A year of reading - 2015

At the beginning, or sometimes the end, of the past few years I have made a habit of blogging about the reading I did in the previous year (2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009) . I have done this for several reasons.

First, it is a means of holding myself accountable. I value reading and intend to make it an integral part of my life. By making my reading life public, I can allow people a glimpse into one of the disciplines of my life.

Second, I hope for my reading history to be an encouragement to others. Though I know many others who read much more than I do, nevertheless, my year-long record of reading often surprises people in terms of what is possible if reading is a priority. I have a full-time job and five kids heavily involved in extra-curricular activities. A very small portion of my reading occurs at work; though, I think I should read more at work and I hope to do so in 2016. I think that if I can share some of my successes with reading, that other busy people will be encouraged to read more. And that, in my estimation, would be a good thing.

Third, to give glory to God. It is by grace that we read, desire to read, learn from our reading. The fact that my life allows me time to read, and that I have the faculties to do so, are nothing more than gifts from God to a person who has done nothing to deserve such favour.

So, here is a list of all the books I read, or re-read, this year:

• The ESV Bible by God via Various Authors
• The Pastor and Counselling by Jeremy Pierre and Deepak Reju
• Pleased to Dwell by Peter Mead
• The Incarnation of God by John C. Clark and Marcus Peter Johnson
• Malachi: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary by Andrew E. Hill
• Tough Questions about God and His Actions in the Old Testament by Walter C. Kaiser Jr.
• The Final Days of Jesus by Andreas Kostenberger
• Future Grace by John Piper
• Soul-Depths and Soul-Heights by Octavius Winslow
• The Gospel by Ray Ortlund
• The Joy Project by Tony Reinke
• The Church by Mark Dever
• Ordinary by Michael Horton
• Understanding Prophecy by A. Bandy and B. Merkle
• Malachi: A Study Guide Commentary by Charles D. Isbell
• Prayer by Timothy Keller
• The Compelling Community by Mark Dever and Jamie Dunlop
• 40 Questions about Baptism and the Lord's Supper by John S. Hammett
• The Son of God and the New Creation by Graeme Goldsworthy
• Rejoicing in Christ by Michael Reeves
• Text-Driven Preaching by eds. Akin, Alan, Mathews
• Preaching? By Alec Moyter
• Is God Anti-Gay? By Sam Allberry
• God and the Gay Christian? Ed. Albert Mohler
• Compassion Without Compromise by Adam T. Barr and Ron Citlau
• What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality? by Kevin DeYoung
• The Prodigal Church by Jared C. Wilson
• Interpreting the Prophetic Books by Gary V. Smith
• Footprints by Lindsay Reynolds
• Blood Work by Anthony Carter
• Preaching with Accuracy by Randal E. Pelton
• Cymbeline by William Shakespeare
• The Meaning of Marriage by Timothy Keller
• Jesus in the Present Tense by Warren W. Wiersbe
• From Heaven He Came and Sought Her eds David and Jonathan Gibson
• The Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan
• The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
• A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare
• Preaching to a Post-Everything World by Zack Eswine
• Jesus' Blood and Righteousness by Brian Vicker
• Changing Places by David Lodge
• Know the Heretics by Justin Holcomb
• All for Jesus by Robert L. Niklaus et. al.

Most of the books I read were non-fiction. You’ll see that these books are mainly on theology, Christian living, preaching, and Bible interpretation. But I also read some fiction including a couple of plays by Shakespeare. I’d like to read more fiction than I do, but for now I guess I’m content to read it when I can.
A list of books that I’ve read doesn’t tell you much about the books themselves. Be watching in the near future for a post on my favourite books of 2015 for some more detailed info on a few I considered the best.
Increasing your reading will not happen by accident. You will need to be purposeful about it. But there are some simple tips and techniques which can help you. Here are a few that have been helpful to me:

1. Always have a book with you. This is easy in the digital age.
2. Have a specific goal in mind. If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time.
3. Redeem wasted minutes throughout the day. There are many 10-15 minute blocks of usable time throughout the day in which reading would be a great activity.
4. Keep a record of everything that you read. This will encourage you!
5. Limit your entertainment intake. More screens usually equates to less books read.
6. Get recommendations by people you trust. Reading great books is easier than reading lousy ones.
7. Read to glorify God. Because God.
8. Read several books at once or only one at a time. I’ve found that either of these may be helpful.
9. Read a book on why reading is so important. Two birds with one stone.
10. Read books around a theme that interests you. I am in a “books about preaching” phase and my excitement about preaching encourages me to read more.

I have already made some plans for my reading in 2016. There are some new books I’m looking forward to and some books by “dead guys” that I should have read by now and intend to this year. I hope you are looking forward to a year of reading as well!

Reading in Community - Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God.

I'm starting a new book today, and reading it in community with Chris Power, who is separated by distance but unified in Spirit. To compensate for the physical difficulties of fellowshipping over a book while separated by an hour and a half drive, we are going to try and post on the blog once a week a reflection on the chapter we have read.

The book we are reading together is by Timothy Keller: Prayer: Experiencing Awe and Intimacy with God.

Towards the end of the first chapter, Keller discusses some practical changes he made to his prayer life after a particularly difficult season of his life. These changes included: summarizing the Psalms and "praying through the Psalms regularly"; adding a "time of meditation as a transitional discipline between my bible reading and my time of prayer"; praying both in the evening and the morning instead of just the morning; and"praying with greater expectation."

I look forward to learning more about these practices from the author, but it is what he wrote next that really caught my attention. Keller informs that the changes "took time to bear fruit, but after sustaining these practices for about two years, I began to have some breakthroughs" (emphasis mine).

I find it both daunting and encouraging that Keller experienced breakthroughs after two years of applying and practicing his new found disciplines: daunting because I am a fickle, lazy, and self-seeking individual; encouraging because breakthroughs take time, hard work, and God's grace even for gifted and godly people like Keller which means there is hope for me.

And here is my hope: I hope to pray more, and to pray more sincerely, and to pray with greater effectiveness, and to pray for the glory of God.

A Year’s Worth of Reading

I try, for sundry reasons, to annually record and report what the past year held for me in terms of reading. Of these many reasons, two are very significant to me. First, it is my way of holding myself to account. I want to be a reader…a literary person as C. S. Lewis would say. Keeping track of the pages I have turned and the volumes I have finished is a way for me to take stock of my reading. Secondly, I hope it is an encouragement to you. An encouragement to read more, and to read more often.

I read less this year than I have in the past few. The main reason for less reading and less books was more preaching and more preparing to preach. I preached far more in 2014 than I anticipated. And this preaching took a toll on my free time and was a regular intellectual withdraw that left the mental reserves lower than they might have been otherwise. Note, however, that this was a trade I gladly made and one I would gladly make again. But between duties at home, duties in the classroom, and duties at the church, I just didn’t read like I had in years past.

