Ryanne Molinari, “Novel Friendships for Pastors’ Wives” (The Gospel Coalition)

“When facing difficulties or simply day-to-day life as a pastor’s wife, I know countless resources are available to me. Nonfiction books and ministry communities abound, for which I’m thankful. However, when I simply need encouragement and refreshment, I often return to novels in which pastors’ wives figure as characters. . . . I’d like to offer a few reading recommendations for pastors’ wives that I’ve found at once enjoyable and edifying.”

Rose Horowitch, “The Elite College Students Who Can’t Read Books” (The Atlantic)

“Whether through atrophy or apathy, a generation of students is reading fewer books. They might read more as they age—older adults are the most voracious readers—but the data are not encouraging. The American Time Use Survey shows that the overall pool of people who read books for pleasure has shrunk over the past two decades. A couple of professors told me that their students see reading books as akin to listening to vinyl records—something that a small subculture may still enjoy, but that’s mostly a relic of an earlier time.”

Nadya Williams, “Home Libraries Will Save Civilization” (Front Porch Republic)

“When books are everywhere, they distract us with their presence in a good way—they demand to be read, shaping the people around them in small but meaningful ways, moment by moment, page by page. They send us on rabbit trails to find yet more books on related topics, to ask friends for recommendations, and sometimes just to sit quietly and reflect, overcome with an emotion sparked by an author who has been dead for centuries but one that expresses the state of our soul in this moment.”