Reforming Students

Books – I love them! As I mentioned in a previous post, I read 4-6 books per week, on average. A common question I receive is how I am able to keep up such an aggressive reading regiment in the midst of everything else I do during the week. So, as promised, I want to share several different things that keep me on track to finish a short stack of books from week-to-week. I’ll provide some pointers, but I think it’s important to remember that there’s not necessarily a right way to read. This is my way to read and it might not work for you at all! But maybe some other adaptation will. In fact, my reading habits come from a mixture of various sources: Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren’s How to Read a Book, John Piper, Albert Mohler, and D.A. Carson. These are all fantastic resources, and you will see some of their methods in mine:

1. I always have 6-8 reading projects going at once and shoot to finish a minimum of 4 per week. While I know that’s a lot more than the average reader, it’s not a difficult task. Regardless of my reading load, I wish most people I know would shoot to finish even 1 book per week! There’s something to be said here about quality, not quantity – but sometimes the quantity is increased precisely because you are trying to improve quality.

2. I divide my reading projects by difficulty and subject matter. For example, if I’m reading a theological work, none of my other 5 will be heavy on a real specific theological topic, as a general rule. I might be working through a puritan work, a Christian living work, a specific theological work (i.e. penal substitutionary atonement or justification), biography, something on culture, professional development (pastoral), sermon study, a classic literature work, and then usually something I’m reviewing for someone else, the church, or to discern whether or not to recommend it. With such a diverse mixture of books, I am able to make reading decisions based on available time in one sitting, alertness (am I in bed ready to sleep? Do I have a cup of coffee in the middle of the day and 2 hours to read?), and specific interest at any given time.

3. If I feel myself drifting in one book, I’ll put it down and pick up another. Sometimes a simple change of subject matter reenergizes me, helps me refocus, and keeps me going longer in the books.

4. I always read with a pencil in hand and take notes in the margins or on the blank pages at the front and back of the book. This helps me focus. I’m always looking for things to underline and comment on, so I think that heightens my awareness. Many people I know find this to be odd because I am generally very particular about how I treat my books (I only open the book far enough to where I can read the page as to not break or crack the spine and I loathe the thought of a dog-eared page!). Nevertheless, this is what makes a book mine and what makes it a valuable use of my time and effort. Once complete, it becomes a resource that I can quickly turn back to without having to reread. Many of my marking practices are directly from Adler’s book[1]:

i. Underlining – of major points; of important or forceful statements.

ii. Vertical lines at the margin – to emphasize a statement already underlined or to point to a passage too long to be underlined.

iii. Star, asterisk, or other doodad at the margin – to be used sparingly, to emphasize the ten or dozen most important statements or passages in the book.

iv. Numbers in the margin – to indicate a sequence of points made by the author in developing an argument.

v. Numbers of other pages in the margin – to indicate where else in the book the author makes the same points, or points relevant to or in contradiction of those here marked; to tie up to ideas in a book, which, though they may be separated by many pages, belong together. Many readers use the symbol “Cf” to indicate the other page numbers; it means “compare” or “refer to.”

vi. Circling of key words or phrases – This serves much the same function as underlining.

vii. Writing in the margin, or at the top or bottom of the page [or on the blank page at the beginning of most books] – to record questions (and perhaps answers) which a passage raises in your mind; to reduce a complicated discussion to a simple statement; to record the sequence of major points right through the book. The endpapers at the back of the book can be used to make a personal index of the author’s points in the order of their appearance.

5. Read for new information. If you’re reading a section or a chapter on something that you already know a lot about, have recently read extensively on, or have read the particular author’s take on, don’t waste your time. There are too many great books to read to spend time going through things that you’re already keenly aware of. For example, if I’m reading a book on reformed theology, I’m not going to read the chapter(s) that cover the basics of the 5 Points of Calvinism – it’s not helpful or new to me. Certainly I do not claim to be an expert, but typically if a book is just presenting an overview of certain points, the depth in which everything is discussed will not be new information. This is perhaps one of the most difficult things to get in the habit of doing because we often feel as though we’re cheating ourselves or the author when we do it. There’s some sort of weird guilt attached to skipping pages or entire chapters. But, this will help you increase your intake and interest. Don’t feel bad about it! There are very few books in which I read every single page or chapter.

6. Read your Bible first. There is no work in print that will replace this one – always make it THE number one priority. The best way to learn about and know the Bible is to read the Bible, not other books about the Bible and what it is saying.

7. Talk about and write about the books you just finished. Flip through, look at your underlines, read your notes, and process the overall work – it’s easy to forget if we just compartmentalize single thoughts without taking a step back and considering the whole. It may be helpful to write out a quick outline of the overall theme and ideas of the book on a sheet of paper or in the front cover of the book for quick reference.

8. Keep a good stash of unread books – and don’t feel bad about it! Having new things that you’re interested in reading is a good motivator to finish what you’re working on now. I’ve got about 2 dozen books that I keep a steady supply of to make sure that I’m continuously pushing to get into them.

9. Have a book with you wherever you go. There are always opportunities to read if you look for them! Waiting for your wife to try on clothes, waiting at a red light, eating a meal alone… get creative and read!

10. The more you read, the more you’ll enjoy it and the faster you’ll get. I use a speed reading program to read articles and blog posts online. This will train your eyes, and eventually you will learn to read books quicker as well. Surprisingly, if you are able to read quickly, your comprehension will also increase dramatically.

Oh – and of course – get rid of your TV! I listened to a sermon by Mark Driscoll this morning and he mentioned that by the age of 18, the average American teenager has watched 15,000 hours of television and spent only 11,000 hours in school. Wow. Imagine if you are 30, 40, or 50 years old… terrifying!

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[1] Adler, Mortimer and Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book (New York: MJF Books, 1972), 49-50.