at Plough Publishing, Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter

Tuesday: David F. Ford, Meeting God in John

Wednesday: Editors at Paraclete Press, Christ in our Midst

Thursday: Robert MacFarlane, Is a River Alive?

Friday: Nicholas Worssam, SSF, In the Stillness, Waiting

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for February 8-14.

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

The Weekly Wrap: February 1-7

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The Weekly Wrap: February 1-7

Is Book Coverage Dying?

One of the major stories this week was the Washington Post’s decision to lay off three hundred of its staff, gutting international coverage, sports coverage, and shutting down Book World, its coverage of books.

Now many readers loved Book World, and I suspect many cancelled their Post subscriptions for this reason alone. And it is sad to lose a major source of book coverage in the U.S. Capitol. It reflects to me what is, and is not, valued, in this city.

It follows a trend in many other smaller papers, struggling to keep afloat in a changing media environment. However, this doesn’t convince me we are seeing the end of book coverage. Instead, I think book coverage is shifting to different platforms. For one thing, you can bet some of those Post reviewers will be setting up Substack newsletters, or teaming up with outfits like The Metropolitan Review. There is vibrant book coverage in these newsletters, many of which I’ve re-posted here. Of course, there are also dedicated Bookstagrammers, BookTokkers, and of course, us old-fashioned bloggers.

It might mean re-learning some old habits. I’ve found some publishers still think they get their best exposure in print publications and don’t give online reviewers the time of day. Yet, I bet, in almost every publishing genre, there are online platforms far-outstripping print in views, and purchases of books.

I also post several articles that suggest the reports of reading’s death, while concerning, may be greatly exaggerated. So, without further ado…

Five Articles Worth Reading

For those who interested in the shuttering of Book World, and the history of book coverage at the Post, “The Washington Post is gutting its books coverage” gives a good account.

A psychologist who studies narratives of decline argues, with a lot of data to back him up, that reading is not dying in “Text Is (Still) King.“

A Case Western Reserve English professor describes what he learned when he resumed assigning students whole books to read in “Stop Meeting Students Where They Are.”

Thomas E. Miles describes in “A Mosaic” the transformative experience of reading in prison when he enrolled in the Bennington College Prison Education Initiative.

Finally, February is Black history Month. “Celebrating Black History Month” offers a wealth of readings from the editors at JSTOR Daily.

Quote of the Week

American novelist Robert Coover was born February 4, 1932. He said something that both makes sense and I’ve been arguing in my head:

“Language is the square hole we keep trying to jam the round peg of life into. It’s the most insane thing we do.”

To be sure, every time I sit down to write, I bang up against the limits of words to say what I want to say. But while language may be insane, it is one of the things that makes us human. And when God came to Moses on Sinai, he didn’t give him ten experiences or pictures, but rather wrote ten commands on tablets.

Miscellaneous Musings

I’m trying to get through three Lenten devotionals to review before Lent. One is Christ in our Midst (Paraclete) which couples readings with Gregorian chant accessible online. A second is an expanded edition of Bread and Wine from the good folks at Plough. It includes 90 readings covering the period from Ash Wednesday to Pentecost. Finally, Meeting God in John: Inspiration and Encouragement from the Fourth Gospel (Baker) by David F. Ford is a Lenten study focused in John’s gospel.

I finished Robert McFarlane’s Is a River Alive? What a beautifully written book! I’ve decided to follow it with Richard Power’s The Overstory, a work of fiction about forests that I’ve not read.

I love the names of bookstores. A favorite in my own town is “Two Dollar Radio” which not only sells books but serves as the headquarters for an Indie publisher by the same name. One I came across recently was “Beware of the Leopard Books” located in Bristol, England. And all this is really a buildup to an article on one of the iconic bookstores of our day, “The Radical Power of a Bookstore: On Lawrence Ferlinghetti and City Lights.”

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Martha Wells, The Murderbot Diaries, Vol. 1

Tuesday: Lexa Hale, God Chose Me!

Wednesday: First Nations Version: Psalms and Proverbs

Thursday: Michael Innes, There Came Both Mist and Snow

Friday: Dominique Young, God, Where Are You?

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for February 1-7.

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

The Weekly Wrap: January 25-31

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The Weekly Wrap: January 25-31

Poetry Reading or Readings?

I asked people on my Facebook page “Do you think you appreciate poetry more as written text or when it is spoken?”. Interestingly, most preferred the written text. However, the exception was those who wrote poetry. They preferred it spoken.