Nevertheless, I still flipped plenty of pages and find myself contentedly reminiscing over the list of books I share below.

The first list, in no particular order, are the non-fiction books I greedily grappled with last year. A substantial amount of my reading was either preaching related or ordination related. There are a lot of good ones below, most of which I would gladly recommend. Again, here they are in no particular order:

Edwards on the Christian Life by Dane Ortlund

A Brief Theology of Sport by Lincoln Harvey

Surprised by Hope by N. T. Wright

Shakespeare's Hamlet by Leland Ryke

The Self Life and the Christ Life by A. B. Simpson

The Fourfold Gospel by A. B. Simpson

The Cross of Christ by A. B. Simpson

Church Elders: How to Shepherd God's People Like Jesus by Jeramie Rinne

Sound Doctrine: How a Church Grows in the Love and Holiness of God by Bobby Jamieson

Expositional Preaching: How We Speak God's Word Today by David Helm

Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus by J. Mack Stiles

The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ by Ray Ortlund

The Cross and Christian Ministry by D. A. Carson

The Deliberate Church by Mark Dever and Paul Alexander

Joshua: No Falling Words by Dale Ralph Davis

God in the Whirlwind by David Wells

Five Points by John Piper

Victorious Christian Living by Alan Redpath

Jesus on Every Page by David Murray

Is Jesus in the Old Testament? By Ian M. Duguid

Preaching the Word - Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon by R. Kent Hughes

Taking God at His Word by Kevin DeYoung

The Final Days of Jesus by Andreas Kostenberger and Justin Taylor

It Is Well by Mark Dever and Michael Lawrence

Christianity and Liberalism by J. Gresham Machen

PNTC - The Letters to the Colossians and to Philemon by Douglas Moo

The Godly Man's Picture by Thomas Watson

Gospel-Centered Teaching by Trevin Wax

Creature of the Word by Chandler, Geiger, and Patterson

What’s Your Worldview by James Anderson

How People Change by Lane and Tripp

Death by Living by N. D. Wilson

Though I do not read near as much fiction, I still found time to read several of the Bard’s plays as well as a couple novels by McCarthy and Faulkner. I had set the goal to read a Shakespearean play a month, but fell short as you can see:

The Tempest by William Shakespeare

King Lear by William Shakespeare

Othello by William Shakespeare

Henry V by William Shakespeare

Titus Andronicus by William Shakespeare

The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare

As You Like It by William Shakespeare

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare

Child of God by Cormac McCarthy

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Overall, I consider it a gracious gift of God that I have both the opportunity to read books and the availability of books to read. I’m looking forward to another year with my nose buried in a bunch of books.

A Year of Reading

I had another enjoyable and edifying year of reading in 2013. By God's grace, and no small amount of patience from my wife and children, I manage to continue to carve out time for sticking my nose in books. I share the years literary journey with you as a way to encourage you to keep on keeping on in your reading. Perhaps you can find a title or two from my list that you might find interesting. If you would like specific thoughts on a particular book, do not hesitate to ask a question in the comments section.

Big Books
One of my reading goals for last year (I highly recommend setting goals for your reading) was to tackle some heavyweight volumes. The jumbo-size books I chose are as follows:

• The Doctrine of the Knowledge of God by John Frame
• Reformed Dogmatics by Herman Bavinck
• Kingdom Through Covenant by Wellum and Gentry
• Institutes of the Christian Religion - Volume 1 by John Calvin

I hope to write a post about reading these large books that will discuss it in some detail. But for now, let me say that there are many benefits to engaging these theological treatises and, despite their intimidating size, lay-people should make these types of books part of the reading routine. I found Kingdom Through Covenant particularly helpful as a reformedish credo-baptist and Calvin's Institutes needs no recommendation from me. Bavinck and Frame are also well-worth the time and effort required.

Fiction

As an English teacher I believe it is my responsibility to regularly read fiction. I am more inclined to read non-fiction, but I am rarely disappointed when I pick up a novel or play. Leland Ryken has said “Literature is a form of discovery, perception, intensification, expression, interpretation, creativity, beauty, and understanding. These are ennobling activities and qualities. For a Christian, they can be God-glorifying, a gift from God to the human race to be accepted with zest.” And Tony Reinke, author of Lit! gives these four reasons for reading fiction:

1. Fiction helps us explore abstract human experiences.
2. Fiction deepens our appreciation for concrete human experience.
3. Fiction expands our range of experiences.
4. Fiction provides beauty and creativity to be enjoyed.

Here is my list of fiction for 2013:

• Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
• The Chestnut King by N. D. Wilson
• Dandelion Fire by N. D. Wilson
• 100 Cupboards by N. D. Wilson
• The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger
• American Pastoral by Philip Roth
• The Road by Cormac McCarthy
• Hamlet by William Shakespeare
• The Ghost Writer by Philip Roth
• No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Dead Guys

Many will be familiar with the advice of C. S. Lewis on the reading of old books. For those who haven't heard or for those who need a reminder, here is some guidance from the author of The Chronicles of Narnia:

"There is a strange idea abroad that in every subject the ancient books should be read only by the professionals, and that the amateur should content himself with the modern books . . .
Now this seems to me topsy-turvy. Naturally, since I myself am a writer, I do not wish the ordinary reader to read no modern books. But if he must read only the new or only the old, I would advise him to read the old. . . .
It is a good rule, after after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one til you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones. . . .
We all need the books that will correct the characteristics mistakes of our own period. And that means the old books.
We may be sure that the characteristic blindness of the twentieth century lies where we have never suspected it. None of us can fully escape this blindness. The only palliative is to keep the clean sea breeze of the centuries blowing through our minds, and this can be done only by reading old books."

Here are the books, non-fiction, that I read this year past that were authored by dead guys:

• Communion with God by John Owen
• On the Incarnation by Athanasius
• Wingspread by A. W. Tozer
• Setting Our Affections on Glory by Martyn Lloyd-Jones
• Holiness by J. C. Ryle
• The Trinity by Edward Henry Bickersteth
• An Eschatology of Victory by Marcellus Kik

Preach It

As many of you know, I began an apprenticeship in August of 2013. I am apprenticing to become a pastor and part of my duties-actually thus far most of my duties-have been to preach on Sundays. I took it upon myself to read several books about preaching and found that a very profitable endeavour. Books on preaching include:

• Preaching for God's Glory by Alistair Begg
• Preach by Mark Dever and Greg Gilbert
• Preaching: A Biblical Theology by Jason Meyer
• Preaching Christ in All of Scripture by Edmund P. Clowney
• Saving Eutychus by Millar and Campbell

Miscellaneous Non-Fiction

The remainder of my list are non-fiction books almost exclusively from a Christian perspective covering a fairly wide range of topics from leadership to theology to literature to Christian living.

