Storing Up Books for Winter

We have an abundance of squirrels in our neighborhood. And a neighbor who feeds them peanuts. How do we know? Because we find them stored in one of our flower pots by the front door!

I think bibliophiles go through something like this as cooler temperatures arrive. We start thinking of having a stack of books for reading on those cold winter nights.

And the fact that fall is the time when publishers role out some of their big titles. They are like that neighbor with his peanuts. I didn’t find a pile of peanuts at my door yesterday. Rather, it was a box of books from a publisher whose books I like to review. Five books! Along with other books I’ve bought or received for review, I’m prepared for winter!

So if someone looks askance at that pile of books from a book sale or the library, just tell them you are storing up for winter. And read on

Five Articles Worth Reading

Speaking of forthcoming books, The Millions posted its much-anticipated “The Great Fall 2024 Book Preview.” It features both well- and lesser-known authors. There’s even a new book by Kenneth C. Davis titled The World in Books.

So far, everything I’ve written here assumes the love of books. But not everyone shares the love, Publisher’s Weekly addressed the question of “How to Make Reading Fun Again.” The focus is particularly with school-aged children where the battle is often won or lost and where books increasingly compete with screens.

On a related but deeper note, I came across this “Letter of Pope Francis on the Role of Literature in Formation.” Francis writes, “What I would like to address here is the value of reading novels and poems as part of one’s path to personal maturity.” This is one of the most profound statements I’ve read of the power of literature to form character and change our lives.

Intellectual humility is often touted these days as a virtue for readers and scholars. Rachel Fraser wonders if sometimes intellectual humility is just cowardice. She considers Barbara McClintock as someone who was anything but intellectually humble in “Against Humility.”

Finally, Hillary Kelly reminds us “You Are Going to Die” in a review of Four Thousand Weeks in which Oliver Burkeman is described as “an unlikely self-help guru by reminding everyone of their mortality.”

Quote of the Week

I am a fan of Graham Greene ever since reading The Power and the Glory in college. He was born October 2, 1904. I thought this quote an example of his penetrating insights into the human condition:

“It is impossible to go through life without trust: that is to be imprisoned in the worst cell of all, oneself.”

Miscellaneous Musings

As you may know, I love local history, having written over 500 pieces on my hometown of Youngstown. We also lived for a time in the Cleveland area. Terminal Tower is one of the most recognizable landmarks of the city. In Invisible Giants, I’m reading the fascinating account of the two Van Sweringen brothers who built this complex of buildings, developed Shaker Heights and Shaker Square, rapid transit systems, and a railroad empire.

I hear from friends of the struggles libraries are facing in the UK, many closing and some being run by volunteers. In my city, libraries seem valued and well-funded and serve so many constituencies so well. Yet I recognize that without continued efforts and vigilance, this could change.

One of the newer local stores I have yet to visit is Griffey’s Book Emporium, located in Delaware, Ohio. I just learned that they offer an unusual service, book repair and rebinding. They do require a consultation during which they can view and handle the book in person before booking any services. I have an old family Bible that might qualify. It is good to know there is a place we might go to preserve books we treasure in our throwaway society!

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

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

A Visit to an Old Friend

We visited one of those “destination” bookstores on Thursday, The Book Loft of German Village, German Village is a historic neighborhood on the South Side of Columbus, Ohio. Most of the homes and businesses, and even many of the streets are brick. The Book Loft consists of three connected buildings once housing a general store, a saloon and a nickelodeon cinema. It is a veritable maze of 32 rooms on several floors in east and west buildings, all connected by book-lined hallways. But don’t despair if you fear getting lost in the maze. Maps are available and store personnel wander around helping the lost and bewildered.

I mentioned visiting an old friend. We live in the Columbus area but probably haven’t visited for over 20 years. There are several Barnes & Nobles and Half Price Books, and a few other stores that are closer. But a visit with a friend included a stop at the store. Sometimes old friends change when you haven’t seen them. This one hadn’t, it seemed. There was still the entrance on the side of the building, accessed via a flower and plant-lined walk. Outside the door, one could still find numerous tables of adult and children’s books at a bargain.

The selection of books, all new and all discounted at least five percent up to ninety percent was amazing. It’s probably the best to find the rooms of your greatest interests. Amazingly, I only bought three books, including some recent poems of Dana Gioia, whose work I’ve recently discovered.