Why the difference? From what I can tell, poets have a sense of the cadences, the rhythms of the lines and know better how to convey what they were trying to do. On the other hand, those who enjoy the written text like the opportunity to read the lines over and over again, to study the words, phrases, even how lines are arranged into verses.

I’ve been posting readings of poems weekly on my Facebook page. I won’t pretend to be a great reader. But I’ve had people who don’t read poetry mention that the readings might make them reconsider. But what I would say is that reading poems aloud takes me more deeply into the poem. To read well means paying attention to the sound of words, words that recur, phrasing, which doesn’t always follow the written line or even verse. Then, it means trying to discern the mood and meaning of a poem to give that expression out loud. I have learned how hard this is, sometimes recording a dozen times or more.

Of course, just as with audiobooks, a good reading is everything. One of the most memorable readings, really a performance, was the video of Michael Sheen’s rendering of “‘Do not go gentle into that good night” by Dylan Thomas. It’s intense and he captures the rage in “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.” While reviewing it for this post, I happened to listen to several other different readings, each capturing something different.

Actually, I think both reading the written text and hearing the poetry are important. And with some longer poems, a reading may be hard to follow. Likewise, some poets arrange their text visually in ways not reproducible orally, unless simultaneously projecting the text.

All this is to say, if you struggle to get into poetry, you might try reading it aloud. Or search for someone who has read the poem. Follow along with the text. Give it a try and let me know what you think!

Five Articles Worth Reading

The articles I came across this week all seemed to explore what one might call “the big questions.” What was it about the unexamined life?

Jennifer Szalai reviews two books on living a life that matters in “The Longing to Matter Is No Laughing Matter.”

The rise of authoritarian leaders, our brave new technological world, global tensions, and our swiftly warming planet have left many with a lingering sense of existential dread. But this is not new. Livia Gershon explores philosophers and theologians who address this in “A History of Existential Anxiety.”

He was on Colbert this week and turned up on a number of book sites I follow. George Saunders new novel, Vigil is getting a lot of attention. It concerns a ghost who comes to the dying, helping them make sense of their lives and meet their deaths. Julius Taranto reviews the book in “George Saunders Brings Morality Back to Fiction.“

I spent my life as a campus minister longing for spiritual revival to break out on campuses. Recently, there have been upticks in religious activity leading some to proclaim this. Maggie Phillips notes all this and says “not so quick” in “There Is No Religious Revival.” The evidence is not that strong yet.

Finally, Charles Mathewes reviews Jonathan B. Teubner’s Charity After Augustine in “Searching for Solidarity.” The article explores Augustine’s ideas of caritas and how it might help us both understand and address the rifts in our own social fabric.

Quote of the Week

Thomas Paine was born on January 29, 1737. He observed this interesting distinction between reputation and character:

“Reputation is what men and women think of us; character is what God and angels know of us.”

Miscellaneous Musings

I love the idea of being shut in during a snow storm. Except that if you own a home, you have to think about digging out. There was so much snow that it took five sessions to clear it away over a couple of days. All I wanted to do when I came in was warm up, and rest my aching muscles! I think I finally got to that reading romance on Tuesday. So all those lovely memes of curling up with a book while the snow flies–I wish!

Friday was the first day we received a regular mail delivery. But somehow, the folks from Paraclete Press got me Steven Garber’s new Hints of Hope. Steve is a good friend and a profound thinker. And I need some hope right now. Can’t wait to read it!

Just began reading Robert MacFarlane’s Is a River Alive? That is the serious question of the book and MacFarlane is an eloquent writer. For him, rivers are not an “it.”

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: The Month in Reviews: January 2026

Tuesday: Eugene H. Peterson, Answering God

Wednesday: Jared Ayers, You Can Trust A God With Scars

Thursday: Jennifer Houston McNeel, Under Her Wings

Friday: Terry Pratchett, Mort

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for January 25-31.

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

The Weekly Wrap: January 18-24

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The Weekly Wrap: January 18-24

The Next C. S. Lewis?

No, this is not an announcement. Rather, I’ve encountered a few writers of late who have aspirations to write the next Mere Christianity (one even admitted it). And it is a discussion item that comes up periodically in Christian circles. It’s been nearly one hundred years since Lewis began writing and I cannot think of a single figure who was an educated public spokesperson for the Christian faith. The closest to come to this in my mind was the late pastor, Timothy Keller. He spoke publicly and winsomely about his faith. And his books enjoyed a circulation beyond Christian circles.

