Andrew Spencer, “The Way of Christ in Books” (Center for Faith and Culture)

“Some books are delightful because they are true, good, and beautiful. They are often worth reading merely for the experience. Some books are a drudge to read, but they are worth slogging through to understand a topic better. Pastors and teachers should read both kinds of books to serve people well, but they have to use their time wisely.”

Aishvarya Kavi, “He Read (At Least) 3,599 Books in His Lifetime. Now Anyone Can See His List” (The New York Times)

“Mr. Pelzer died at 92 on July 1 in Columbus, Ohio, where he had lived for five decades. At the funeral, his daughter, Marci Pelzer, wanted to hand out his reading list to friends and family. But at more than 100 pages, it was not practical to print physical copies. So Ms. Pelzer, 52, had her godson create a website, what-dan-read.com, which guests could access through a QR code on the back of the funeral program.”

Hailey Branson-Potts, “Enjoying This Headline? You’re a Rarity: Reading for Pleasure Is Declining, Study Says” (Los Angeles Times)

“Researchers found that people who do read for pleasure are doing so for longer stretches of time — from 1 hour 23 minutes per day in 2003 to 1 hour 37 minutes per day in 2023.

“But the percentage of Americans who leisure-read on a typical day has dropped from a high of 28% in 2004 to a low of 16% in 2023.”

Miranda Bryant, “Denmark to Abolish VAT on Books in Effort to Get More People Reading” (The Guardian)

“Denmark is to stop charging VAT on books in an attempt to get more people reading.

“At 25%, the country’s tax rate on books is the highest in the world, a policy the government believes is contributing to a growing ‘reading crisis.’

“The culture minister, Jakob Engel-Schmidt, announced on Wednesday that the government would propose in its budget bill that the tax on books be removed.”