• Adopted for Life by Russel D. Moore
• The Conviction to Lead by Albert Mohler
• Fallen: A Theology of Sin by eds, Christopher Morgan and Robert Peterson
• Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung
• Eyes Wide Open by Steve DeWitt
• Weakness Is the Way by J. I. Packer
• Delighting in the Trinity by Michael Reeves
• Covenantal Apologetics by Scott Oliphint
• Church Discipline by Jonathan Leeman
• Echoes of Eden by Jerram Barrs
• His Blood Works by Alam Stibbs
• Shakespeare's Macbeth by Leland Ryken
• Rhythms of Grace by Mike Cosper

The Pinnacle of Printed Perusing

Finally, and most significantly, I read through the Bible this year. My translation of choice is the English Standard Version and I followed Robert Murray M'Cheyne's one year reading plan. A very helpful tool in this was YouVersion's app that I have on my phone, iPad and computer. I highly recommend this app; check it out. Reading through the Scriptures in 2013 was the zenith of my work in this discipline of reading. It far outweighs all the rest of the reading.

So there you have it; a year's worth of reading. Be encouraged to read in 2014! By setting aside some time each day or week, you might surprise yourself with the amount of literature you can digest in the next 12 months.

Twenty tweets on reading from The Conviction to Lead

I am thoroughly enjoying, and being edified by, reading The Conviction to Lead by Albert Mohler. Here are twenty tweets (140 characters or less) from the chapter on reading entitled Leaders Are Readers: When You Find a Leader, You Find a Reader, and for Good Reason:

1. ...there is no substitute for effective reading when it come to developing and maintaining the intelligence necessary to lead.
2. Leading by conviction demands an even deeper commitment to reading and the mental disciplines that effective reading establishes.
3. The leader learns to invest deeply in reading as a discipline for for critical thinking.
4. Reading is like any other skill-most people are satisfied to operate at a low level.
5. Develop you own rules and habits for reading, and don't worry about what some teacher told you tears ago.
6. Reading is much more effective if the reader knows where the book is headed.
7. If you find a book is not contributing to your life and leadership, set it aside.
8. Think of reading as a silent but intensive conversation.
9. Treat the book as a notepad with printed words. In other words, write in your books.
10. The activity of marking your books adds tremendously to the value of your reading and to your retention of its contents and your thinking.
11. Think of reading like you think of eating. In other words, pay attention to your diet.
12. Should leaders read fiction? This is where many leaders admit uncertainty, but the answer is surely yes.
13. Leaders need to read fiction for enjoyment, for learning, and for context.
14. Leaders are ravenous consumers of historical biographies.
15. There will never be enough time to read all you want to read, or even all you think you ought to read. Just keep reading.
16. set aside segments of time devoted to reading and grab every spare minute you can find.
17. I have found it helpful to plan reading projects.
18. For some years now we have been warned that the book, specifically the printed book, is soon to be extinct. Don't believe it.
19. ...the arrival of digital reading devices should be celebrated for what they can add to a leader's reading.
20. Those who would lead with conviction must read with conviction.

Top Books of 2012

Yesterday I posted my reading for the year 2012. Today I would like to share with you my top reads of 2012. I read many wonderful books last year, but I will select my best of the year from those titles published in 2012. Many of the older books are classic that would be on "must read" lists and their oldness, rather than taking away from them, are one of the things which makes them so wonderful; they have passed the test of time. However, three books published in 2012 rise above the rest in my estimation.

Tied for Top Spot

Two books I read this past year were edifying and enjoyable and enriching enough for me to suggest they were the best. But I cannot decide between the two. So I give you them both.

Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches

I have a review of the Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches here. It is an wonderful collection of 37 sermons on the book of Revelation and is written by Jim Hamilton. This book has many great qualities but there are two which are most significant in my estimation. First, the balanced and intelligent passion that Hamilton has for eschatology is evident on every page of this book, and it is infectious. It is clear that the author is excited about this book of the Bible and he manages to effectively transfer this affection to the reader in the pages of his book. And the main thing that this apocalyptic letter demonstrates, in the view of the author, is the magnificent and glorious all-sovereign God and the beauty of Christ his Son. Hamilton shows how these sometimes confusing passages demonstrate the glory and grace of our Savior and the all-powerful working of our God. Hamilton conveys these ideas and it follows that our affections for Christ are raised. The Christ-centered approach to this book is an endearing quality which is both edifying and enjoyable. Secondly, this book does a wonderful job of espousing the escatalogical position known as historic premillenialism. Hamilton explains difficult passages and clarifies confusing sections while humbly admitting that there is mystery present as well. His use of illustrations brings both clarity and cause for worship. Because of Hamilton's writing, I will never look at the canonical book of Revelation the same again.

The Man Christ Jesus: Theological Reflections of the Humanity of Christ

I read this book in the last two weeks of the year. And right from the start it was obvious that it would be one of the best reads of the past 12 months. This relatively short book-156 pages-is overflowing with awe-inspiring reflections on the humanity of Christ. Author Bruce A. Ware delivers a book that encourages exultation of our wonderful Savior and also explains an evangelical position on some of the difficulties that appear when one considers the divine and human Jesus Christ.Ware explains how we should consider the suffering of Jesus; the growth of Jesus' faith, wisdom, and understanding; the taking on of a human nature; the manner of Christ's temptations to sin; and many other issues that Christians have struggled with. The Man Christ Jesus contains sections pertaining to the application of what has been discussed and these sections are gold. There are also many surprisingly helpful illustrations which I have already used in explaining the books ideas to others. This book would make a wonderful small group study with its topic and contents but the questions at the end of each chapter make it even more appealing as a small group resource. This book appropriately came to me at Christmas, when the incarnation of God's Son is already on our minds. It filled me with wonder about and worship for our Savior, the God-man Jesus Christ. I will be posting a full review of this book early in the new year.

A Very Close Second

Gospel-Centered Discipleship

I received Jonathan K. Dodson's book Gospel-Centered Discipleship as a gift and it has been the gift that keeps on giving throughout 2012. This book explains how a Christian's discipleship and growth in grace is anchored in the very same thing that brought him to salvation in the first place; the gospel. Dodson deftly describes how the gospel is of first importance in our coming to Christ and our staying in Christ. The gospel applies in a foundational way to how grace saved us and how grace keeps us and Dodson shows how we should think and act about our discipleship with this in mind. I found this book very helpful in integrating a Jesus-Cross-gospel centered approach to my daily sanctification. It builds on ideas of Christian hedonism as espoused by John Piper and clearly relies upon Jonathan Edwards as well. This excellent book was a welcome read in the past year.