Keller underscores why so many of these Lewis-wannabes have a hard time achieving this status, if it even ought to be sought. Lewis, through his wartime broadcasts came to the notice of a public hungering for spiritual substance. Keller, based in New York gained access to media that gave him something of a similar platform. These days, especially in our diverse and Balkanized media, that kind of wide recognition is increasingly difficult. In addition, Lewis as an academic who read widely and deeply and remembered everything had an incredible store on which to draw in writing and speaking.

However, Lewis paid professionally for his public influence. Despite first-rate scholarly writing, he was not considered “serious” and only was granted the equivalent of tenure late in his academic career. Someone aspiring to the work of a “public intellectual” needs to be willing to jettison hopes for academic accolades.

Finally, I wonder if our different time requires something different. I have no idea what that is. However, I expect that if someone emerges who may someday be described as the “C.S. Lewis of our time,” it won’t be because they were trying to be like C.S. Lewis in up to date garb. More likely, I suspect it will be a person or persons who is simply faithful to their calling with their particular training, talents, and situation in life. And I suspect that the only one they will have been trying to be like is Jesus.

Five Articles Worth Reading

As I write, a winter storm is barreling toward us that most are saying it is the largest snowfall in at least five years. We’ll see. But for readers, “snow days” are reading days. And just in time for that, Calum Marsh has recommendations of “10 Long Books for Long Winter Nights.”

I thought Mark Carney’s speech at the Davos World Economic Summit was an epoch-defining speech, particular in light of the turn in foreign policy of the United States. If you haven’t heard the full speech or read a transcript you can listen to or “Read Mark Carney’s full speech on middle powers navigating a rapidly changing world.” The speech clocks in at under seventeen minutes.

I’ve long maintained that when people ban books or governments restrict what books can be read, they send a message that reading is undesirable. This seems to me something we don’t want to do in an age when reading is declining (unless we don’t want people to read). It turns out that research supports this contention. Teens read more when they can freely choose, according to “The Generational Impact of Book Bans on Teens: Book Censorship News, January 23, 2026.”

“I am lovable and capable.” This was a mantra for a generation of children. Todd Shy, a headmaster, challenges the focus on “You” in progressive education. He suggests that a focus on “Not You” might be far more important in “You and Not You.”

Finally, Bonnie Tsui explores why so many writers are athletes, or at least exercise regularly in “Why So Many Writers Are Athletes.” It turns out there is a connection between movement and creativity. Maybe that’s why our instructor in an art class this fall always began classes by having us get up and dance or at least move to music.

Quote of the Week

Poet Derek Walcott was born January 23, 1930. He remarked:

“If music goes out of language, then you are in bad trouble.”

I wonder if we are in bad trouble, given the coarseness of our public discourse.

Miscellaneous Musings

Want to learn a new language? Have you considered Akkadian? In 2011 University of Chicago scholars completed a 21-volume dictionary of Akkadian, our oldest written language. Now that dictionary is available as a free download as a ,pdf document. Open Culture offers this information in this article: “Dictionary of the Oldest Written Language–It Took 90 Years to Complete, and It’s Now Free Online.” There is also a link to listen to the Epic of Gilgamesh read in Akkadian. There’s something for your winter evenings!

However, I won’t be doing that anytime soon. My big book for winter is Israel’s Scriptures in early Christian Writings which comes in at 1166 pages. One thing that makes it easier is that each chapter includes a lengthy bibliography. If I read 50 pages a day, I can count on 12-15 pages to be bibliography, which I just skim.

I came across an article that was an excerpt of a book by Josiah Hesse titled On Fire For God. Drawing on both personal history and cultural analysis, he traces how the Jesus Movement of the 1970’s morphed into the Religious Right. That caught my attention as a product of that movement and still religious, but not part of the Religious Right. As a side note, I wrote the publicist for the book upon seeing the article at the beginning of this week, requesting a copy. It landed on my doorstep Thursday. Very impressed with the folks at Pantheon Books!

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Norman Lock, Eden’s Clock

Tuesday: Terence Lester, PhD, From Dropout to Doctorate

Wednesday: Gerhard Lohfink, Jesus and Community

Thursday: Jason Jensen, Formed to Lead

Friday: Beth Macy, Paper Girl

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for January 18-24.

