Thomas Pynchon

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: October 19-25

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The Weekly Wrap: October 19-25

Book Affordability

BookRiot ran a story this week arguing “We’re in a Book Affordability Crisis.” One of the key pieces in this affordability crisis is the phasing out of mass market paperbacks, hitting the romance segment of the market most heavily (although many mysteries, thrillers, and science fiction/fantasy have been published in this format as well). Remember when you could buy one of these for $.50 to $.95? Even in recent years, prices were under $10, many even under $7.

The next step up is the trade paperback with price points in the $16-20 range. That represents a doubling in cost. Of course, hardbacks are just out of reach for many. So what do people do? Some dedicated readers just cut back in other areas as they can. But the book trade cannot depend on that. Retail sellers will probably lean into loyalty programs and periodic sales, and pre-release discounts.

But many dedicated readers will probably move away from retail purchasing. Second hand sales, ranging from online sellers like Thriftbooks to physical stores and library sales may benefit. But their prices are rising as well, and eventually, their supply of mass market books will decrease. Others will just hit the library, which means longer waitlists. And libraries will feel the pinch of higher acquisition costs in all formats.

And like the folks at BookRiot, I don’t see more e-book buying. Digital Rights Management limits re-selling options for books you only license, not own. And often, the cost is not that different from physical books, unless you spot a discount.

Dedicated readers are resourceful, and most already have an ample stock laid up so that they can “shop their shelves.” One way or another, they will find a way to feed their habit. I’m less sure about “budding readers.” But this also poses challenges for retail sellers, especially indie booksellers, whose ability to buy at discount are less. I wonder, as does BookRiot, whether, in the end, publishers will come up with some kind of under $10 option. Maybe they will realize that the mass market is a market.

Five Articles Worth Reading

But is all this a sign we are entering a post-literate society? I first read many classics — Dietrich Bonhoeffer, C.S. Lewis, Dickens, and Dostoevsky — in mass market paperbacks (and still have some of them!). James Marriott believes we are on the other side of a three century reading revolution and are witnessing “The dawn of the post-literate society.” I wonder if we serious readers are becoming dinosaurs. At least I will keep doing my part to “light a candle rather than curse the darkness.”

Nevertheless, Thomas Pynchon keeps writing. Gus Mitchell reviews The Shadow Ticket in “The American Dream-Master.” The novel explores fascism in 1930’s America. Hmm.

She’s written “about animals, about orchids, about a female bullfighter in Spain, about the Los Angeles Central Library, about the life and death of a 346-year-old tree, about subjects you didn’t think you cared about but actually do.” “She” is Susan Orlean and her new memoir’s title Joyride gives us a glimpse of what it has been like. So Sarah Lyell sat down with her to talk about that life and the new book and discovered “How Writing Helped Susan Orlean Find a ‘Bigger Place in the World’“

Then another reason for not giving up on the possibility of a return to literacy is that great books continue to be written. This week, Publisher’s Weekly released its “Best books of 2025.” The list covers 150 fiction, non-fiction, teen, and youth books. But it does seem a tad early for “best book” lists. Isn’t there anything good coming out in the next two months?

As I write, baseball’s World Series is underway. College and pro football and soccer are in full swing. The hockey season just began and basketball is not far off. All that is to make the point that literacy need not preclude reading books about sports. There has been and is some great sports writing. David Halberstam, Roger Angell and George Will all wrote great baseball books. Will Leitch introduces us to some great books in “Seven Books That Will Change How You Watch Sports.”

Quote of the Week

Novelist Michael Crichton was born October 23, 1942. He made this pithy observation:

“I am certain there is too much certainty in the world.”

Nowhere does this seem more true than on social media where it seems we need a daily dose of epistemic humility!

Miscellaneous Musings

I’m reading What We Can Know by Ian McEwan. The story revolves around the quest for a lost poem in a post-apocalyptic world, a century from now. Many coastal cities have been inundated. Regional wars, some using “limited” nuclear options, paradoxically have helped cool the climate. But the title reflects the effort to reconstruct a dinner party from 2014 and a poem read in honor of the poet’s wife’s birthday. The poet was famous in his time, the poem thought to be a masterwork. However, in his scenario, the period beginning in 2030 is called “The Derangement.’ That seems plausible.

I was gratified to write the publicist at a small publisher for a review copy of a new book. She remembered my reviews of a couple of their books from several years back and was glad to send the book. That personal touch is increasingly rare. More often, you just submit a form. Who knows, maybe there is an AI bot in the future, who may seem personal. But the human connection is one of the things about reviewing that I’ve most valued.

I really need to do something for our mail carrier this Christmas. The daily USPS Informed Delivery email from the post office revealed I had four books coming from different publishers. I knew those wouldn’t fit in our mailbox so I raced to meet her when I heard the truck. But she was already on my doorstep, scanning the packages when I got there. She’s really terrific. Any ideas of a good and appropriate gift?

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Andre Trocme’, The Memoirs of Andre Trocme’

Tuesday: Agatha Christie, The Idol House of Astarte

Wednesday: Norah Whipple Caudill, Old Testament Wisdom & Poetry

Thursday: John Henry Newman, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine

Friday, Ian Mc Ewan, What We Can Know

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for October 19-25.

