Category Archives: Reading

The screen, the page, and the Book

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I found Sven Birkets’s essay on Resisting the Kindle in The Atlantic (2 Mar 2009) a useful reflection on page-to-screen transfer. I, too, am uneasy. But as I read the essay, it struck me that many of the things he says have implications for Christian worship as well.

He makes a compelling point about the the loss of context by using such technology. And when we take context down to the immediate context of any part of a work the loss of context become much more apparent.

Birkets’s story about the Blackberry search for a line of poetry reminded me of a similar circumstance several years ago. I was walking with a group of friends after evening worship when someone mentioned a verse of Scripture, but couldn’t remember the exact wording or reference. One of the group immediately whipped out an electronic Bible he had just bought, and tried to find the verse. Much to his annoyance, I was able to turn it up in a pocket Bible well before he could locate it.

My friend was simply locating information in an amorphous mass, however sacred. As I recall, I had a rough location in terms of the book concerned through knowledge of the text, and a memory of a position on the page. These two pieces of immediate contextual information enabled rapid discovery. There is no such thing as position on the page with electronic text. Even a large monitor still leaves a tiny window on the text (I find 24 inches still not enough). But a physical book enables much more of the immediate context of a work to be visible.

That’s why I’m not entirely convinced about projecting the words of hymns for church services. Each verse becomes disconnected with those preceding and following. Singing from a book gives the overall context of the stanza in the hymn, and enables the worshipper to interact with the hymn as a whole, rather than verse by verse or line by line, however the hymn is projected. Not even a Kindle hymn book would convert me. I have the same concerns about both ways of displaying text, when access trumps content.

Kindle may not be the Devil’s calling card, but we ought not to embrace it unthinkingly with evangelical zeal. All technology has implications and consequences. All things may be lawful, but not all things are helpful. Projecting a song’s words for a karaoke session is probably useful, though I have no experience of it. But Christian worship is not like karaoke, and projection of hymn words can make it seem little more. It takes more than a reminder of the words to make for effective worship.

Birkets also talks about the loss of historical reality to the author that is likely to take place if we become Kindlized (well, a horrible condition deserves a horrible word to describe it). Christian worship is grounded in the historical reality of God’s salvation. Dare we use means that erode historical connections?

More random thoughts on reading

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Tim Challies posted another article on reading (Random Thoughts on Reading, 26 Feb 2009) that is encouraging and helpful, as usual. I’ve never had much of a problem with reading as such, only with retaining, but I think he’s right to say that we shouldn’t get too hung up on retention. There are many things that stick from my reading subconsciously, and then reappear later when they click with something else. I definitely think that reading with pencil in hand improves retention, since it encourages reflection and promotes engagement with the author. I tend to file my handwritten notes, usually typed afterwards. I find the act of typing the notes also helps retention, even if it takes time. The time spent on review is worthwhile.

I think all bibliophiles must carry a book around for daily downtime. Those ten or more minutes waiting for appointments are much more profitable with a good book. It’s also a good reason to have several books on the go at any one time, since not all are suitable for reading at such times, aside from the size of some of the tomes I tend to read. I also find it useful to carry an old pocket diary with me, so that I can jot down notes, as well. I never use the diaries I get free from the various institutes I belong to and organizations I work for, so I use them as free notebooks, rather than diaries. Desk diaries are useful for taking notes at meetings and conferences, and the year planners can be used as indexes, since it can take some time before I get round to typing up my notes.

Carson on his own books

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Mark Dever has interviewed Don Carson about his own books, and a few by others. Just under an hour in length, it is well worth the listen for his insights, and Dever’s comments. One thing, among several, that stood out for me was the need to make use of indexes to get to the information you need. I made the mistake of listening while doing something else, so I’m going to have to listen again some time to get the most out of it. But on reflection, I think I would have needed to do that anyway. Now I’ve added to my wishlist!

de lectio

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Justin Taylor has just posted a couple of thoughts on Mortimer Adler’s How To Read A Book. How to Read a Book: The Rules for Analytical Reading and Can You Say It in Your Own Words? (both 27 Jan 2009). I read the first half of the book last year, so this is a timely reminder for me of some of the things I learned. I’m still too eager to complete a book when I start, but I think the one thing Adler has taught me is to slow down and consider what I’m reading. Writing reflections on what I’m reading certainly helps get a handle on the topic under discussion. I’ve got a huge pile of scribbled notes on my current reading. Maybe some time a few of the jottings will appear here.

Fair Semblances

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I’ve been reading Nathan Pitchford’s current book, an allegorical fantasy entitled Fair Semblances, for a few months now and thoroughly enjoying it. There are 20 chapters to catch up with, and regular fixes installments every Monday. I’ve been meaning to spread the word for some time now, and have finally got round to it. Some resolutions are best unmade, then they have more chance of being kept! There’s some great theological reflections on the blog as well as a great story. If you enjoy the book, leave Nathan a comment to encourage him.

Buying, Reading and Calculating the Cost of Books

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Ann Zerkle has written an interesting article “In Defense of Buying Books” (Get Rich Slowly, 30 Dec 2008; HT lifehacker, 3 Jan 2009) that made me feel good about my book buying habits. I do borrow from the University library, but for the really important books, a purchase is definitely a must.

