This book was a sobering read. Sobering is the best word I have to describe my realization of how little I know about reading and how much of it I have to do in this program.<\/p>\n
It is not that I don\u2019t like to read. I have loved to read since I can remember. Books were my companions growing up. I have distinct memories of spending entire summer days reading as a kid and then my dad would get home and kick me outside. I would tuck my book in my shorts (not the most hygienic, I know) and find a spot outside to finish the chapter. A good story gets me every time.<\/p>\n
As an adult, I have learned to restrain my intake of fiction. If I was reading a good story, I would think about it throughout the day, barely acknowledge my husband at night and do the bare minimum at home to get back to it. I read The<\/em> Lord of the Rings <\/em>trilogy in under two weeks while working a full-time job and youth pastoring. Needless to say, my personal life was impacted. It was after that series that I stopped reading fiction in my normal life. I reserve that treat only for vacation.<\/p>\n But I love books. I argue with my husband and some of our friends about the need for independent bookstores and about how paper books are the best kind of books. We argue about whether listening to a book counts or not for reading. I have run out of space at home for books and use them to \u2018decorate\u2019 since they are in almost every room.<\/p>\n But my reading needs to grow up.<\/p>\n I realized I am nervous and apprehensive about reading \u2013 especially synoptic reading. And I now know I have to grow and change my reading habits. I will have to realize that not every book is worth reading analytically. I have to not get caught in the weeds and stall out like I can do with good books. And I need to learn that not every book deserves to thoroughly examined. I need to learn the skill of inspecting a book. I need to be able to say in one or two sentences what the author is trying to accomplish. I need to think more critically and be able to state whether I agree or not with the author once I understand the author. Oh, and I need to be able to explain why I do or do not agree. In short, my reading skills need to mature.<\/p>\n And I need to be less afraid of certain kinds of books. How to Read a Book<\/em> did ease my fear around not being able to understand what I have read. And it hit me that even though I bought War and Peace<\/em> awhile back that I probably did not intend to read it. I privately believed it to be too difficult. I don\u2019t think this is the season of life for that book, but I am less apprehensive about difficult books to come.<\/p>\n It is tempting to get swallowed up in the task ahead because of the volume and content of what this program will entail. But I will not. Instead, I will take comfort from the author\u2019s encouragement to keep reading and that \u2018you gradually lift yourself from a state of understanding less to one of understanding more\u2019[1]<\/a>. Now that sounds like something I can do.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n