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My Life in Seventeen Books: A Literary Memoir
A memoir for the bookish-inclined, using personal stories to demonstrate how books have a magical way to move a person from one stage of life to the next.
“This is a small gem of a book, tender, humble, loving. —Mary Gordon
“Sweeney makes a charming companion, telling stories in joyful reflection.” —Jeff Deutsch, author of In Praise of Good Bookstores
Former bookseller, longtime publisher and author Jon M. Sweeney shows—with history and anecdotes centering around books such as Thoreau’s Journal, Tagore’s Gitanjali, Martin Buber’s Hasidic Tales, and Tolstoy’s Twenty-three Tales—what it means to be carried by a book. He explores the discovery that once accompanied finding books, and books finding us. He ponders the smell of an old volume, its heft, and why bibliophiles carry them around even without reading them. He demonstrates how and why there is magic and enchantment that takes place between people and books.
“This is a small gem of a book, tender, humble, loving. —Mary Gordon
“Sweeney makes a charming companion, telling stories in joyful reflection.” —Jeff Deutsch, author of In Praise of Good Bookstores
Former bookseller, longtime publisher and author Jon M. Sweeney shows—with history and anecdotes centering around books such as Thoreau’s Journal, Tagore’s Gitanjali, Martin Buber’s Hasidic Tales, and Tolstoy’s Twenty-three Tales—what it means to be carried by a book. He explores the discovery that once accompanied finding books, and books finding us. He ponders the smell of an old volume, its heft, and why bibliophiles carry them around even without reading them. He demonstrates how and why there is magic and enchantment that takes place between people and books.
- GenresBooks About BooksMemoir
170 pages, Kindle Edition
Published May 7, 2024
6 people are currently reading
42 people want to read
About the author
Jon M. Sweeney
108 books86 followersJon M. Sweeney is an independent scholar and writer of popular history. He is married, the father of three, and lives in Montpelier, Vermont. He has worked in book publishing for 25 years: after co-founding SkyLight Paths Publishing, he was the editor in chief and publisher at Paraclete Press, and in August 2015 became editorial director at Franciscan Media Books.
He has written more than 20 books, seven about Francis of Assisi, including "When Saint Francis Saved the Church" and "The Complete Francis of Assisi." HBO has optioned the film rights to "The Pope Who Quit."
Jon's first 20 years were spent as an involved evangelical (a story told in the memoir "Born Again and Again"); he then spent 22 years as an active Episcopalian (see "Almost Catholic," among others); and on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi in 2009 he was received into the Catholic Church. Today, Jon is a practicing Catholic who also prays regularly with his wife, a rabbi. He loves the church, the synagogue, and other aspects of organized religion. He would never say that he's "spiritual but not religious."
In all of his writing, Jon is drawn to the ancient and medieval (see "The Road to Assisi," and "Inventing Hell"). Many of his books have been selections of the History Book Club, Book-of-the-Month Club, and Quality Paperback Book Club.
He has written more than 20 books, seven about Francis of Assisi, including "When Saint Francis Saved the Church" and "The Complete Francis of Assisi." HBO has optioned the film rights to "The Pope Who Quit."
Jon's first 20 years were spent as an involved evangelical (a story told in the memoir "Born Again and Again"); he then spent 22 years as an active Episcopalian (see "Almost Catholic," among others); and on the feast day of St. Francis of Assisi in 2009 he was received into the Catholic Church. Today, Jon is a practicing Catholic who also prays regularly with his wife, a rabbi. He loves the church, the synagogue, and other aspects of organized religion. He would never say that he's "spiritual but not religious."
In all of his writing, Jon is drawn to the ancient and medieval (see "The Road to Assisi," and "Inventing Hell"). Many of his books have been selections of the History Book Club, Book-of-the-Month Club, and Quality Paperback Book Club.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 1, 2025
A pure joy through and through, cover to cover! I wish there were a thousand more books just like this. It's not just that Sweeney feels like such a kindred spirit, and it's also not just that he writes about so many great books with such great passion (alas, my to-read list has grown by several more titles now, thanks very much), but he writes so knowingly and lovingly about the simple reading life itself--those moments where a passage seems to magically meld with the very air around you, the gentle texture of a cover that stays in your memory for decades, the subtle satisfaction of browsing in a pleasant used book shop. Thank you, Mr. Sweeney, for this celebration of a life deeply lived.