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

The Weekly Wrap: September 28-October 4

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The Weekly Wrap: September 28-October 4

Series Love

Thursday dashed my hopes for my beloved Cleveland Guardians making it to the World Series. But the World Championship of baseball isn’t my only series love. I am a book series lover. Why? It’s simple, when you find an author whose writing and ensemble of characters and plots you like, it is a bonus, when there are twenty or more books beside the one you are reading. It makes the choice of what to read next easier.

I’m fond of saying that Louise Penny got me through the pandemic. And her latest hits the stores soon! I want to be Gamache when I grow up. I dream of visiting Myrna Landers bookstore. I’d like to order a sampler of all the good dishes the Bistro serves. And what can I say about Ruth Zardo…

Thanks to a friend’s recommendation, I’ve been reading William Kent Krueger’s Cork O’Connor stories. I just finished number fourteen. But I won’t buy the new one, Apostles Cove, and read out of order. It will likely have spoilers for books I haven’t read yet.

Some series, like this are best read in order, But others can be picked up just about anywhere. I’ve found that true of Agatha Christies Poirots. Although they are numbered, I just read them as I find them. Likewise for the Lord Peter Wimsey books, although the development of his relationship with Harriet Vane occurs over several books.

Alas, there are also the series I haven’t finished. Some, like the Patrick O’Brien Aubrey-Maturin series I can’t really say why. I even have all the books. In the case of another series, I am a couple short, but I just felt the writer was losing her touch and they weren’t as good.

My latest series project, at the behest of my son, is Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series which runs to 41 books. Not sure whether I’ll finish that one (or live long enough to do so!) but I finished #1 and will go on to #2. At least I don’t have to wonder what I read next. Thanks to my son, all 41 are loaded on my Kindle.

Five Articles Worth Reading

Since college, I’ve been hearing about Thomas Pynchon. He’s one I’ve never gotten around to reading. After a hiatus, Pynchon has a new novel out, Shadow Ticket. If you are thinking of taking him up, A.O. Scott offers a reading guide in “The Essential Thomas Pynchon.”

My mom was a Leon Uris fan. And so, I read some of his books that she had laying around the house. And if you are of my generation, you can’t forget the music theme, and perhaps the film version of Exodus. Alexander Nazaryan remembers his novels about Israel in “An Exodus from History.”

One of the more popular prints I’ve seen adorning many walls is The Great Wave off Kanagawa. If Japanese wave and ripple patterns fascinate you, Public Domain has posted three volumes of these from a 1903 work by artist Mori Yūzan. The article is: “Hamonshu: A Japanese Book of Wave and Ripple Designs (1903).”

Although my Guardians season is over my love for baseball is not. But a new development, allowing appeals to “robotic umpires” might take some of the magic away. Each umpire has his or her own strike zone. Managers, batters, and pitchers all make it their business to know and part of ‘inside baseball” are all the adjustments. Take that away for an “objective” strike zone and I think the game will lose something. So does Nick Burns, who writes about “The Disenchantment of Baseball.”

Many of us who were around in 1972 were captivated by Cat Stevens’ rendering of an old Christian hymn “Morning Has Broken.” It was number one in the US that year. Over the years, from rough beginnings, he has explored a number of faiths before landing in Islam and taking the name Yusuf Islam. Now, he has published an autobiography. The Guardian ran a review this week: “Cat on the Road to Findout by Yusuf/Cat Stevens review – fame, faith and charity.”

Quote of the Week

Miguel Cervantes was born on September 29, 1547. He wrote:

“In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd.“

I wondered if this was the inspiration of the song “The Impossible Dream” from Man of La Mancha. It captured the imagination of so many of us in the 1960’s, when many of us dared dream the impossible.

Miscellaneous Musings

Amidst our immigration debates, I’ve wondered why people would leave home, family, community, take perilous journeys, and seek refuge in a country not particularly eager to have them. In The Asylum Seekers, which I’m reading at present, that question is answered. It usually amounts to a life threatened or a family member murdered. It strikes me that the qualities of character such people exhibit suggest the kind of people we’d want to welcome.

I’ve been hearing a lot about Paul Kingsnorth’s Against the Machine. He wrestles with the wave of technology overwhelming us (did any of us ask for all this AI?). He’s concerned that this threatens something essential to our humanity. Despite the flood of money flowing into this tech boom, it seems to me essential to ask these questions.

The backdrop of William Kent Krueger’s Windigo Island is the trafficking of young girls to satisfy the sexual appetites of men on lake freighters and in oil boom towns. The book underscored the moral unacceptability of this practice, even among billionaire playboys. Whatever comes of the Epstein fiasco, I hope we will determine to be a society with zero tolerance for such crime, which is what it is, and no leniency for traffickers, procurers, and perpetrators.

Next Week’s Reviews

Monday: Kristin M. Colberg and Jos Moons, SJ, The Future of Synodality

Tuesday: Ross Douthat, Believe

Wednesday: David McCullough, History Matters

Thursday: Randy S. Woodley, Shalom and the Community of Creation

Friday: Stanley Hauerwas, The Peaceable Kingdom

So, that’s The Weekly Wrap for September 28-October 4.

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