Charlie English begins “The CIA Book Club” by describing a 1970s technical manual: a dull cover, as uninviting as anything. A book that practically begs you to put it back on the shelf and move on.

Over the past few weeks, my wife and I have been turning our attic into a library. I’ve been arranging all our beautiful books by subject and alphabetizing them. The books gleam. The new-built shelves ...