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

The Weekly Wrap: January 11-17

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The Weekly Wrap: January 11-17

Adjusting to the New

I wrote awhile back about our impressive new Barnes & Noble store that replaced the old standby located nearby. However, I didn’t mention that it just didn’t feel like–well, home. I have to confess that there have been times when I just felt bewildered. Not only that, there were several times I walked out without any books.

That old store just felt so familiar. I knew where everything was and was accustomed to the way they displayed books. Basically, the store was laid out with rows of shelves with a center aisle with a help desk. There was a separate area for children’s books. The new store seems a bit more like a maze of sections.

We ended up there the other day when a scheduling mix-up gave us a couple hours to kill. And for the first time, it began to feel a bit more like home. For one thing, it was the slowest day in terms of business I’d seen. There was time to linger and read the shelves without feeling you were in someone’s way. I explored some new sections to see what they had. And my wife and I enjoyed a lovely time at the cafe, something we always enjoyed at the old store.

I’m wondering if I’m the only one who has experienced the feeling of displacement when a new bookstore replaces an old favorite. One expects everything to be novel at a new store one is exploring. But when the new store becomes one of your “defaults,” I think that is different. But I’m always reminded that every store was new to us at one time. And I’m glad that there is a new store, and not simply an empty reminder of what was once there.

Five Articles Worth Reading

This week, three of the articles feature reviews I thought interesting.

First, imagine Moby Dick with a female narrator. Xiaolu Guo has done just that with Call Me Ishmaelle. William Giraldi reviews this audacious attempt in “A Retelling of ‘Moby-Dick,’ With a Young Woman at Its Center.”

Second, imagine a novel based on the online life of a family and its real-life repercussions. In “The Unhappy Literary Families of the Internet Age” Gideon Leek reviews Lost Lambs by Madeline Cash. Leek thinks the novel need a few wolves.

The third review is of a book on my “to read” pile, The Last Supper: Art, Faith, Sex, and Controversy in the 1980s by Paul Elie. My friend Byron Borger, at Hearts and Minds Bookstore recommended this book, an analysis of the crypto-religious modern art of the 1980’s. I won’t get around to reading it for a while, so I thought I’d pass along Stephen Westich’s review: “Jesus in the Junk Shop.”

On a different note, Ted Gioia contends we are witnessing the rise of a new Romanticism. He defends that idea in this article which offers “25 Propositions about the New Romanticism.”

Finally, did you know that Wikipedia just turned 25? In “Happy Birthday, Wikipedia: We need you now more than ever,” Troy Farah argues why, amid the advent of AI and Elon Musk’s “Grokipedia,” an attempt to replace Wikipedia, Wikipedia is a uniquely valuable resource.

Quote of the Week

Essayist and novelist Susan Sontag was born January 16, 1933. She explains why I have never liked taking photographs at events:

“The camera makes everyone a tourist in other people’s reality, and eventually in one’s own.”

Wonder what the implications of this insight are for our Instagram age.

Miscellaneous Musings

Another of Byron’s recommendation is Beth Macy’s Paper Girl, a memoir of growing up in Urbana, Ohio, an hour west of me. In her opening pages she introduces us to a tenth grade dropout and to a high school grad, a young trans male weighing suicide when his plans for welding training fell through because his car blew a head gasket. She asks how her community has changed so much since the 1980’s. Riveting so far.

Oh, and I forgot to mention that I walked out of Barnes & Noble with 1929 and Gemini. The latter book reminded me of my love for the Gemini program back in the 1960. I even built a model of the Gemini capsule that I had in my room. As for 1929, I approach this one with some trepidation because I sense the author will argue that it can happen again.

After a lull over the holidays, five more books for review have arrived this week at my doorstep. Not only that, at least a couple more are due to arrive today. Well, I’m more than ready in the reading department for the next snowstorm or cold stretch to come our way!

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Michael B. Shepherd, How Did They Read the Prophets

Tuesday: Gregory Boyd with M. Scott Boren, God Looks Like Jesus

Wednesday: Justin Whitmel Early, The Common Rule Youth Edition

Thursday: Daniel K. Williams, The Search for a Rational Faith

Friday: Siddhartha Mukherjee, The Emperor of All Maladies

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for January 11-17.

