My Book Purge and the Search for Meaningful Reads

The Sunday Post, Issue #288

Table of Contents

• The Editorial
• On the Reading Block
• Fresh Off the Press
• Some Final Thoughts

The Sunday Post is a weekly event hosted by Caffeinated Reviewer.

The Editorial

It’s been a minute since my last Sunday Post... No excuses here; I simply took a break from blogging to clear my mind and recalibrate. I embarked on a two-week expedition through my beloved book collection, a journey that culminated in a car trunk brimming with volumes I no longer needed, all destined for the local Salvation Army. Amongst them was an impressive stack of James Patterson titles—some I'd never contemplate reading again—mixed with a hodgepodge of other authors. Why the purge, you ask? Well, my shelves are overflowing, and let's face it, I don't have the luxury of infinite space. I would have given up more, but alas, I ran out of boxes—not exactly the ideal situation for a bibliophile!

On the Reading Block

Currently, I’m reading Pendergast: The Beginning by Preston & Child, with high hopes for a review by Wednesday. Then, I might move on to Star Trek: Identity Theft by Greg Cox or perhaps one of the other ARCs teetering dangerously in my ever-growing pile like a precarious house of cards.

Fresh Off the Press

My last book review was a month ago: A Colorado Christmas by William W. Johnstone and J.A. Johnstone. But fear not—reviews are making their grand comeback this week! Keep your eyes peeled for my thoughts on John Irving's Queen Esther on Tuesday, followed by Pendergast: The Beginning on Wednesday, and closing the week with The Gunsmith: The Jingle Bell Trail by J.R. Roberts on Saturday. And let’s not forget about Clint: The Man and the Movie by Shawn Levy—I’ve read it, but I can’t quite pin down when the review will drop. Maybe I’ll sneak it in on the 31st as a Gunsmoke & Grit spot.

Some Final Thoughts

My love of reading is a flame that will forever flicker inside me. But I’m grappling with some pretty strong aversions to the current state of the book industry. It seems like big chain bookstores and box stores are knee-deep in the swirling tide of trending BookTok recommendations, sidelining actual bestsellers. Just my two cents, but these BookTok picks often feel like literary fast food—quickly consumed but quickly forgotten. Do the influencers truly read these books, or are they simply riding the wave of what’s trending?

Not to say that the bestsellers are any better; some are enough to make a bibliophile weep! Finding new books to devour has turned into a scavenger hunt for me. The YA fantasy, cliched romances, and downright predictable mysteries just don’t cut it anymore. I'm on the lookout for something more—something that sends a chill down my spine or twists my mind in knots. A craving for the haunting, the profound, the unexpected—a call for stories that linger long after the last page is turned.

〜B.J. Burgess