"Prejudice is a great time saver. You can form opinions without having to get the facts." -E. B. White, born this day, 1899

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Chris Naylor-Ballesteros from his picturebook The Teacup, about preconceptions and, eventually, a welcome and a reunion for a stranger. Simple imagery suggests creatures and setting, using colours that are different but harmonise. Nosy Crow 2 July. @nosycrow.bsky.social

Jordan Harper’s new novel proves noir can still channel the crises and neuroses of the moment. www.theatlantic.com/books/2026/0...

The Weekly Wrap: July 5-11 My reading bubble, reading declines, excess books, faith conversations, professors, The Millions summer preview....

"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes." -Marcel Proust, born this day, 1871

Featured Book. I was acquainted with Phil Keaggy, who was from my home town, when he was recording "What a Day." So I was delighted to receive this new book by John B. Hatch which studies the musical composition of each track as well as the album's background. bookshop.org/p/books/oh-w...

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay. Spread by Andre Carrillho from Barney The Barnacle. Combining a cartoonist’s skill with techniques making ink run and blur to create watery effects. Text by Christian Foley about a shipwrecked band. Flying Eye 9 July. @flyingeyebooks.bsky.social @andrecarrilho.bsky.social

Review: The Gospel After Christendom An intro to cultural apologetics, explaining how it is done and in what context, and what questions it answers....

Question of the Day: Perish the thought, but if you ever had to downsize your book collection by half, how would you do it? #booksky

"Good must triumph over evil. It usually does in life and in any case it's bad for young people to believe it doesn't." ~ Barbara Cartland, born this day, 1901

Featured Book: A resource for early career faculty who are Christians on cultivating faithfulness in their calling. B & H Academic

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay. Spread by Gemma Koomen from Beacons of Light: A Journey Through the World of Lighthouses. Delightfully illustrated non-fiction with an irresistible handcrafted image of a lighthouse ship in cross section. Post Wave 9 July @gemmakoomen.bsky.social @postwavebooks.bsky.social

Review: Reading the Bible on Turtle Island A reading of scripture that takes North American indigenous culture and experience seriously....

Question of the Day: An Atlantic article, posted today, proclaimed "The End of Reading is Here." What do you think?

"Some people you can’t comfort. You can only go along with their pretending and pretend yourself." -Shirley Ann Grau, born this day, 1929

#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Angie Morgan from Small Stanley's Big List of Scary Stuff, out in paperback. Otter-Barry Books 2 July. Crisp drawing & pleasing shades of light blue & red-brown. When his list of fears blows away Stanley can't remember what he was afraid of. @otterbarrybooks.bsky.social

Optimists once believed that universal literacy was inevitable. Now it seems that the age of reading might be a short anomaly in human history. www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...

Review: The Red and the Green The tangled lives and loves of a Dublin Irish family at the time of the Irish Rebellion of Easter Monday 1916....

Question of the Day: What is at least one book that you would re-read or have re-read?

"I never learned from a man who agreed with me." Robert A. Heinlein, born this day, 1907

Featured Book. Love an Patchett's writing so looking forward to this. Have you read it and what did you think?

#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Marc Majewski from We Are All Made From Stars with text by Benedikt Lehnert. A cheerful story about the cycle of life, in which splashy, childlike, painted illustrations use bold brushstrokes to make colourful patterns. Little Gestalten 2 July. @marcmajewski.bsky.social

Review: Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace A reflection on the Prayer of St Francis and how we might be transformed into instruments of peace....

Question of the Day: When did a book come along just when you needed it? #booksky

"I am very happy in second-hand bookshops; would a gardener not be happy in a garden?" -Hilary Mantel, born this day, 1952

Featured Book. An exploration of the rich history of Christian spirituality. @ivpress.bsky.social

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Ben Sanders from Pincho: Nothing IS Possible, the satirical story of a capybara who is happy doing nothing, and a bird who has hugs, smelling the roses and laughter on a strict to-do list. Graphic image saying: just chill. Little Tiger 2 July. @littletigeruk.bsky.social

Review: Reading Evangelicals A study of how the Christian fiction evangelicals read in recent decades shaped the evangelical imagination....

Question of the Day: What is the most unusual bookstore you ever visited? #booksky

"If you can go through life without experiencing pain you probably haven't been born yet." -Neil Simon, born this day 1927

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Suhayla Ibrahim from Come to the Park, a delightful celebration of playful, sporting, social and exploratory activities for a whole day at the park. Stylised image illustrating the effect of proximity and distance. Written by Margaret Bateson-Hill. Alanna Max 29 June.

The film “Mary Oliver: Saved by the Beauty of the World” works best when it illuminates her work, whose fans include Stephen Colbert and Oprah Winfrey. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/03/m...

The Weekly Wrap: June 28-July 4 America at 250: articles, an interview with Jill Lepore, two forums, and Pope Leo XIV's letter....

"Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old." -Franz Kafka, born this day, 1883

Featured Book. Explores the connections between Paul's thought and John's, including the possibility that Paul knew John's writing, implying a radical re-evaluation of the dating of John's Gospel. Baker Academic

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Jennifer Falkner from The Story House, written by Vikki Conley, a picturebook based on children in war-torn Somalia who had never seen a book until the author gave them some. Light-filled, joyous image combining reality and imagination. New Frontier Publishing 25 June.

Review: Feasting on Hope Through her own story of loss, shows how Communion sets our grief within the larger reality of Christian hope....

An introduction to a living genius of children’s literature for the adults who will inevitably read her on repeat. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/01/b...

"Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go." -Hermann Hesse, born this day, 1877

Featured Book. What may we learn from Luther and his colleagues at Wittenberg about renewing the church? @fortresspress.bsky.social

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Heike Scharrer, a page from one of the 23 shortlisted sketchbooks for this year’s Shirley Hughes/Orange Beak Studio sketchbook award. Capturing, as Shirley did, the stance of children at play (here: building a snowman). @orangebeak.bsky.social @shirleyhughes.bsky.social

Review: Desolation Mountain When a U.S. senator's plane crashes, Cork seeks the truth behind the crash and Stephen, a recurring dream....

Question of the Day: What author, living or dead, do you think would make a good traveling companion on a cross-country car trip? #booksky

"I am growing meaner by the hour." Jean Stafford, born this day, 1915

#NewIllustrationOfTheDay by Megan Snyders from The Kingdom of Tigers written by Felicity Yeoh. In gouache with a soft line. HarperCollins Children’s Books 2 July. A story of Malaysian tigers in search of a habitat. About a mother‘s love, friendship, nature and belonging. @harpercollins.bsky.social

The Month in Reviews: June 2026 Summaries of twenty-one reviews of books at Bob on Books in June 2026 and my best book of the month....

Sarah Weinman on “Heather,” by Caitlin Mullen, and three more new books. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/28/b...

"The living owe it to those who no longer can speak to tell their story for them." ~ Czeslaw Milosz, born this day, 1911

Featured Book. A friend from the Madison, WI area sent me this memoir of the Madison Symphony director. Why should I be interested? He grew up in my hometown of Youngstown and I had a wonderful interview with him a few years ago! University of Wisconsin Press

#NewIllustrationoftheDay by Anna Ross from her funny picturebook Bumpty Dumpty: The Very Careful Egg, third prize winner, #Macmillanprize for illustration 2026. Love this (slightly trimmed) image of unravelling loo paper turning into a Joan Miro/Roy Lichtenstein homage. @macmillankidsuk.bsky.social