I’ve used GoodReads for approximately two years.  What sites like these focus on are what are the “good reads” and why? What I want to focus on is what makes for a “good reader”? Is it something more than simply the number of books a person reads? What are the virtues of a good reader?

Here are a few of my thoughts and I’d love to hear what other readers think:

1.  Good readers are charitable. They have some perception on how hard writing is. George Orwell said, “Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.” They realize authors are trying to give them a gift and are willing to take the time to receive the book on the author’s terms.

2.  Good readers are attentive. Sometimes I try to read when I’m tired or distracted. Sleeping, or praying, or even watching TV might be better. Or perhaps reading something light–a Thurber story or an Agatha Christie mystery. Whether I am reading good history, fiction, or theology I think I do both the work and myself justice if I bring my best to the best of the author.

3.  Related to this, I think good reading is undistracted reading. We try to multi-task far more often than is good. I like to listen to music as I read yet I am concluding more and more that I do neither justice when I do this. Great music is worthy of the same kind of attention–it isn’t simply a background soundtrack for my life.  I can read in silence or in a buzz of conversations.  I can’t read when there is one conversation that I can follow–whether I want to or not!

4.  While good readers are charitable, they are also discerning.  Just as a wine-lover can tell the difference between great and mediocre wines or even the subtleties of different vintages of the same wine, so good readers recognize the difference between writing of quality and mediocrity–whether it is elegance of style, subtlety of character development, clarity of thought, or believe-ability of plot development.  Good readers, like good customers, reward good writing with their “custom”. They re-read works and acquire other books by the same author.

5.  Good readers reflect upon what they read.  They don’t read simply to be amused, as much as they find joy in the act of reading. They read with an openness to learn, to gain a new perspective, to see the world differently or even to change.

My son is a writer.  He has given me some of his ‘drafts’ to read. Reading the work of a family member or a friend calls out these virtues because it reminds you that you hold in your hands the work of someone who matters greatly. In truth, that is the case with every work we read. Reviewing someone’s work calls even more for these virtues, I think.

One of the rewards of “good reading” is to discuss great works with other “good readers” either online or in book groups. Again, sharing a good book is like sharing good food–a doubly rich experience. What are the practices of good reading that help you enter deeply into a book and enable to share that richness with others?