Lit!: Why You Should Read It (Or, Ramblings of a Reading Mother)

This is a combination post. In it I'll be reflecting back on my 2011 reading year and thinking/planning for where it is that I want to go with books in 2012. A great deal of my thoughts, however, are being shaped by the book Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books, by Tony Reinke (which I discussed, in brief, here.)

Over the course of the past two years, in particular, I've really wanted to make a difference in the way I read books. I think this partially has to do with the fact that I'm now the mother of three small children and therefore my reading time is harder to come by and therefore way more valuable to me. (This truth hit home at the end of this year when I glanced back at my books read in 2011 vs. 2010. In 2010 I read 147 books. This year? 86! I'm ok with any number over 40. Less than that and I think I'd be greatly perturbed.)

For starters though, Reinke divides books into two categories:

1. The Bible; and
2. All other books.

He makes his case for why the Bible should be the Most Important Book in your life and the most frequently read. Being a Christian, I agree with all of his points. As a reader, I would have to honestly say that I fail in this area. I don't make the Bible my top priority. I make other books my priority. As a Christian, this should not be so. But it is so. If, as a Christian, I want to read wisely and well then I need to put "all other books" to the side first thing, and start making the Word of God my top priority.

"If we neglect Scripture in order to read only other books, we not only cut ourselves from the divine umbilical cord that feeds our souls, we also cut ourselves from the truth that makes it possible for us to benefit from the truth, goodness, and beauty in the books that we read." (Chapter 7, Read With Resolve, page 94)

Even as I start to make a 2012 reading plan, I am tempted to say, "Well, I'll start reading the Bible in February once things kick off with the bookclub or the Lucy Maud Montgomery Reading Challenge or this or that." But the "this or that" will not only take over January but it will take over the rest of the year as well, sooo...to start things off correctly, I'm going to start at the beginning. That is? I'm going to go back to Genesis and read it through however many times I can alongside this book (which I had been wanting forever and finally purchased a copy of):



Gleanings In Genesis, by A.W. Pink

I don't want to box myself in with this book, placing a time limit on it. Rather, I just want to read, glean and understand as much as I can. It may take me two months or three or six. I have no idea. A priority needs to be set though and so I'm going to start here - and now.

"Reading can be ultimately a means to eternally benefit our soul. And this benefit does not hinge upon how smart we are, upon how many books we read each year, or upon how much information we retain. We tap into the eternal value of literature when we read in the presence of God, unveiled to the glory of our Savior." (Chapter 2, Wide-Eyed into the Son, page 37)

Another thing that I've been thinking a lot about for the past few years (but haven't delved as deeply into as I would like) is the power and beauty of stories, "Christian" or no. Every year I host the Chronicles of Narnia Reading Challenge for a variety of reasons:

1. I just love them.
2. I think there is great value in reading them.
3. I think that there is great value in reading them over and over and over again.

Every year the following questions pop up from various people and sources:

1. Why is the Chronicles of Narnia series considered "good" by Christians and yet the Harry Potter series is considered "bad"?
2. What is considered a good use of magic in books and what is considered a bad use?
3. Why do Christians place themselves in reading boxes wherein they can only read the Bible, Elsie Dinsmore and on a wild and wicked day, the Chronicles of Narnia? (Ok, I made that a bit more dramatic but it's not actually that far off base in some quarters!)

The short (and not fully developed) answers to those questions are, for me, as follows:

1. I haven't read Harry Potter yet and so I can't compare.
2. I know that there IS a good use of magic and a bad use in books but I haven't thought out the distinguishing factors for myself just yet.
3. I don't have the foggiest.

I would like to read the Harry Potter series this year and think through some of these questions in a great deal more detail.

