Destroy old book, well-read (10)
I believe the answer is:
obliterate
'destroy' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'old book well-read' is the wordplay.
'old' becomes 'o' (common abbreviation eg in OE for Old English).
'book' becomes 'b'.
'well-read' becomes 'literate' ('literate' can be a synonym of 'well-read').
'o'+'b'+'literate'='OBLITERATE'
(Other definitions for obliterate that I've seen before include "Eradicate" , "rub out" , "Root out" , "Eliminate" , "Put an end to" .)