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The Weekly Wrap: January 4-10

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The Weekly Wrap: January 4-10

Making Peace With My Unread Books

Umberto Eco had a library at one time of 50,000 books. He certainly never read them all. When asked about why he had so many more than he could read, he commented

“It is foolish to think that you have to read all the books you buy, as it is foolish to criticize those who buy more books than they will ever be able to read. It would be like saying that you should use all the cutlery or glasses or screwdrivers or drill bits you bought before buying new ones.“

He actually considered his unread books as a kind of “anti-library,” representing what he did not know. He thought our libraries ought be made up of both kinds of books.

I’m in conversation with many bibliophiles online and it seems to be almost universally the case that we have more books than we will probably read in this lifetime.

I think I’m coming to a greater peace with this. For one thing, I don’t know which books I won’t read. Nor do I know which books that have lounged about unread, I will find the need to read. For example, someone might mention a book, author, or topic, and I realize I have that book! And it all came in handy during the pandemic!

Of course, part of my peace with this is the prior decision to live generously. Acquiring books ought never be a miserly activity. I love giving good books to others who will read them. Likewise, our commitment to charitable giving is the first one set in my budget. Books still are discretionary, after charity, fixed expenses, and basic necessities are met.

So, I think I’m OK with what I’ve not read and won’t be able to. While there is always that yearning for “the next book,” I also find that there is a growing pleasure in having read great books and recalling them (at least as long as the memory works!).

Finally, I like to think of reading as conversations with other minds. And my TBR stack reflects others waiting their turn. It’s as if I am at a reception, engaged in a stimulating conversation, even as I’m aware of someone I’d like to meet. I savor the time in conversation, and then if our times allow, I go to make a new friend.

Five Articles Worth Reading

So, what do I do now? I share the New York Times “The Novels Everyone Will Be Talking About in 2026.” They have looked out to September and offered a list of what they think will be the talked about novels this year. I was excited to see that Ann Patchett and Elizabeth Strout have new books coming out!

On a different topic entirely, I was often asked during my years in campus ministry about spiritual attitudes on campus. “How Big Is the God Gap on College Campuses?” gets down into a lot of stats and an interesting correlation between attendance and political attitudes.

One of the “go-to” books for writers is Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. Briallen Hopper offers her own appraisal of how well the book has held up after 30 years in “Anne Lamott’s Battle Against Writer’s Block.”

I’m not the only one who thinks that coarse, rude, and aggressive behavior is becoming increasingly the norm since COVID. James McWilliams noticed this on a book tour and writes of his own response in “Why I Try to Be Kind.”

Finally, an aspect of bibliophilia is not only creating a library but enjoying the libraries of others. Enjoy “The Most Beautiful Home Libraries” from the editors of The New York Times Style Magazine.

Quote of the Week

As it happens, we celebrated Umberto Eco’s birthday on January 5. Here’s another quote about unread books:

“There are books on our shelves we haven’t read and doubtless never will, that each of us has probably put to one side in the belief that we will read them later on, perhaps even in another life.”

Miscellaneous Musings

A mute clockmaker finds himself in San Francisco to repair a a giant clock and runs into Jack London. All this just before the Great earthquake. This is the setting for Norman Lock’s Eden’s Clock. I just began reading it and found myself engrossed. Then I discovered that it is the final book in a twelve book series by Lock with Bellevue Press. I wonder if I’ll be going back and reading earlier numbers.

One of my resolves has been to read more humor. Most of the recommendations I’ve gotten are P.G. Wodehouse and Bill Bryson. Terry Pratchett, who I’m reading has also come up. I’ve read Wodehouse, all of Thurber, none of Bryson, so I’d love more suggestions.

I don’t know about you but I feel like I have whiplash from this week. The fifth anniversary of January 6, the seizure of Maduro and the US “takeover” of Venezuela, and the death of a mom in an ICE-involved shooting. I don’t want to debate the politics as everyone on social media are doing. This new video by Amy Grant, who I haven’t listened to in years, captured my own sense as one of the “Woodstock” generation, that, from such “wide-eyed hope,” we’ve “lost our way.” It seemed a kind of lament to me, a place where I find myself in prayer. I take comfort from the fact that those who lament in scripture are renewed in hope.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: J.D. Lyonhart, The Journey of God

Tuesday: Richard Osman, The Man Who Died Twice

Wednesday: Richard Baxter, The Reformed Pastor

Thursday: Dale Allison, Jr. Interpreting Jesus

Friday: Ann Hagedorn, Beyond the River

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for December 28-January 3.

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The Weekly Wrap: December 28-January 3

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The Weekly Wrap: December 28-January 3

Readers as Endangered Species

I suspect you’ve read at least one book this year. It wouldn’t surprise me if you’ve read a book a week. This week, I’ve been seeing everyone’s end of the year posts of all the books they’ve read. However, one of the articles below woke me up to the bubble we are living in.

Less than half of Americans read ONE book this year. And that number is rising. It might be time to declare the reader an endangered species. But the protection of endangered species is itself endangered, so I wouldn’t count on it. And I would hate to be part of a future zoo exhibit titled “the endangered reader” with the mock habitat of a wing chair and a booklined room.

I’ve long pondered what we can do. About all I’ve concluded is that we avoid at all costs “should-ing” over non-readers. I almost wonder if we need to reach a cultural moment where people discover reading as this “cool new thing,” kind of like how the masses seem to have rediscovered vinyl when we all thought vinyl was dead, replaced by shiny discs in cheesy jewel cases.

My sense is that things like this still spread by word of mouth as people simply gossip about the good thing of reading in their lives, and maybe pass along books they’ve loved. In other words, don’t protect booklovers, but rather turn them loose to share the “disease!”

Five Articles Worth Reading

On that note, “Reading Is a Vice” argues against our strategies of arguing the virtues of reading. After all, we “do it for the thrill of staying up late to read under the covers by flashlight, unable to stop and hoping no one finds out.”

Reviewers have positively reviewed Paul Kingsnorth’s Against the Machine in a number of major publications (even at Bob on Books!) In “Against Doom,” Emma Collins challenges Kingsnorth’s anti-technology jeremiad, concluding, “I’m tired of doom, and of doom being passed off as Christianity. Remember this: faith is about life. It’s about joy. It’s about salvation. Don’t get it twisted.”

I’ve been in a number of conversations, the gist of which is “young men are not doing well.” Richard Reeves, in “Making Men,” argues for “rites of passage,” in helping boys make the transition to responsible manhood.

However, some would argue our society as a whole is not doing so well. on one hand, we exalt radical individualism. But then we wring our hands over how to address the loneliness epidemic. Kristin M. Collier, a physician, argues that at the heart of Christian faith is restoring relationships with God, others, and ourselves. She explores the significance of communion as health in “Religio Medici.”

Lastly, this time between the end of one year and the beginning of another lends itself to consider the complexities of time, which we often take for granted. JSTOR posted a great collection of articles, “Keeping Time: A New Year’s Collection,” offering a variety of slants on this mysterious phenomenon we call “time.”

Quote of the Week

Historian John Hope Franklin was born on January 2, 1915. This quote makes the case for why we don’t erase the unhappy episodes of our history:

“If the house is to be set in order, one cannot begin with the present; he must begin with the past.”

Miscellaneous Musings

I wonder if book influencers will remember books published this month when they make their “best of the year” picks for 2026.

I love Ohio history and so I’m enjoying getting into Ann Hagedorn’s Beyond the River. It’s an account of the abolitionist and underground railroad efforts of the residents of the Ohio River town of Ripley. In particular, it focuses on Rev. John Rankin, who coupled prayer, and fighting off fugitive slave hunters with his rifle.

However, I hate cancer, which has killed people I loved and afflicted many who are near and dear. I’ve even had brushes with it in the form of a couple of skin cancers caught early. I’ve liked Siddhartha Mukherjee’s elegant writing and so have picked up his fascinating “biography” of cancer, The Emperor of All Maladies. I’m early my reading, but one striking advance is that a cancer diagnosis is no longer a badge of shame.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility

Tuesday: Gerhard Lohfink, Prayer Takes Us Home

Wednesday: Nicole Massie Martin, Nailing It

Thursday: Andrew Hui, The Study: The Inner Life of Renaissance Libraries

Friday: William F,. Buckley, Marco Polo, If You Can

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for December 28-January 3.

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The Weekly Wrap: December 21-27

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The Weekly Wrap: December 21-27

Reading Realities

“When evening comes, I return to my home, and I go into my study; and on the thresh-hold, I take off my everyday clothes, which are covered in mud and mire, and I put on regal and curial robes; and dressed in a more appropriate manner I enter into the ancient courts of ancient men and am welcomed by them kindly, and there I taste the food that alone is mine, and for which I was born; and there I am not ashamed to speak to them, to ask them the reasons for their actions; and they, in their humanity, answer me; and for four hours I feel no boredom,I dismiss every affliction, I no longer fear poverty nor do I tremble at the thought of death; I become completely part of them.”