"Developing a biblical worldview is labor-intensive, but the result is a discerning mind that is essential if we will benefit from books. If we fail here, we will be flooded with worldviews of other authors and be quickly overwhelmed, confused, and frustrated. On the other hand, firm biblical convictions will make it possible for us to benefit from a broad array of literature by Christians and non-Christians alike." (Chapter 4, Reading from Across the Canyon, page 53)

*****

"God is behind all truth, even the truth that is expressed in non-Christian literature. Truth cannot be fabricated, writes [John] Calvin:

All truth is from God; and consequently, if wicked men have said anything that is true and just, we ought not to reject it; for it has come from God. Besides, all things are of God; and, therefore, why should it not be lawful to dedicate to His glory everything that can properly be employed for such a purpose." (Chapter 5, The Giver's Voice, page 67)

Another problem I face, personally speaking, is spending too much time on the computer. Now, how to solve this one? Janet has discussed the dangers of technology more over at Across the Page and she makes particular arguments about spending time on Facebook which I rather sympathize with. Reading Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books really drove some of the arguments that Janet has been making home to me. I haven't read many books on technology and its effects (sorry, I just can't seem to make myself) but the arguments that Reinke makes in his book about images vs. words and quick bits of information vs. careful, thoughtful sifting of words and information really had an impact on me. I've already significantly decreased my Facebook time. (I think Facebook is a mildly useful tool for keeping in touch with people, but it's heavily overrated. Since most of us are on it "because everyone else is" it might benefit us as a whole if we all agreed to get off!) I don't have the time and space to spell out Reinke's arguments here but I do think that flashing imagines and "soundbites" of information into any variety of people's lives has done me a great disservice when it comes to reading and enjoying books. At the tail end of the 2011 reading year, I was really fighting with myself to sit still and read for a solid hour. (I have roughly 2 hours of reading time available to me a day. But using even one hour was a challenge due to time spent on the computer.) I don't just want to improve that in 2012, I need to.

"But the tension is not simply between the value of words and the value of images. Both language and visual images are valuable. The concern is whether Christians (like us) will be patient enough to find meaning embedded in words, or if we will grow content with the superficial pleasures offered to us in the rapidly shifting images in our culture." (Chapter 3, Reading is Believing, page 43)

*****

"In a world so easily satisfied with images, it's too easy to waste our lives watching mindless television and squandering our free time away with entertainment. We have a higher calling. God has called us to live our lives by faith and not by sight - and this can mean nothing less than committing our lives to the pursuit of language, revelation and books." (Chapter 3, Reading is Believing, page 50)

What this means for Reading to Know, I can't really say just yet. Currently I can keep up a 5-a-week posting "schedule." I can still foresee the ability to do just that because I type faster than I hand write. Some people keep a hand written journal of the books they read. I type mine up and it is, as you read it here, at Reading to Know. Therefore I don't really see my blogger habits changing all that much. I do not post on weekends (and still won't) in part because it helps me to pace myself. The only way I can see my blogging habits changing is if I notice that I'm speed reading just for the sake of posting. So far that hasn't truly been the case but I know when it's happening and so if you start noticing a gap in my posting schedule, you'll just know that I'm forcing myself to read for benefit and not just because I've told myself that I must post something five days a week! (Not that I believe anyone is living with the expectation that they will hear from me five days a week. But people who maintain their own blogs will know exactly what I'm talking about.)

Lastly, a few practical things:

1. I think I'm going to follow this tip as I approach and begin to read any book:

"So how far into a book should a reader go before quitting? This is where the one hundred-pages-minus-your-age rule comes in handy. This rule states that readers should start with one hundred pages and subtract their age. If you are twenty years old, you should give a book eighty pages before quitting. If you're fifty years old, give it fifty pages. The more years, the more reading experience, the less time you need before you can close and shelve a book. And it means that, when you are one hundred, you are free to judge a book by its cover." (Chapter 8, How to Read a Book, page 115)

2. I want to spend time with longer works, with more depth to them. More classics, if you will. I know it will be a challenge for me. I like being able to complete reading challenges for myself and longer books take quite a bit more effort. But I do think it will be worth it.

"When we set out to read important books, we can expect opposition from our hearts. Reading is a discipline, and all disciplines require self-discipline, and self-discipline is the one thing our sinful flesh will resist." (Chapter 9, Literature is Life, page 131)

So, I guess it's safe to say that I am hoping to focus on the area of self-discipline in the area of reading: taking time for good books, reading to figure out my own worldview a little bit better and to make Bible reading my top priority.

In the meantime, I'm (still) grateful to Crossway Books for shooting a copy of Lit! my way as it has had a wee bit of influence in how I intend to read books in the future. This particular title goes on the shelf for a re-read. I rather expect it could stand to be re-read on a yearly basis, to make certain I'm keeping on track in the priorities department!