Reading for 2012

Happy New Year everyone. I hope your holidays have been enjoyable and that you have found some refreshment in the midst of all the hustle and bustle. I have not been blogging at all and I'm missing the mental engagement it requires. Hopefully I can pick things up in 2013.

My first post for the year will relate to the reading I did for 2012. I managed to read 55 books this past year. Though it is not about the numbers, I find that I need to challenge myself in my reading or I will slack off. I am happy with the amount I read this year and am gearing up for another year with my nose buried in books.

My reading for the year was somewhat planned and purposeful. Below you will see the list of books I read and underneath the list appears three areas of focus for my reading in 2012: fiction, the atonement, and the Bible.

I wanted to increase my fiction reading mainly because I am an English teacher and this is probably the best thing I can do for my personal development in my vocation. I have some interesting plans for fiction reading in 2013. I do want to note for you that though many of the books below are highly recommended by me and others, personally I cannot recommend Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov. Lolita is a book that makes many "best novel" lists and I decided to read it. It is a dark book that revolves around pedophilia. It is not graphic in details, but in my estimation, it has very little redeeming value.

I think the other two foci of my reading need no explanation. The Bible and the atonement are as foundational to the Christian walk as any topics.

Let this list be an encouragement to you to keep reading in 2013.


Reading for 2012
1. Atonement by Ian McEwan
2. The Man Christ Jesus by Bruce Ware
3. That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis
4. Excellence by Andreas J. Kostenberger
5. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
6. Perelandra by C. S. Lewis
7. Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis
8. Inerrancy and the Gospels by Vern S. Poythress
9. The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
10. Christ Crucified by James Durham
11. Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare
12. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
13. Basic Christian by Roger Steer
14. Generous Justice by Timothy Keller
15. Gospel Centered Discipleship by Jonathan K. Dodson
16. Why Read Moby Dick by Nathaniel Philbrick
17. Christ Our Mediator by C. J. Mahaney
18. Charity and its Fruits by Jonathan Edwards
19. The Hole in Our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung
20. Freedom and Boundaries by Kevin DeYoung
21. What Is the Mission of the Church? by Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert
22. Why We Love the Church by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck
23. Run to Win: Perseverance in the New Testament by Thomas R. Schreiner
24. Jonathan Edwards and Justification by Ed. Josh Moody
25. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
26. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
27. Reasons for Faith by Scott Oliphint
28. The Doctrine of the Word of God by John Frame
29. Literature: A Student's Guide by Louis Markos
30. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
31. The Big Picture of the Bible by eds.Wayne Grudem, Thomas Schreiner, and C. John Collins
32. Gods Glory in Salvation Through Judgment by Jim Hamilton
33. Explicit Gospel by Matt Chandler
34. The Atonement by R. W. Dale
35. Church Membership by Jonathan Leeman
36. No Innocent Affair by Edward F. Mrkvicka Jr.
37. The Atonement and the Modern Mind by James Denney
38. The Apostles' Doctrine of the Atonement by George Smeaton
39. Am I Called? by Dave Harvey
40. The Glory of the Atonement eds. Charles E. Hill and Frank A. James III
41. The Legacy of Sovereign Joy by John Piper
42. Understanding Scripture by eds. Wayne Grudem, C. John Collins, and Thomas R. Schreiner
43. The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
44. From the Resurrection to His Return: Living Faithfully in the Last Days by D. A. Carson
45. C. H. Spurgeon: The Prince of Preachers by Christian Timothy George
46. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross by Leon Morris
47. The Battle Belongs to the Lord by K. Scott Oliphint
48. Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Churches by Jim M. Hamilton Jr.
49. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
50. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
51. How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart
52. Salvation Accomplished by the Son by Robert A. Peterson
53. Affirming the Apostle's Creed by J. I. Packer
54. Just Do Something by Kevin DeYoung
55. Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov

Fiction
1. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt
2. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
3. The Valley of Fear by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
4. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov
5. Fifth Business by Robertson Davies
6. Moby Dick by Herman Melville
7. Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare
8. All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
9. The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy
10. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
11. Atonement by Ian McEwan
12. Perelandra by C. S. Lewis
13. Out of the Silent Planet by C. S. Lewis
14. That Hideous Strength by C. S. Lewis
15. Lolita by Vladimir Nabakov

Bible Related
1. Inerrancy and the Gospels by Vern S. Poythress
2. The Doctrine of the Word of God by John Frame
3. The Big Picture of the Bible by eds.Wayne Grudem, Thomas Schreiner, and C. John Collins
4. Understanding Scripture by eds. Wayne Grudem, C. John Collins, and Thomas R. Schreiner
5. How To Read The Bible For All Its Worth by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart

Atonement Related
1. Christ Crucified by James Durham
2. Christ Our Mediator by C. J. Mahaney
3. The Atonement by R. W. Dale
4. The Atonement and the Modern Mind by James Denney
5. The Apostles' Doctrine of the Atonement by George Smeaton
6. The Glory of the Atonement eds. Charles E. Hill and Frank A. James III
7. The Apostolic Preaching of the Cross by Leon Morris
8. Salvation Accomplished by the Son by Robert A. Peterson

Summer Reading

Here is a brief post on some of the books I plan to read this summer.

Currently, I am reading Moby Dick, the classic whaling tale by Herman Melville. I am thoroughly enjoying this novel and recommend it despite the fact I am only about a third of the way through it. Following this, my fictional reading will likely be a re-read of The Road by Cormac McCarthy as well as a first time read of Fifth Business by Robertson Davies.

In the non-fiction genre, on cue this summer are the following:

• The Doctrine of the Word of God by John Frame (almost finished)
• Literature: A Student's Guide by Louis Markos
• Holiness by J. C. Ryle
• Reformed Dogmatics by Herman Bavinck
• Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin (working through this slowly for a year now)
• Charity and Its Fruits by Jonathan Edwards

Also, along the lines of reading, I have been working on two posts that have reading as their focal point. First, a discussion of my focused reading program on the atonement. Second, a description of how I read the 'big books'; that is, my technique for getting through longer works (500+ pages).

I hope you have a great summer of reading!

What We Read

The social media website Squidoo has produced an info-graph about the most read books in the past fifty years. Who knows whether it’s better that more copies of Dan Brown were sold than copies of the Twilight Saga, but it’s encouraging to know that the Bible beat out the rest by over 3 billion copies:

HT: First Things

Inspiration in poetry for reading books

In one of the English classes I teach we have been working through a unit on poetry. Yesterday we looked at a poem by Pablo Neruda.

