I have reached one of those rare times in my life when I have no book that I am "currently reading." I finished a longer John Piper book last night, and I will give books a few days' rest while I travel to Texas and back for 52 hours (actually, I will take two books with me as I plan to speak about them while I am there—but they're just visual aids). I have more books on the docket, but I'll stick to a couple of favorite magazines on the plane (Leadership and Fast Company), as well as listen to a couple of sermons I've downloaded. And yes, I'll keep sticking to my Bible.
How do I choose books to read?
Well, perhaps you should know first of all that I have kept lists every year since before I was married of the books I have read. Some years I have read fewer than 20 books, other years (especially those years in Ecuador with no TV, no commute, etc.) more than 50. Once in a while these lists have the effect of just urging me to add numbers to the list, but they have far more often been quite helpful when I have been thinking or conversing about something I read in "some book"; I can go back and check these lists to pinpoint those books.
When I was teaching school, my books included a lot of literature, both young adult titles and classic titles. Now nearly all of my books are "Christian" books: theology, Christian living, biography. I still enjoy a powerful novel or non-Christian biography, but I have to be careful with these, because I tend to read them blitzingly, setting all other reading aside. (It's good to know our weaknesses!) I also try to read one or two top-notch golf books each year as well, to get a sense of what is being written in the vein I often write in myself, and I try to read one or two good business books too.
I choose the books I read on the basis of several things:
(1) What the teaching theme is for the year. I do this both for myself and for the teaching team selections.
(2) Knowledge of the authors. Some authors are enjoyable, some are powerful, some are creative, some are original. When I go back to authors I have read before, it is for one of these reasons.
(3) Reviews and recommendations. A few other readers/pastors around me often suggest books, and since I am on Amazon a lot, I see plenty of other interesting and appropriate recommendations. I keep a wish list on Amazon simply for the purpose of saving some of these "possibles" for later reading. (Side note: If it is a Christian book that I would like to mark up for my notes, I will normally buy the book. If it is a secular work, I will look first to see if the library has the book.)
(4) Balance of styles. If I am reading several books at a time, I am not normally reading the same kind/genre of book. One book may have shorter chapters and is written in a devotional form; another may be a flowing narrative; one may be fiction; one may be studious. You get the idea. One thing that is very hard for me is to read two novels at once or sometimes even a novel and a biography, because it can be hard for me to keep all the characters/people straight!
(5) Favorites. I have a few favorite books that I will sometimes return to. CJ Mahaney's Humility is such a book; so is Juan Carlos Ortiz's Disciple or Rees Howells: Intercessor. Once in a while I will pull these off the shelf and dig through them again. I also like to listen to audio books when I travel. These I always get from the library, but if they don't have one that looks right I will often go back to Jerry Bridges' The Pursuit of Holiness, a three-CD set I own that is read by Alistair Begg.
(6) Gifts. I try to read the many books that are given to me as gifts, but they often have to wait in line before I get to them. In October I read a wonderful book called Same Kind of Different as Me, which we received last Christmas. I highly recommend it as a Christmas gift this year for any readers on your list.
Now let me close my giving some big props to Ellen Garrison. It is Ellen who has diligently helped me record and file the many excerpts that I have taken from the books that I have read in recent years. We are able to select any topic and retrieve excerpts on that topic for the purpose of my studies. What a great help!
NOW, SOME QUESTIONS FOR YOU:
- What kind of reading do you do (not limited to books)?
- What do you do when you encounter disturbing passages as you read? Is there anything that makes you put a book aside "for good?"
- What is the most effective means you have found of retaining the information you read?
- Did you know we have a great library at the church builing, and that you are welcome to borrow books at any time? (It's the last door on the right down the hall. It's also a great place to come and pray before the service.)
God Keeps Leading
11 years ago
2 comments:
What do I do when I run across a disturbing passage in a book?
It depends.
I mean, it depends on the nature of the disturbance. I've closed books for good when they are putting rotten images in my mind. But, if the ideas disturb me because they offend my preconceived ideas of how the world is/should be, I hope that I consider the ideas carefully; try to restrain myself from hasty judgments.
Sometimes I feel anxious when I'm reading a book because the author is really challenging my assumptions. I try to read carefully and consciously, not just shaking my head in disagreement.
Sometimes, it's worthwhile for me to read what people from different cultural orientations have to say. I may feel really uncomfortable with their assessments, especially of my own culture, but I want to know how to better communicate and understand with people who are different than me.
I also try not to uncritically embrace ideas that I already agree with. I really try, and tend to be, a critical reader. Otherwise, my own quirks may become magnified by identification with too many others of the same bent.
All that said, I'm probably as susceptible to flattery as any other. I like authors that give a hearty yes and amen to my pet notions. And, I can be very quick to shoot holes in an idea that I think is radically wrong. It depends on how "dangerous" a situation seems to be and who stands to be hurt by the ideas.
Finally, sometimes I just don't have time for something I think is drivel (no judgment there ;) and I simply don't give some books much thought past the table of contents and the back cover.
Did I nail down an answer for you?
I read tons of books all the time. Most I read for pleasure with an occaisional topic of something I am working on in the middle of it. I read stuff on the internet, newspaper, and magazines. I'm just a reader! I don't watch a lot of tv so reading is important to me. I rarely put aside a book for good, and when I do it's because it's so boring I can't get past it. If I encounter something disturbing I tend to put it aside and go back and reread it. Sometimes I do this multiple times to make sure I understand it correctly. Other times it's simply disturbing because it affected me profoundly and I just need to think about it for a while. The most effective way I have of retaining it is notes to myself and/or sharing it with others. Yes I knew there was a library at the church but I haven't looked at it in a long time. I still have a stack of books I promised myself I would read in a year that I am still working on and the year was up a year ago. I am halfway through at least 4 books but stopped as the information was more than I could deal with at the time. I did finish The Shack though and it had a profound impact on me. I am also currently reading How People Grow by Cloud and Townsend in Life Together which has also had a profound impact on me. This book has also followed the theme for the year on Relationships. It's interesting Jeff that God led you to this theme as we are now deep in the middle of some really intense relationships in our study. And last, if I were on a desert island one of my necessities would be books!
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