The only thing that seemed changed was me. A younger me would have navigated the narrow steps, some without railings, with greater ease. As an older building, much of it is not handicap accessible and older customers who are not as sure footed may want to be accompanied. Staff will gladly help retrieve books you are looking for–but looking is more than half the fun.

That said, with the passing of other beloved bookstores, I was pleased to find this one going strong. In addition, Stauf’s Coffee is next door and brews some of the best coffee in Columbus. The perfect end to a bookstore outing!

Five Articles Worth Reading

“Read These Stories of Haitians and Haitian Americans” features the work of Edwidge Danticat. I keep hearing of her work and with Haitians in our Ohio news, it seems timely to learn more about the culture and experiences of these people.

Richard Powers, who last wrote about trees has turned his attention to oceans in a new work of fiction, Playground. Lit Hub posted an interview with him you might find worth a read: “Richard Powers on Chronicling Our Relationship With Nature and Technology“

I went through a season of reading everything P.D. James, the late detective novelist, wrote. So it was fun to read this interview from 1995 in the Paris Review archives. Don’t wait, because these don’t stay up forever!

“How to Pay Attention: On the Value of Stillness and Silence in All Seasons” reminded me that I do not need to leave my backyard to observe the natural world, full of wonders right around me.

Finally, it seems that one of the “hot” books right now is Sally Rooney’s latest, Intermezzo. “The Rooneyverse Comes of Age” in the Atlantic offers a good review of the book.

Quote of the Week

Horace Walpole was born September 24, 1717. He made this insightful comment:

“The whole secret of life is to be interested in one thing profoundly and in a thousand things well.”

It’s an axiom that has worked for me!

Miscellaneous Musings

I’ve slowly been trying to work more poetry into my reading. The big challenge is to know whose poetry to read. I’ve found two ways that help. One is to read someone’s poetry in a journal. The other is to read a selection of their poetry in an anthology. So, I decided to buy some of the work of Dana Gioia because of a selection of his poems in Contemporary Catholic Poetry: An Anthology. This is a great way to learn about a number of poets and identify those you want to read more of.

Last night I was with a group of grad students and we had a fascinating discussion of what makes one a virtuous reader. It strikes me that we put a lot of weight on the authors of books. But isn’t it a partnership of sorts. And thus, isn’t it right for authors to at least hope for virtue in their readers–that they will read with attentiveness and patience and do the hard work of try to enter the author’s world?

Perhaps on a related note, writing about reading and working to more skillfully review books makes me wonder if reading is a skill at which we strive to grow and improve, not just a basic skill we utilize throughout our lives. I find myself wanting to read with greater comprehension, to be able to situate a writer within his or her genre, or to understand the conversation that writer is having with others. I’d love to know if this is something other readers think about and perhaps strive for, or am I just weird in that regard (weird is OK, too)?

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

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

You Can’t Read That

Book-banning and censorship has been much in the book news. But I came across an article (posted below) that offers evidence that conservatives are not the only ones who censor literature. This also occurs in progressive literary and scholarly circles. Works accepted for publication get pulled or requests are made to change content of works already deemed to meet the literary or scholarly criteria of the publication. Why? Basically, because of content deemed offensive to some group.

Behind the act of censorship is the assumption that one group has the power to determine what others may read. It is also a decision to not trust readers (or in the case of children, parents) to exercise their own discernment. Not only is this a dangerous assumption of power, it is an admission of failure.

It is a failure of moral education. Censorship often concerns material at variance with one’s morals. Instead of equipping people to make moral choices, censorship precludes moral choices.

It is also a failure in critical education. It may be a failure in teaching how one reads carefully to comprehend what a writer is doing. Or it may be a failure to teach the critical skills for evaluating an argument, including discerning logical fallacies.

Instead someone decides what others can’t read. Sometimes a few people decide for many others. Whoever does this, it destroys a free and open society. And it is an admission of our greatest failure–a failure of our ideas. When we suppress what we think are bad ideas, we tacitly admit that we don’t have better ones–ones that are more winsome and persuasive.

Five Articles Worth Reading

“Scenes From The Literary Blacklist” published in Persuasion, describes the chilling effect of censorship in academic and literary circles and argues that the consequence will be academic and literary pablum.

On the other hand, “The Author of ‘Impossible Creatures’ Tucks Big Ideas in Tales of Wonder” in the New York Times offers the review of the work of Katherine Rundell. In case you haven’t heard of her, she won the Baillie Gifford Prize for non-fiction (50,000 pounds) for a work on the poetry of John Donne. And she has a new children’s book, Impossible Creatures, that is being compared to works of Tolkien, Lewis, and Pullman.