Ode to My Socks

Mara Mori brought me
a pair of socks
which she knitted herself
with her sheepherder's hands,
two socks as soft as rabbits.
I slipped my feet into them
as if they were two cases
knitted with threads of twilight and goatskin,
Violent socks,
my feet were two fish made of wool,
two long sharks
sea blue, shot through
by one golden thread,
two immense blackbirds,
two cannons,
my feet were honored in this way
by these heavenly socks.
They were so handsome for the first time
my feet seemed to me unacceptable
like two decrepit firemen,
firemen unworthy of that woven fire,
of those glowing socks.


Nevertheless, I resisted the sharp temptation
to save them somewhere as schoolboys
keep fireflies,
as learned men collect
sacred texts,
I resisted the mad impulse to put them
in a golden cage and each day give them
birdseed and pieces of pink melon.
Like explorers in the jungle
who hand over the very rare green deer
to the spit and eat it with remorse,
I stretched out my feet and pulled on
the magnificent socks and then my shoes.


The moral of my ode is this:
beauty is twice beauty
and what is good is doubly good
when it is a matter of two socks
made of wool in winter.

Pablo Neruda

One section that jumped out at me as we analyzed it in class was:

Nevertheless, I resisted the sharp temptation
to save them somewhere as schoolboys
keep fireflies,
as learned men collect
sacred texts,
I resisted the mad impulse to put them
in a golden cage and each day give them
birdseed and pieces of pink melon.

 Neruda refuses to save the socks he has been given for a later time. He realizes the beauty in the socks is largely found in the wearing of them. What struck me was his comparison of stashing the socks to that of learned men and their books. This analogy reminded me of an essential truth in reading. The beauty of a book is not in the owning of it, but in the reading and interacting with it. It was a strange time and place to find inspiration for reading books, but it renewed my desire to continue to be a life-long reader and for that I am grateful.

Reading Comprehension and Sharing Information

In a recent spat of articles related to reading (here, here, here and here), I have encouraged you to begin sharing your reading with others around you. In an article entitled How to Boost Your Reading Comprehension by Reading Smarter and More Conscientiously the author had this to say,

All of these steps can help you cut back on the volume of information you consume, target your reading to your interests as opposed to your responsibilities, and use the time you saved to think critically and come up with your own new ideas about the things you've read. The next step is to take those ideas and share them with others, if you see fit. Personally, one of the biggest benefits I derive from managing the flow of information in my life as strictly as I do is that in addition to being exposed to different ideas and having the time to really think them over, I also have the time to come up with my own viewpoints and perspectives and share them with others.

Sharing those ideas with other people does something transformative for your reading comprehension. Instead of simply being a content consumer, absorbing information where you can get it, you become a content creator, offering up your own unique opinions and ideas on a topic for others to read on their own. You're suddenly in the same position as the people you read, wanting people to afford you the same courtesy of reading, thinking, absorbing, and then sharing their own ideas and alternatives (as opposed to rapid-fire reactions) and you're dependant on those people for the same constructive reasoning and passionate engagement as you're now involved in.

Even if you don't decide to add writing to your reading and critical thinking flow, sharing your ideas and thoughts about what you've read with others is a great way to enrich your conversations, learn more about the people in your life, and grow based on their ideas and opinions as well.

I continue, in agreement with the author of this article, to encourage you to share what you read with those around you. In an upcoming post, I will discuss how I blog through a book. I hope that, along with the other posts, are helpful to you.

2011 Reading List

Here is a list of books I read in 2011. There are a few things to note about this list. First, there are a lot more fiction books here than there was in 2009 or 2010. I enjoyed adding a steady diet of fiction, mostly classic, for my reading consumption. Second, the total number of books I read is also down from '09 and '10. I'm not sure there is any explanation for that ... other than I didn't read as much. Third, I want to thank those of you who visit the blog for allowing me to interact with you over these books. That continues to be a valuable aspect of this blogs existence for me. If you have any questions about any of these books, please don't hesitate to ask. Let's hope 2012 is another year of wonderful reading.

Fiction:

1. Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy
2. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
3. Matryona's House by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
4. An Incident At Krechetovka Station by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
5. The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Canon Doyle
6. Walk in the Light and Twenty Three Tales by Leo Tolstoy
7. The Princess and the Goblin by George Macdonald
8. The Man Who Knew Too Much by G. K. Chesterton
9. The Pearl by John Steinbeck
10. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
11. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
12. Three Sisters by Anton Chekov
13. Uncle Vania by Anton Chekov
14. The Seagull by Anton Chekhov
15. Ivanov by Anton Chekhov
16. The Double by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
17. Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
18. Notes From Underground by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
19. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Non-fiction:

1. A Sincere and Pure Devotion to Christ - Volume 2 by Sam Storms
2. Note to Self by Joe Thorn
3. God With Us by K. Scott Oliphint
4. The Attributes of God by A. W. Pink
5. Work Matters by Tom Nelson
6. Suprised by Oxford by Carolyn Weber
7. Lit by Tony Reinke
8. Jesus + Nothing = Everything by Tullian Tchividjian
9. The Good News We Almost Forgot by Kevin DeYoung
10. Awaiting A Savior by Aaron Armstrong
11. The Beginning and End of Wisdom by Douglas Sean O'Donnell
12. Welcome to the Story by Stephen J. Nichols
13. A Sincere and Pure Devotion to Christ - Volume 1 by Sam Storms
14. The Deity of Christ by ed. Christopher W. Morgan and Robert A. Peterson
15. Authentically Pentecostal by David Wells and Van Johnson
16. 40 Questions About Christians and Biblical Law by Thomas Schreiner
17. Give Them Grace by Elyse Fitzpatrick
18. The Beginner's Guide to Spiritual Gifts by Sam Storms
19. God of Promise by Michael Horton
20. A Place for Weakness by Michael Horton
21. The Greener Grass Conspiracy by Stephen Altrogge
22. Note to Self by Joe Thorn
23. The Reformed Pastor by Richard Baxter
24. Life as a Vapor by John Piper
25. The Gospel Mystery of Sanctification by Walter Marshall
26. A Godward Life - Volume 1 by John Piper
27. A Habitual Sight of Him: The Christ-centered Piety of Thomas Goodwin eds Joel Beeke and Mark Jones
28. For The Fame of God's Name ed. Sam Storms and Justin Taylor

Tweeting Through a Book

In an earlier post on reading, I discussed some of the reasons why I thought it was helpful to write in the margins and on the pages of a book. In that post I indicated that writing in a book was helpful for me because it allowed me to keep track of tweetable quotes that I would use when I tweet through a book. I don't tweet through all the books I read, but I do it with a fair amount of regularity.