May 27, 2025
I found this book to be particularly engaging. It’s not just about the seventeen books that influenced Sweeney but how he happened to discover them, what he was doing and thinking when he engaged with these books. They range from his interest in Hitler and history when he was a teenager to such writers as Tolstoy, Montaigne, and Thoreau. Both fiction and non-fiction are included in an eclectic mix. If any one area interested Sweeney the most, it would be religion, emphasized by sseveral of his own books on religious figures such as Francis of Assisi and Meister Eckhart
Because a good amount of his time was spent in book selling and publishing, Sweeney talks a lot about how he notices the physical appearances of books, nearly all of which he encountered in book stores. He writes, “Browsing is a powerful thing. I wouldn’t have found any of the books that have carried me without the curiosity, freedom, and availability of bookstore browsing. And to have success with finding what you didn’t know you were looking for, is to learn how to browse more, and better, and with a seriousness that’s almost religious in anticipation of discovering. “
It’s a form of thinking, one that Sweeney sees as a road metaphor for his life, “ . . .rambling, wandering, and indirect.” Or to put a reading life in in terms of time, “Destination and purpose come in the morning with gratitude and hope, and in the evening with thankfulness and anticipation.”
Part of a passage from Wittgenstein help to further open up Sweeney’s approach to reading, and to life. “It’s not that a piece of language says everything it means; you can’t read meaning off of words, and it isn’t in virtue of the fa ct that you simply understand words that you know all that’s meant.”
Wittgenstein goes on to elaborate on what could be called context and connotation. Books are written by human beings in very specific circumstances, and the more a reader knows about these circumstances, the better able he is to appreciate and savor the books. In a similar way, anyone who reads a book does it in specific circumstances - a person’s life changes, one reason why Sweeney has read some of his favorite books many times. Each reading brings new enjoyment.
I thought one the best examples of changing circumstances was Sweeney's discussion of Leo Tolstoy who moved from the huge social scale of WAR AND PEACE and ANNA KARENINA to writing seemingly simple folk tales. Tolstoy’s comment was that stories of any kind tell of events that happen. What they mean and how they ae interpreted is a entirely different matter. Sweeney agrees, and has read these tales over and over again. He finds heir wealth of meaning is inexhaustible; there is no simple understanding that says everything. There is always more to explore, and that’s what Sweeney urges in this book. It’s not just HIS life in books, but it could be anyone’s life in books.
Because a good amount of his time was spent in book selling and publishing, Sweeney talks a lot about how he notices the physical appearances of books, nearly all of which he encountered in book stores. He writes, “Browsing is a powerful thing. I wouldn’t have found any of the books that have carried me without the curiosity, freedom, and availability of bookstore browsing. And to have success with finding what you didn’t know you were looking for, is to learn how to browse more, and better, and with a seriousness that’s almost religious in anticipation of discovering. “
It’s a form of thinking, one that Sweeney sees as a road metaphor for his life, “ . . .rambling, wandering, and indirect.” Or to put a reading life in in terms of time, “Destination and purpose come in the morning with gratitude and hope, and in the evening with thankfulness and anticipation.”
Part of a passage from Wittgenstein help to further open up Sweeney’s approach to reading, and to life. “It’s not that a piece of language says everything it means; you can’t read meaning off of words, and it isn’t in virtue of the fa ct that you simply understand words that you know all that’s meant.”
Wittgenstein goes on to elaborate on what could be called context and connotation. Books are written by human beings in very specific circumstances, and the more a reader knows about these circumstances, the better able he is to appreciate and savor the books. In a similar way, anyone who reads a book does it in specific circumstances - a person’s life changes, one reason why Sweeney has read some of his favorite books many times. Each reading brings new enjoyment.
I thought one the best examples of changing circumstances was Sweeney's discussion of Leo Tolstoy who moved from the huge social scale of WAR AND PEACE and ANNA KARENINA to writing seemingly simple folk tales. Tolstoy’s comment was that stories of any kind tell of events that happen. What they mean and how they ae interpreted is a entirely different matter. Sweeney agrees, and has read these tales over and over again. He finds heir wealth of meaning is inexhaustible; there is no simple understanding that says everything. There is always more to explore, and that’s what Sweeney urges in this book. It’s not just HIS life in books, but it could be anyone’s life in books.
July 20, 2025
As I have matured in my (relatively new-found) faith, I have come to accept two men as my "theological north stars" -Thomas Merton and St. Francis of Assisi; and Jon M. Sweeney just happens to have written my favorite biography of each. In both books, Sweeney is obviously intimately familiar with his subject matter, and his prose is often as poetic and insightful as that of these two remarkable men of whom he writes.
I also relish books written about books by those who love books, so I was especially delighted to pick up "My Life in Seventeen Books" and see what books have inspired this author I have admired so much.
Each chapter is an homage to those books Sweeney has "carried" (any avid reader will understand this concept) over the course of his life, and there were some real surprises here.
Much like a traditional collection of short stories, this book doesn't flow, nor is it meant to, from one chapter to the next; but rather each vignette is a stand-alone essay on the books that have most deeply affected the author, and why, at various stages of his life.
As someone who once carried an old penguin edition of "The Life of St. Teresa" everywhere I went for well over a year, I particularly identified with his concept of how we sometimes carry books almost as a talisman, rather than just as a source of reading material.
Whether an admirer of Sweeney's previous work, or just a lover of books in general, I am convinced this literary memoir will resonate deeply with anyone falling into either, or both, of those categories.