Stephen Metcalf reviews Christophe Lebold’s Leonard Cohen: The Man Who Saw the Angels Fall in an Atlantic article titled “The Anti-Rock Star.” I first encountered Cohen in the late’60’s in his compelling “Suzanne.” He disappeared from my radar for a long time only to re-emerge in the 2000’s with “Hallelujah.” Metcalf filled in the gaps of his career and highlights Cohen’s singular gifts as a writer.

Katie Ward offers a wonderful tribute to the late Hilary Mantel for her role as a mentor in “Hilary Mantel was my mentor. Here are seven things she taught me about writing – and life” A great article for aspiring writers.

Mad Magazine epitomized the anti-establishment mood of the Sixties. As I recall, Alfred E. Neuman was even nominated for President. Take a walk down memory, or discover Mad for the first time in “The Madcap History of Mad Magazine Will Unleash Your Inner Class Clown.“

A Bonus Video

This isn’t an article but rather a video from three years ago when the then-Prince of Wales read Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “God’s Grandeur,” one of my favorite poems. I found it an incredibly moving reading, capturing the mood and movements of the poem. See if you agree, and enjoy the bonus!

Quote of the Week

Following a theme from last week, this quote from Samuel Johnson also focuses on attention. Johnson was born September 18, 1709.

“The true art of memory is the art of attention.”

Since we cannot remember everything, I wonder if part of the art is discerning to what we give our attention.

Miscellaneous Musings

My wife reminded me this week that with Jimmy Carter’s 100th birthday coming on October 1, I should read one of his books. While I’m not sure I can fit that in, it turns out I have plenty to choose from. In addition to serving as our 39th president and his humanitarian work, he wrote 32 books. What an amazing life.

I just finished A Prairie Faith by John J. Fry. It is a study of the religious faith of Laura Ingalls Wilder. She was known for the Little House books which we loved reading aloud as a family when our son was growing up. I discovered that we have her daughter Rose, at least in part, to thank for the quality of these books, and even for the initial publication of the first of these.

Do you re-read books? An occupational hazard of reviewing is having a steady stream of new books to review. In retirement, one of the things I hope to do is revisit some old friends and see how we’ve both changed with the passage of years!

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

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

On Book Award Lists

It’s the time of the year when various book prize lists are announced. Of course, authors, publishers, and booksellers pay attention. But my sense is that the majority of avid readers do not. I’ve been thinking why that is and of what significance that is.

One reason may be that most of us don’t even hear of these books until awards are announced, if that. If you are not in the circle of elite critics or booksellers and librarians, you don’t hear of them ahead of time. And aside from bestsellers that generate a lot of buzz among readers, like Perceval Everett’s James this year, many may never hear of them.

Another reason may be that readers may not read in the “niche” of the awards, generally headier literary fiction or nonfiction. Only if the award is in that niche, say the Agatha awards for mysteries or the Hugos for science fiction, may you recognize some of the books.

But I also think there is a gap between the world of literary critics and the reading public in terms of what makes a great book. This was underscored earlier this year when the New York Times published its list of the top 100 books of the current century (so far). I only read 17 of them. But to their credit, they let readers vote and many of the books I thought should be there were in the readers picks.

There’s a stereotype that writers on these lists are products of MFA programs writing for MFAs while the more popular writers write for readers–they understand that readers want something that holds their interest, makes them turn the page, has compelling characters and tells a compelling story. At the same time, there are those writers of imagination and originality who manage to communicate something of their vision on the page and aren’t paying attention to anything else, and the critics may be the ones to bring them to our awareness.

How do you bridge the gap? I’m not sure but I wonder if book bloggers and BookTokkers can help. They sometimes have a wider reach than the critics. It seems that intermediaries between the world of book awards and the world of readers are needed. I suspect there are great books few will hear of otherwise.

Five Articles Worth Reading

What sparked my thoughts was the release of the National Book Awards longlist this week. Publishers Weekly posted an article with all the books in each category. There are a few I will be looking for on my next trip to the bookstore.

Alexander Manshel, writing for The Nation has noticed a trend away from contemporary to historical fiction in the books making the fiction lists for such awards. He writes about it in “How Historical Fiction Redefined the Literary Canon.”