What is "tweeting through a book"?
Tweeting through a book is the process whereby one records or demarks all the quotes the reader deems tweetable. A tweetable quote, for me, is a quote that memorable or noteworthy and has the added characteristic of being less than 140 characters in length. Generally, I like to attribute the quote to its author and this demands the quotes I use to be even shorter. Some authors have a succinct writing style that lends itself well to tweets. Others, like Jonathan Edwards, seem to rarely write a sentence that is shorter than a paragraph. I'm reminded of Sam Storms saying something to the effect of "Jonathan Edwards never met a comma, semi-colon, or colon he didn't love!" Tweeting through a book includes the noting of tweetable quotes but it also includes the actual tweeting of those said quotes.

 
How do you "tweet through a book"?
Here are the steps I take when tweeting through a book:

1. Take note of "tweetable" quotes while reading through a book. You can mark those quotes by writing in your book like I do here. Or you can use another method, that I demonstrate here, if writing in the book is not advised.
2. After finishing the book, I usually enter the quotes into a word document. This step could be omitted if you wanted to go straight to tweeting. Below is a picture of a cheap and simple tool to help with the gleaning of your tweetable excerpts from the book.
   
3. I transfer the quotes into tweets by cutting and pasting the quotes into Twitter via TweetDeck. TweetDeck in a platform for Twitter which I think is very helpful for this process. TweetDeck allows you to schedule your tweets. I will often schedule my tweetable quotes over the course of a week or two. This allows me to enter all of my quotes at once, even if there several dozen. This also helps your followers as they are not overwhelmed by a "twavelanche" of quotes from the book you read.

 
Why do you "tweet through a book"?
Perhaps I should have started with a rationale for why I "tweet through a book". But I didn't. So you get it now. First, the main reason I tweet significant quotes from the books I read is to share what I am reading with the community of people who follow me on Twitter. I remember a time this past summer, while mowing the lawn, when I was listening to a series of sermons by Arturo Azurdia on Hebrews. At one point he was discussing Hebrews 3:13 which occurs in the ESV as "But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called "today," that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." Pastor Arturo reflected on how we might exhort one another on a daily basis. It occurred to me that one may I might do this is through sharing quotes I came across in my reading with others. Twitter seemed like a useful tool for that. I realize that the writer of Hebrews did not have social media in mind, nevertheless, perhaps this is a way to redeem this internet phenomenom.

Second, tweeting through a book allows me to interact with that book at another level. As I gather the quotes, type them out, and finally tweet them, I find that I reflect on them again. This reflection is different from my initial exposure to the words. It is a literary chewing of the cud. I think this causes the book to have a greater influence on me then it would otherwise. I also find that I am more likely to remember these passages. Thus, the reasons for tweeting through a book are twofold; for my sake and the sake of others.


I hope you will consider "tweeting through a book" in the future. I think you, like me, will find it an additional interaction with a piece of literature that is both enjoyable, and edifying for you and others. If you are interested, I tweet at @judestjohn and I'll be tweeting through my book of the year, God With Us by Scott Oliphint, in the near future.

Writing in a Book – Special Case - Borrowed Books

I hope that you have been following this series of posts that have dealt with writing in books. In the first post, I explained my rationale for writing in books and interacted with some of the things Tony Reinke wrote about the topic in his book Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading. In the second post, I discussed and demonstrated the nitty-gritty details of how I actually perform marginalia. I hope that gave you some insight into practical issues around this habit of marking up a book. In this post, I'd like to deal with a special case of marginalia, that is; how do you write in a book that you do not own?

I am fortunate enough to live in a nice neighbourhood just minutes away from my alma mater, The University of Western Ontario. Along with a massive central library, UWO has 3 affiliated colleges that are either entirely or partially seminaries. And each of these seminaries has a library attached to them. So, that means, as an alumnus, I have access to thousands upon thousands of great Christian books that I can borrow for extended periods. You can be sure that the libraries involved in extending me this privilege do not want me writing in their books.

Perhaps you are not anywhere near a library where you could borrow your books from. Nevertheless, I imagine that, from time to time, you have friends and family lend you books to read. I doubt that they would be any less upset than the university libraries if their books were returned to them with your underlining, margin-hieroglyphs, and highlighting. Are we at an impasse? Do we need to part ways from our helpful habit of writing in a book and thereby remove the benefits of such a practice from our reading experience? Absolutely not! Here is a solution I offer to remedy this special case situation of marginalia and borrowed books.

Book Darts
Several Christmases ago I came across a handy and helpful little gift in my stocking. To be honest, I think I bought it for myself. Nevertheless, it was a great little gift that I have put to good use. What was this gift? Book Darts. And what are they you ask?

According to Book Darts website, Book Darts are precision-cut, paper-thin metal line markers. They are perfect for use as non-slipping bookmarks that can even be positioned to point to a specific line. Unobtrusive and indefinitely reusable, they eliminate the need for bent corners, paper clips, underlining, highlighting, sticky papers, etc. Book Darts were developed to enrich the reading experience by allowing readers to mark important lines and easily re-find them without harming the pages.

 Now let me be clear. I am in favour of marking up and writing in my own books. As I have shared, I think it is essential to my reading practice. But for certain times when writing in a book is not an option, I think Book Darts are a great tool. These little line markers can keep track of great lines or stellar passages from borrowed books until you have archived, saved, or shared those excerpts according to your purposes.

When I am reading a book from one of the nearby seminaries, I will use dozens and dozens of Book Marks to mark tweetable lines and bloggable passages. I will leave all the placed bookmarks where they are until I am finished reading the book. Then, I enter all the demarked passages into a word document. I now have all the usable material transferred and can quickly and easily remove all my Book Darts.

 Book Darts are a great tool for "writing" in a book when that book is not yours to write in. This gives you an option for continuing to perform marginalia even on books you have borrowed from a friend or a library. They're also useful on books you might want to re-gift. A simple search on the internet will help you find retailers to buy these useful tools. I have picked mine up at a fun retail outlet called Lee Valley.

I hope this is helpful in your quest to become an expert of writing in books!

Writing in a Book - How

To the best of my knowledge, there is no definitive method of writing in a book. There are some methods more popular than others perhaps, but I imagine the style and means and that one uses to mark a book is left up to the whim of the reader. In an attempt to encourage you to write in your own books, I'm going to share, with visual aids, how exactly I write in a book and why I use those methods.

