Thoughts on Reading

Recent polls tell us that the average American adult reads very few books, if any at all. In my interviews with job applicants I often ask them what they like to read.  Few mention that they read books.  For many it is a stretch to get them to admit that they even read newspapers or magazines.Certainly this lack of interest in the written word has implications for the future of Western culture. Just make a reference to Caesar to a twenty-something year-old and you might find yourself talking about a video game or a type of salad.

On the other hand, there are some of us who read books, many books. Or, as my wife would say, buy too many books that I don't read soon enough.  Why do we read so many books? What benefit is there in the reading of books? Will just any book do?

I will begin with the last question. No, not just any book will do. Much of what we find on the shelves at Barnes & Noble, Borders, or even the local Christian mega book and gift emporium, is essentially garbage in printed form.Perusing some of the aisles I am afraid to open the likes of a bodice-ripping romance, or the latest heresy from Joel Osteen for fear of the odor that will waft from the pages. Not to mention being contaminated by nonsense in touching The Secret or being slimed by the latest bestseller from the brilliant mind of T.D. Jakes. No, we must carefully select the books we read. We must choose "good" books with which to invest our time, our minds, and our spirits. For good books reward our investment, cultivate our minds, and strengthen our spirits.

    But, what then is a "good" book. Admittedly "good" is a subjective word with which to classify reading materials.  Surely, what I think of good is at least somewhat a matter of preference, taste, and interests.  Nevertheless, I believe we can identify the characteristics possessed by those books we can agree are "good."