Robert Caro is familiar to many of us for his multi-volume biography of Lyndon Johnson, still in process. But before that project, he wrote a massive biography of Robert Moses, a never-elected New York bureaucrat who shaped the city in ways that affect it to this day. The Powerbroker was published 50 years ago, in 1974. Caro sat down for a podcast interview with the New York Times for a retrospective on that book and his writing life. Listen to it here.

Anna Johnston observes the relative dearth of aging characters in fiction. She explores how to write such characters in “Why We Need More (and Better) Depictions of Old People in Literature.”

You may have proclaimed that the book is better than the movie. Or maybe you’ve said reading is watching a movie in your mind. Danika Ellis contends in “Books Aren’t Mental Movies: You’re Missing the Best Part of Reading” that books are about far more than visual imagery. They are about the use of language.

Quote of the Week

I have one thing in common with the poet Mary Oliver. I lived for nine years in the city of her birth, Maple Heights, Ohio. She was born there September 10, 1935. I found this quote by her that is axiomatic for life.

“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”

Miscellaneous Musings

One cue for me to explore a new writer is when their name continues to be mentioned by other writers. The latest, for me is Teilhard de Chardin. a French Jesuit priest, scientist, theologian, and philosopher. I found a couple of his books that I hope to read soon.

I’ve been reading about constitutionalism. I’ve realized afresh how important upholding constitutions are to just government. In particular, there are laws to which our leaders must be subject or things can go badly awry.

Finally, a pet peeve. I like writing about books. I love telling people about books worth reading. I’m grateful when publishers provide copies of books to review. And some publicists are great and are real partners in the enterprise. What I don’t like is when I reach out, in some cases repeatedly, requesting review copies. And I hear nothing. I don’t understand why they provide emails or contact forms and don’t respond. It’s just rude, especially when you want to help connect their book with your audience. End of rant!

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

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

On the Lending of Books

This week, on social media, I asked people about their practice and experience of lending books. I was surprised by the range of responses. On one hand, some just felt that books were for sharing, that our greatest tribute to a book is to share it with others. Many of these lend with an open hand, not expecting to see their book again. Others who had good experiences had friends who returned borrowed books.

But then there were the bad experiences. Many of these seemed associated with lending a cherished book that was never returned. In general, bad experiences involve people failing to return books. For this reason, some no longer lend.

It seems that one principle might be to not lend a book, the loss of which will make you resent the person who borrowed the book. Now if all your books are precious, that could be a problem! One person I know would only continue to lend books to a person if that person returned previously borrowed books. For me, I get so many books that I’m happy to lend or give them away. The only exceptions are reference book and a handful of books that are important because of content, memories, or because they were a gift representing an important friendship (and such books are often personally inscribed).

How do you deal with lending books?

Five Articles Worth Reading

Did you page through volumes of an encyclopedia as a child? I did. Most of these are now digital but Daniel M. Rothschild writes of the value of physical volumes “In Praise of Reference Books.” He believes the unpretentious reference book deserves a place in literature alongside fiction and non-fiction.

Speaking of encyclopedias, Joseph Epstein writes of his experience editing the Encyclopedia Britannica and his and the most famous figure associated with it in his era, Mortimer Adler. The article is “The Love Song of Mortimer J. Adler” who Epstein characterizes as “high on the past century’s list of savant idiots, or intellectually dazzling figures who get all important things wrong.”

Anyone who writes or edits the writing of others is aware of the importance of syntax. In “I Sing the Electric Body,” Brian Patrick Eha explores how the art of arranging words and phrases can result in muddle or clarity. Then he offers examples of brilliant and questionable syntax in literature.

The Joanine Library in Portugal is one of the most gorgeous libraries of the world, housing many old and rare volumes. Controlling moths and beetles that feast on bindings is a major challenge. Atlas Obscura features their natural form of pest control in “In This Beautiful Library, Bats Guard the Books.”

Finally, We go from bats to bookworms in “The Not-So-Nice Origins of ‘Bookworm.’ ” It turns out that the term was once far more derogatory than it is today. At least now, bookworms are sometimes celebrated, especially among fellow bibliophiles.

Quote of the Week

Novelist Frank Yerby was born September 5, 1916. He made this telling observation:

“Maturity is reached the day we don’t need to be lied to about anything.”

So, am I mature yet?