My Technique
Let me begin with a visual showing what my marking up of a book looks like:

As you can tell, this picture requires an explanation. So, let me explain. My technique for writing in a book has evolved to meet my needs and purposes for doing so. As you can see in this post, my main reasons for writing in a book are threefold; reflection, refraction, and reference.The impetus for employing various symbols has to do with why I want to remember, and in the future reference, something from a book. Originally, I either highlighted or underlined sections or sentences for emphasis or future use. However, I made changes to how I would write in a book for pragmatic reasons. I should note that I no longer highlight or underline key excerpts. The main reason for avoiding these types of demarcation is because I think they result in too much of a visual distraction for future readers. Notes in the margins may distract, but they don't distract as much as markings in the body of the text. The easiest way for me to explain my marginalia is to deal with each type of marking.

Margin Blocks
I draw, by hand, various different rectangular blocks in the margin of books. Again, here is a picture of what they might look like:

This picture clearly shows various types of rectangular blocks in the margins. In my process of reading and writing in a book, rectangular blocks in the margin represent larger excerpts that I consider exceptional. They are noted for the purpose of future reference. When I come across excellent writing that is several sentences to several paragraphs in length, I indicate my appreciation by drawing blocks in the margin. The number of blocks side-by-each is an indication of the level of appreciation I have for the excerpt. One block equates to modest appreciation. Two blocks is indicative of significant admiration and my ultimate acknowledgement is three blocks. Basically, any block in the margin is noteworthy with more blocks pointing towards incrementally better excerpts.

 
Margin Circles
I use circles in the margins, as seen above, to designate what I term "tweetables". Tweetables, in my confusing literary-reflective world, is a memorable single sentence that I might wish to tweet in the future. In another post I will describe in detail how and why I tweet through a book. For now, all you need to know is circles in the margin are evidence of a superior sentence delivered by the author.

 
Margin Arrows
Margin arrows are another type of marginalia I subscribe to:

Any time I find sequential ideas or thoughts shared by the author that I want to relate to each other or earlier passages, I connect those thoughts and ideas by drawing an arrow in the margin between the two. These arrows may be short, connecting two ideas on the same page, or, they may be long arrows that connect concepts several pages apart.

 
Margin Writing
As seen in the top two pictures, if I deem it necessary, I will write in the margins. I generally do this in two circumstances. First, if I disagree with something the author has propounded, I write my disagreement in the margin. Second, if I think there is some reason I might not remember why I thought a passage was exceptional, I'll write in the margin an indication of why was significant about the section in question.

 
Margin Xs
I have recently the "X" as a symbol for my marginalia. I have the opportunity to review books on my blog and I'm doing more of that now than before. I have found it useful to mark portions that will help me review a book with an "X". The "X" is functional in that it can go inside of rectangular blocks or margin circles.

 
Suit Yourself
I think one of the keys to becoming a top-notch marginaliaist (I made that word up) is to develop your own system for writing in a book. Try out different ideas; see what works for you. Don't be afraid to experiment in order to find out what type of hieroglyphics or chicken-scratching you find effective. Then, fine-tune your approach so that, as I indicate in this post, you can become a better reader.

Writing in a Book

Writing in a Book
Tony Reinke, in his book Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading, presents the reader with a term that I cannot believe many would be familiar with; marginalia. Though I originally thought this was a made-up term, it does occur in the dictionary and is defined as marginal notes. Reinke is a proponent of marking up a book, in the margins and otherwise, and I must say that I concur with him on this point. I'd like to discuss why I mark up a book and how I do so with the hope that you will be helped in your reading. For this first post in this series, let's start with the "why" question.

Why?
In his chapter entitled Marginalia, Reinke lists ten reasons why he writes in his books. I think they are worth listing. Reinke writes in his books to,

1. Claim them
2. Acknowledge their temporary value
3. Highlight what he appreciates
4. Trace the skeleton of the book
5. Mark what is initially disagreeable
6. Weave them into his library
7. Express emotion
8. Capture thoughts
9. Archive personal notes
10. Have a conversation.

It would be well worth your while to get your hands on Reinke's book and read through his reasons for a better understanding of each point. I have focused in on a few reasons why I write in books that are mirrored in some of Reinke's.

 
The Three R's of Writing in a Book
Reflection – Reflection is the fixing of the thoughts on something and/or careful consideration. I find that I think and concentrate better with a pen in my hand. Pastor Garry Milley, lead pastor of Church in the Oaks, puts it succinctly, "I need ink to think!" I find that the simple act of holding a writing utensil in my hand is enough to cause me to be more engaged with the book I am reading. The act of writing in that book further solidifies the process. Reinke supports this idea stating "the markings in a book's margins are the evidence of a thinking reader" (148). This is important, if you believe as Reinke and I do, that we "don't read to read; we read to think" (148). The highlighting and denoting of important, memorable or even forgettable passages in a book are stimuli for thoughtful reflection that otherwise wouldn't occur. John Piper has said, "I do not remember 99% of what I read, but if the one percent of each book or article I do remember is a life-changing insight, then I don't begrudge the 99%." I probably remember less than that. But having a pen in hand and writing in the margins of a book helps me fight the forgetfulness and hopefully remember more of the life-changing insights.

 
Refraction – Light is refracted when it changes direction due to passing through one medium to another. In the case of reading, I want the light that comes to me through reading to pass from me to others. This exchange of light, or in this case the exchange of knowledge from things I read, occurs most efficiently when I mark up a book. If I am to share what I read with others-others being friends family, small group participants, work colleagues, etc.-I need to be able to access the information I have read. Highlighting, underlining, circling, and generally marking up a book will help you disperse some of the gold you have mined in the pages of a book to those around you. It will help you share the wealth. Writing in a book allows you to access that significant information and share it with others. Two of the main ways I do this are tweeting through a book and blogging through a book. Those will be topics I will deal with separately in other posts. Interestingly, as the definition suggests, light changes direction when it is refracted. Your viewpoint and interpretation will have an effect on the knowledge you share and I think that is a good thing. Limiting what you receive from the writing of others to yourself would be an unfortunate end to that information.

 
Reference – As well as reflecting on what I have read, and beyond refracting the light from books to others, I want to be able to access and re-access the information from good books indefinitely. For books that I own and am going to keep in my library, the simplest way of being able to store and reach that book's instruction, illumination, and ideas is to mark in the book where those things can be found. One can go to extensive lengths or archiving info in a book, but I can usually find tidbits I'm looking for by flipping through a book and skimming the excerpts I have emphasized through writing in the margins.

 
Writing in a book, or performing marginalia if you will, offers me the opportunity to reflect on what I'm reading by causing me to interact with written material as I read it. It helps me to refract the light I receive from books to those around me. And finally, it helps me to reference significant material in the future when it is desired or necessary. For these reasons, and many others, I encourage you to mark up your books.

Sanctification Through Imagination

The imagination-stretching images are God's way of sliding the spiritual defibrillator over the slowing hearts of sluggish Christians. The images are for Christians who are growing lazy and beginning to compromise with the world, Christian who are allowing their hearts to become gradually hardened by sin. The answer is a spiritual shock. It is God's way of confronting worldliness and idolatry in the church. When idolatry begins to lure the Christian heart, God reaches into our imagination with images intended to stun us back to spiritual vibrancy.

- Tony Reinke in Lit!

In this passage, Reinke is discussing the power of imagination and how God uses it in our lives, particularly through the book of revelation. His larger point in regards to books and their reading is that to "view imaginative literature as a genre fit only for the amusement of children is an act of spiritual negligence." We need to use, grow, strengthen, and stretch our imagination for the purpose of our sanctification if nothing else.

I recognize the truth of this concept. Last night, while reading The Count of Monte Cristo, my affections for Christ were raised as I read of reconciliation between some of the characters. The imaginative scenario presented by Alexandre Dumas caused me to reflect upon and rejoice in the reconciliation provided by Christ. It is unlikely that a newspaper or stock quotes or weather report would have the same effect. I have enjoyed and been edified by reading more fiction literature this year-more than I have read in a long time. And I'm appreciating the encouragement and instruction found in Reinke's excellent book.

How regeneration affects reading

It is possible to have a photographic memory and the capacity to remember everything you read with flawless recollection.But if the Spirit of God has not reached down and unwrapped the black veil from over your heart, eternal truth will be pitch darkness to you. You may see words on a cold page of paper, but you will not feel the warm brightness of Christ's glory. And you will not experience eternal life.

The day you are lit, the day God removes the veil from your heart and reveals the glory of his Son to you, is an experience that will radically change your life. And beholding the glory of Christ will transform how you read books-every book. (Reinke, Tony. Lit!: a Christian Guide to Reading Books. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011. Print. 32-33)

Engage them to read!

Richard Baxter, in his classic work on pastoral work, The Reformed Pastor, gives a clear endorsement to reading outside of the Bible:

See that in every family there are some useful moving books, beside the Bible. If they have none, persuade them to buy some: if they be not able to buy them, give them some if you can. If you are not able yourself, get some gentlemen, or other rich persons, that are ready to good works, to do it. And engage them to read them at night, when they have leisure, and especially on the Lord’s day.

It would be interesting to learn what types of 'useful moving' books he had in mind. Was he speaking of classic works of fiction? Did he have in mind spiritually directed books of the non-fiction variety? The descriptor 'useful' seems to point to non-fiction, but perhaps the term 'moving' points back to fictional stories. Then, again, to read when one has leisure might point towards fictional works whereas reading on the Lord's Day seems to indicate religious works.

I'm not sure what Baxter had in mind, but my suggestion is that you read both as often as you can. I have been focusing on Russian fiction this year having read from Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, and Chekov. I have some Solzhenitsyn that is in the cue as well. I also enjoy non-fiction and read more of that than I do of fiction. But I encourage you; READ!

Reading plans for 2011

Reading Plan for 2011

I have read a lot of books the past 2 years. I have intentionally tried to push myself in terms of the quantity of books I read. I feel like I am making up for lost time; I should have been reading more. In line with being intentional about reading, I made goals the last 2 years that pertained to reading a certain number of books. This year, I continue with the purposeful intentionality by planning a few different reading goals.


The Bible

This year I plan to follow Professor Horner's reading plan. Here is an explanation, found at Tim Challies' blog, of the plan as provided by it's developer:

Each day you will read one chapter from each of ten lists. That’s right — ten chapters per day!!! Use ten bookmarks or sticky notes with the individual lists on them to keep track of your locations. Or use the set of bookmarks provided on the last page of this document.

On day one, you read Matthew 1, Genesis 1, Romans 1, and so forth. On day 2, read Matthew 2, Genesis 2, etc. On day 29, you will have just finished Matthew, so go to Mark 1 on the Gospel list; you’ll also be almost to the end of 2nd Corinthians and Proverbs, you’ll be reading Psalm 29 and Genesis 29, and so forth. When you reach the last chapter of the last book in a list - start over again. Rotate all the way through all the Scriptures constantly.

Since the lists vary in length, the readings begin interweaving in constantly changing ways. You will NEVER read the same set of ten chapters together again! Every year you’ll read through all the Gospels four times, the Pentateuch twice, Paul’s letters 4-5 times each, the OT wisdom literature six times, all the Psalms at least twice, all the Proverbs as well as Acts a dozen times, and all the way through the OT History and Prophetic books about 1 12 times. Since the interweaving is constantly changing, you will experience the Bible commenting on itself in constantly changing ways — the Reformer’s principle of ‘scriptura interpretans scripturam’ — ‘scripture interpreting scripture’ IN ACTION!

After you’ve read any particular book once or twice, your speed in that book usually doubles or triples because you’re familiar with it and can move quickly and confidently — because you are no longer merely decoding the text but thinking it through in the context of all of the scripture!

Even an ‘average’ reader, if focusing on moving through the text, rather than trying to figure everything out, can usually do this in about an hour a day - 5-6 minutes per chapter. Many people report moving confidently through the ten chapters in 35-40 minutes. If it is taking you longer, then you are ‘reading wrong’ - stay relaxed, focus, and just keep it moving. Moderate but consistent speed is the key. This is “gross anatomy” — looking at the whole body; you’re not closely studying organs or systems or tissues or cells — it is not microbiology. BUT — microbiology and the study or organs makes more sense when you know what the whole structure of the human body is like, and how all the parts, large and small, relate in perfect interdependence.

After just a few days the reading gets much easier; in a month it will be a habit, and in six months you’ll wonder how you ever survived before on such a slim diet of the WORD. And then — you’ll tell others to start the system!

I began in 1983 as a new Christian and have now read (most of ) the Bible hundreds and hundreds of times. You also need to get ONE Bible, keep it, and do all your reading in it, so you learn where everything is. I’ve had the same Bible since 1983 and I know it intimately. If you keep switching Bibles, you ‘lose’ this intimacy with the text. Find a translation and format you like and stick with it. THIS IS CRUCIAL.

Your Bible is the only thing on Earth that, as you wear it out, will actually work better and better.

Big Books

The second part of my reading plan involves reading some big books. Instead of reading a large amount of 'regular-sized' books, I plan to tackle some larger tomes. So far, my list is as follows:

• Institutes of the Christian Religion by John Calvin
• A Theology of the New Testament by George Eldon Ladd
• The Doctrine of the Word of God by John Frame

We'll see how those go and then add to the list as I progress. But I will definitely be focusing on major works of importance; any suggestions out there?

I will also be continuing on with community reading with the guys who blog here. We have not decided on our first book for 2011 yet.