I’ve never really calculated the cost per hour, but I think many of my purchases are definitely less expensive than Zerkle’s. I have a considerable number of technical books on databases, programming languages and Web development. Most of them weigh in about £25-30, and I reckon they would take 25-30 hours of reading, so I think they’re about £1/hour. Set them against a 2 or 4 day course, and they definitely pay for themselves many times over.

Novels at, say, £10, that take, say 15-20 hours enjoyable reading, are even better value at 50-70 pence/hour. But then classic novels will be reread several times, so the cost comes down considerably. The same goes for classic theology books. I’m rereading C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity again (prompted by Tim Challies’s Reading Classics, but way behind schedule at the moment). I reckon this is my third time round, and likely to take about 20 hours. My copy cost the princely sum of 25 pence (back in the mid 70s), so that’s costing me less than a ha’penny per hour!

Of course, the main thing about reading books is not the cost, but the sheer enjoyment of turning the page. A good television dramatisation doesn’t even come close to reading a well written novel up close and personal. I’ve just started 2009 with P. D. James’s latest offering, The Private Patient, to lighten up the week after a daily dose of Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. I’ll be reading, but only occasionally blogging it for Calvin’s 500th anniversary.

Now that I’ve salved my conscience on the buying front, it’s time to knuckle down to some serious reading.

Fiction pick

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I’ve just started reading C. J. Sansom’s Dissolution (London: Pan, 2003). It’s the first novel in his Shardlake Series, following the sleuthing of hunchback lawyer Matthew Shardlake during the reign of Henry VIII. Last year I read Sovereign, the third book in the series and enjoyed it immensely. (Yes, I know it seems strange not to start on the first one, but I got it ridiculously cheap for a hardback, and thought I had nothing to lose if I didn’t like it. Amazon had this one discounted, so I took the plunge, along with the latest volume in the series, Revelation.)

I suppose my commendation won’t add much weight to those from Colin Dexter and P.D. James. But James is right, “the sights, the voices, the very smell of this turbulent age seems to rise from the page.” I’m finding it as compelling reading and the previous one I read. Sansom has researched the period well, and although he has written a good fictional story, it feels authentic. I find my appetite for the history of the period whetted, yet again. Now I’m going to have to but a book on Henry VIII in the New Year.

This is not CSI. It’s more Morse set in Reformation times, or Sayers; not so much blood and guts as a good story with lots of intrigue and characterization. I’m trying to resist the temptation to read through it too quickly. I think a novel like this is best savoured slowly, so I’m doing my best, but it is hard as it is a real page turner. It makes a refreshing change from theology, and is helping keep me sane during database development.

Practical tips for interactive reading

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Like the Ten Commandments, Tim Challies’s Ten Tips to Read More and Read Better can be summarized by two: Read Widely and Read Wisely. Tim take it for granted we must read, and his correct. I don’t know where I heard it first, but I’ve always seen buying books as an essential purchase, not a luxury. There is much to be said for including an amount in the household budget for book acquisitions.

Of Tim’s ten tips, I found the most beneficial one to be Read Interactively (a Read Wisely one). Since I began to do this a number of years ago I have found I have retained and understood more of what I read. I tend to consolidate my notes in a word processed document.

I try to summarize the chapters as I read using pen and paper, as I find this aids my understanding. Typing them up afterwards helps retention and keeps the summaries short, since I know I will be typing afterwards. I include useful quotes with page references so I can find them again, or I can cite them accurately in blog posts and essays. I also also include my own questions and reflections. I find it helpful to have a template with suitable styles to make it easy to distinguish my comments from the basic book summary and quotations.

From a practical point of view I usually begin by typing out the table of contents of the book. That can be a little tiresome if you don’t type too fast and/or the table of contents is quite detailed. Now that many publishers make extracts available on their Web sites, it can often be possible to get the table of contents in PDF format from which to copy and paste to get started. I’ve also recently discovered  that some contents are available from the Library of Congress site in plain text if the publisher doesn’t make them available.

To read or not to read: the big decision

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What should I read?

Should I read this book? Should I read that book?

There are many books I could read, but what should I read? Should I read a book because it is a best seller? or popular?

Choosing what to read is no longer easy when there is so much choice. But more important than availability or popularity is whether a book will be edifying. Will it build me up in my faith? Will it help me know God better, and live more faithfully as his servant? If it will help me, it will be faithful to Scripture. If it is not, then I should pass it by (unless I am seeking to evaluate it myself against Scripture).

Recommendations and reviews are so helpful in deciding what to read. Rather than continuing with a page of my current reading, which astute readers of this blog may have noticed disappeared a while back, I’ve decided to comment on some current and planned reading in the main body of the blog. I’m never organized enough to post proper reviews, so anything I post will either be short recommendations or interactions with passages.

I can’t promise anything too regular, as I sometimes get engrossed in my reading to the exclusion of blogging. As I find the time, I’ll try to post a few tidbits. That way I won’t have to avoid Colin when I meet him again!! Thanks for the encouragement to keep posting, Colin.