Miscellaneous Musings

Here’s a reviewer’s dilemma. I recently posted a book review of an author I’d reviewed before and respected for what he wrote. Only after I posted did I discover credible reports of a pattern of improprieties that led to his firing from his most recent academic post. So what does one do? Pull the review? Hope no one knows about it? Leave the post up and append a note acknowledging the information that had subsequently come to my attention? I chose the latter course since the post was out there. But that’s likely the last review I’ll post of that author.

Just finished a book exploring the theology of life on other planets. Given the number of habitable planets in the universe, what does this mean for our belief in God, and for Christians, belief in the saving work of Christ? How far does this extend? And if we believe in some form of natural law, does that hold for other planets?

I wrote a review of the bookseller Thriftbooks several years ago and it has been the gift that keeps giving. Not only does it continue to garner views, but because of a recommendation link in the post, I got several free books on my account just this week! Sweet!

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

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

Today is my last day of employment with the collegiate ministry for whom I’ve worked forty-eight years. I’ve always tried to make clear that the views and books reviewed in this blog do not reflect the views of that organization. After today, that disclaimer will no longer be necessary.

Understandably, I’ve done a good deal of reflecting on this journey, filled with much gratitude. But I’ve not written until now on the impact of my work on my life as a reader. So I thought this a good space.

On one hand, I’ve always been a reader ever since I learned how to read. But work in this context made me a better reader in several ways. For one, several leaders stressed that we can only give out what we have within us and the importance of reading deeply to replenish the well. So I would use summers, when students were away to sink my teeth into deep books: Augustine, Calvin, Luther, Bonhoeffer and others.

A second influence was working alongside people like the late James Sire, whose book How to Read Slowly really taught me to read critically, to not just let books wash over me. Jim was a voracious reader, who introduced me to new authors, like Polish science fiction writer Stanislaw Lem.

A third influence that shaped me was to work among graduate students and faculty. This taught me not to fear opposing views. This, coupled with the conviction that all truth is God’s truth, taught me to read fearlessly. And I learned to have a greater tolerance for ambiguity as part of the process in inquiry.

Finally, we believed God’s love knows no boundaries which has encouraged me to read the works of people of different ethnicity and national origin. There is so much more to the world than the perspective of this White American! All these influences have, I believe, made me a better reader, for which I’m grateful.

Five Articles Worth Reading

Students are returning to college campuses. Appropriately, Bookriot ran an article this week on “A History of The Campus Novel.” Campuses make a great setting for all sorts of fiction, as this article suggests.

I mentioned how limiting only looking at the world from a Western perspective can be. Polish scholar and essayist Małgorzata Gorczyńska in “A Rolled-up Paper Gun” delineates some of the ways Eastern Europeans read and see the world differently.

Have you ever said, “we live in uncertain times.” Emily McCrary-Ruiz-Esparza makes the case in “We Live in Uncertain Times… But Haven’t We Always?” that this is nothing new. And she proposes, “Let us learn to be comfortable with unknowability. We don’t know what will happen next, and we cannot know.” The illusion of certainty may be our greater enemy.

Mat Messerschmidt considers why the works of Friedrich Nietzsche hold so much sway with many young men and how this reflects our crisis of masculinity in “Over Man.”

Finally, you might enjoy listening to this conversation as “Isabel Wilkerson Looks Back at “The Warmth of Other Sons.” This is part of the New York Times conversations with authors appearing on their “Best of the 21st Century” list.

Quote of the Week

Jorge Luis Borges was born August 24, 1899. He offered this speculation with which many of us would resonate:

“I have always imagined that Paradise will be a kind of library.”

Miscellaneous Musings

I wish Elizabeth Peters had written fifty Brother Cadfael’s. I’m on number 16 of 22 and I don’t want the series to end. At least Louise Penny has another Gamache coming out this fall and William Kent Krueger is still turning out books in his Cork O’;Connor series.

I reviewed And There Was Light by Jon Meacham on Abraham Lincoln. I don’t know if Lincoln was elected for his character and convictions, but it was crucial to his leadership. But in posting this, I learned of another book by the same title, an autobiography of Jacques Lusseyran. Although blind at the age of 7, by 17 he became a leader of the French resistance to the Nazis. I ordered a copy, because the person who recommended it was the one who put me onto William Kent Krueger and she considered this in her top five.

Leonard Riggio died this week. He turned Barnes & Noble into a bookselling giant, a threat to many indie booksellers, at least until Amazon came along, and the suddenly were united against a common competitor. The store near us opened during his era and seems to be thriving under the leadership of James Daunt. The Chicago Sun Times obituary offers a good profile of his career.

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

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