― Niccolò Machiavelli

I came across this quote by Macchiavelli this week, describing the ideal, even transcendent, experience every reader hopes for. Maybe you have to live in a different century. But my reading experience is rarely the exalted experience of Machiavelli’s

Most often, it is like this. I sit down to read, mug of coffee at my right hand. I read a few pages and my dentist office calls-an automated message reminding me of my dental appointment next month. So, I recover the train of what I’m reading, get another sip of coffee and read a few more pages–good interesting stuff. Then my mind wanders to a conversation with a friend where something like this came up.

Realizing that my mind has been somewhere else while my eyes were scanning the lines, I back up to the point where I hopped on a rabbit trail. After reading a bit more, I notice my mind wandering somewhere else–to my bladder. The inevitable consequence of that coffee. After addressing that bodily need, I come back to my book and read another ten pages, feeling like I’m getting in the flow. Then I hear the mail truck…with a shipment of books I’ve been awaiting.

Am I the only one for whom this is true? And this is only a sampling. I haven’t even gotten to dozing off, or having a limb “fall asleep” or a myriad of other interruptions like clothes in the dryer that need to be hung up, a drain clog, or those annoying pre-registration texts from all our doctors. Maybe Machiavelli had household servants to take care of stuff like this. I don’t.

I’ve stopped dreaming of four hours without boredom in the company of great minds. An interesting new thought or an intriguing plot turn is enough. Reading doesn’t fail me. And as for the rest? It keeps me grounded in life beyond the book.

Five Articles Worth Reading

Saul Bellow was one of the authors my mother enjoyed. When I started reading him, I discovered an intelligent mind with incredible reach who created memorable characters. Tyson Duffy recalls “The Manifold Mind of Saul Bellow.”

J.R.R. Tolkien’s first son asked him about Father Christmas at age three. For the next twenty-three years, his children received an annual letter from Father Christmas, in which Tolkien created yet another imaginary world. Jake Rossen describes “When J.R.R. Tolkien Posed as ‘Father Christmas’ for 23 Years.”

Last week I posted the most popular stories from Literary Hub. This week, the editors of Literary Hub posted “Our Favorite Lit Hub Stories From 2025.” Ten more great articles selected from this year’s output.

I’m always surprised by the writers who win big awards I’ve never heard of. For example, Rabih Alameddine won this year’s National Book Award. Lily Meyer profiles him in “The Writer Fueled by Life’s Randomness.”

Finally, what do Betty Boop, The Maltese Falcon, The Little Engine That Could, and The Murder at the Vicarage all have in common? All of them will pass into the public domain on New Year’s Day! Learn what else is passing into the public domain in “The cultural works becoming public domain in 2026, from Betty Boop to Nancy Drew.”

Quote of the Week

Poet Thomas Gray was born December 26, 1716. You may have heard a version of this but never knew who said it:

“Where ignorance is bliss, ‘Tis folly to be wise.”

Miscellaneous Musings

My Christmas book haul began on Christmas Eve. Just when we were headed to church, we spotted the box on our doorstep that contained Beth Macy’s Paper Girl. An Ohio native, the book is her narrative of growing up in nearby Urbana, Ohio.

Christmas Day brought four more from my son and his wife. Two were on my wish list: Thomas Pynchon’s Shadow Ticket and Robert McFarlane’s Is A River Alive. They also came up with two others, one a mystery and one sci fi. All of them look like good reading!

I’ll be posting my 2026 Reading Challenge next week. One preview–I’ve decided to limit myself to five challenges for the year. I’m keeping it real with challenges I intend to pursue personally to enrich my own reading life.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: William Kent Krueger, Manitou Canyon

Tuesday: Louis Markos, Passing the Torch

Wednesday: Bob on Books 2026 Reading Challenge

Thursday: The Month in Reviews: December 2025

Friday: David W. Opderbeck, Faithful Exchange

And as a preview to future attractions, I will be reviewing the first Jane Austen novel I’ve read the following Monday, Sense and Sensibility.

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap  for December 21-27.

My best wishes to you all for your New Year’s celebrations. Stay safe!

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