I also relish books written about books by those who love books, so I was especially delighted to pick up "My Life in Seventeen Books" and see what books have inspired this author I have admired so much.
Each chapter is an homage to those books Sweeney has "carried" (any avid reader will understand this concept) over the course of his life, and there were some real surprises here.
Much like a traditional collection of short stories, this book doesn't flow, nor is it meant to, from one chapter to the next; but rather each vignette is a stand-alone essay on the books that have most deeply affected the author, and why, at various stages of his life.
As someone who once carried an old penguin edition of "The Life of St. Teresa" everywhere I went for well over a year, I particularly identified with his concept of how we sometimes carry books almost as a talisman, rather than just as a source of reading material.
Whether an admirer of Sweeney's previous work, or just a lover of books in general, I am convinced this literary memoir will resonate deeply with anyone falling into either, or both, of those categories.
May 12, 2024
This wonderful Autobiography was a great way to get to know an author whom I have studied and read before. Jon’s insights, honesty, and humble spirit shine through in this book. As I read, I began to wonder myself what books would help narrate chapters of my own life.
This insightful quote from the closing chapter spoke to my heart and for that I am grateful. “As I look back on much more than half a life, I see only that the progress I have made is in seeing that the road is rambling, wandering, and indirect. Destination and purpose come in the morning with gratitude and hope, and in the evening with thankfulness and anticipation.”
Thank you, Jon, and blessings on the journey!
This insightful quote from the closing chapter spoke to my heart and for that I am grateful. “As I look back on much more than half a life, I see only that the progress I have made is in seeing that the road is rambling, wandering, and indirect. Destination and purpose come in the morning with gratitude and hope, and in the evening with thankfulness and anticipation.”
Thank you, Jon, and blessings on the journey!
September 30, 2024
I enjoy books with recommendations. People from different backgrounds can expand your horizons and allow you to enter an alternate mental state. Sometimes, you are in the right situation, and a book influences you in a certain way.
Jon M. Sweeney wrote My Life In Seventeen Books, a memoir about his life as a bibliophile. They aren't Sweeney's favorite books. He refers to these seventeen titles as those that he's carried the most. I don't know what that means, but neither does the author.
The books don't have much rhyme or reason to them. For example, during Sweeney's failing marriage, Sweeney read Martin Buber's Tales of the Hasidim. The final book Sweeney discusses is Montaigne's Essays. Of the books he mentions, that is the only book I have a copy of.
I enjoyed the book. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.
Jon M. Sweeney wrote My Life In Seventeen Books, a memoir about his life as a bibliophile. They aren't Sweeney's favorite books. He refers to these seventeen titles as those that he's carried the most. I don't know what that means, but neither does the author.
The books don't have much rhyme or reason to them. For example, during Sweeney's failing marriage, Sweeney read Martin Buber's Tales of the Hasidim. The final book Sweeney discusses is Montaigne's Essays. Of the books he mentions, that is the only book I have a copy of.
I enjoyed the book. Thanks for reading my review, and see you next time.
August 27, 2024
When I come to the end of this life, I think certain books will be left as a barometer of who I was, but they will sit on shelves quietly, with a private understanding. Ultimately, they have been useful to me alone, and when I am alone. They will mean little to anyone else. Of no particular rarity or measurable value, they will disperse to the winds, which is not what I hope happens to that other most useful and least revealing, yet uncreated, part of me.
I was not familiar with this author before reading this book, but if you like books about books then you will enjoy this one. Sweeney was a theologian and most of his reading is multicultural explorations of the divine.
I was not familiar with this author before reading this book, but if you like books about books then you will enjoy this one. Sweeney was a theologian and most of his reading is multicultural explorations of the divine.
May 11, 2024
A pleasant read about the value of books (the ones he’s “carried”) in the author’s life, from Martin Buber to Wendell Berry, Tagore, and Tolstoy; books like *The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna*, and *Black Elk Speaks*.
I am not familiar with very many of the books Sweeney refers to, and suspect that our tastes may not run to the same ones anyway; but this doesn’t matter. This is a reader’s love letter to the books that have seen him through the phases of his life, and that have sustained him, and any avid and deep reader will relate. This memoir is also interesting from the perspective of his career in bookselling and publishing, as well as the details he shares of his religious journey.
Many thanks to Monkfish Book Publishing and Edelweiss for access.
I am not familiar with very many of the books Sweeney refers to, and suspect that our tastes may not run to the same ones anyway; but this doesn’t matter. This is a reader’s love letter to the books that have seen him through the phases of his life, and that have sustained him, and any avid and deep reader will relate. This memoir is also interesting from the perspective of his career in bookselling and publishing, as well as the details he shares of his religious journey.
Many thanks to Monkfish Book Publishing and Edelweiss for access.
July 4, 2024
This made me reflect on what books I would select if I wrote a memoir.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews