A book on how and why to read a book? Yes, that is exactly what Tony Reinke’s Lit! A Christian Guide to Reading Books is all about. Reinke’s purpose in writing this book is to study reading from a Christian perspective (26). He does this by breaking his book into two categories, which I will explain and dissect below.
A Theology of Books and Reading
The first section is a theology of books and reading. In this section Reinke lays out the beginnings of literature with God writing with his fingertip the 10 commandements. He also interacts in-depth with the necessity of a biblical worldview and how that relates to what and how you read. He also covers the topic of images and imagery relative to the printed word. It is in this chapter he answers the question, “what do we loose if we loose printed books?” The conclusion of this chapter was perhaps the most convicting to me personally:
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 great books. (50)
One thing I particularly appreciated in these opening chapters was Reinke’s continual return to discernment and how your worldview will help shape discernment. Relative to discernment I appreciated the authors definition taken from 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22:
Discernment is the ability to do three things: the ability to “test everything,” to “hold fast what is good,” and to “abstain from every form of evil.” (35)
In this first section Reinke goes as far as to suggest books to avoid. This is helpful for those who are in the stage of developing discernment. He suggests three categories in making this decision.
- Avoid Certain Books Because of Timing. He illustrates this by saying that he doesn’t give his nine year old Harry Potter to read. It is not because Harry Potter is not good to read, but that at nine years old his son is not ready for much of the imagery. He further says, “choosing which books to read is often not a yes/no decision but a now/later decision.” (61)
- Avoid Certain Books that Glorify Evil. This is not to say that you avoid books that mention evil. The operative word is “glorify.” Even the Bible speaks much of evil. In this realm would be trashy romance novels.
- Avoid Certain Books for Conscience Sake. Where does one draw the line for gore, language, evil, etc.? This is going to differ from believer to believer and one should always be sensitive to their own conscience.
Of all the chapters the most helpful to me were the ones on why you should read non-Christian books and the follow up to that chapter on imagination. I have long neglected non-Christian and fiction books and Reinke proposes that these need to be a part of the believers reading diet. After reading his seven reasons to read non-Christian books I think I’ll be more deliberate in this pursuit.
Some Practical Advice on Book Reading
This second section is the application or the “how to” section. Reinke covers topics such as prioritizing our reading, tips and tricks for reading non-fiction books, the benefits of reading fiction, finding time to read, handling distractions, marking up books (think pens, highlighters, & pencils), kindling reading habits in children, and a few final practical chapters.
The chapter on prioritizing reading is worth the cost of the book. Reinke describes the different reading he does and how he prioritizes it. He fully admits that his system will not work for everyone, however, if you were to take the principles of his system you would easily be able to build a great system for prioritizing your reading.
One of the areas in which I struggle to read is in finding time. In chapter 10 Reinke helps you with six ways that you can use to find time to read.
- Expect War. Our minds and our hearts will turn on us and discourage us from reading, expect this. Reinke says that “if we don’t kill the idols of laziness and self-indulgence, these idols will kill our literacy.” (131)
- Make Time, Not Excuses. We all find time for what we want to do. We must make reading a desire if we are to be successful. If you are an average reader (250 words/minute) and you set aside 1 hour per day (15 minutes in the morning, 15 minutes in the afternoon, and 30 minutes in the evening) you will be able to read in upwards to 400 pages per week! That can amount to a lot of books read in a year (Reinke’s goal is 75 a year). I posted on this topic earlier in the year.
- Read Great Books. Find the books that are truly great and don’t spend your time on mediocre books. When you find a book turning to mediocre stop reading.
- Set Reading Priorities. Until you read with purpose you will not be disciplined, efficient, or fruitful. Determine why you are reading something. Reinke makes a good point that “we will often neglect what we don’t prioritize.” (133)
- Stop Something. What is it that jockeys for your time to read? It very well might be that you need to eliminate something to take advantage of the time to read. It is more likely that you are like most other people and simply do not prioritize your time well. Figure out what you are doing to take your time from reading and adjust to allow for reading.
- Read Three Books at a Time. Reinke suggests different genres are suited for different times of reading. Having three different genres to read from makes redeeming your reading time much easier. On top of that, since you’ll redeem the time better you will read more.
Though I don’t have children, the chapter on raising children clicked with me. It is a dynamite chapter where Reinke gives you 16 practical ways a parent can cultivate reading in their children and 10 ways a pastor can encourage his people in reading. This chapter was so practical and stands out to me as a gem in this book.
When all is said and done I can not recommend Lit! more enthusiastically than saying it is a must read for anyone struggling with consistent reading patterns or those who simply want to read better (pretty much everyone).
For some more helpful information about Lit! and Tony Reinke you can check out the interview over at The Gospel Coalition website.
Tony Reinke is an author, blogger, researcher and assistant to C.J. Mahaney. He can be found on Twitter @TonyReinke
