On Reading

Bob on Books 2026 Reading Challenge

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Bob on Books 2026 Reading Challenge

As I thought about my reading challenges for this year, I wanted challenges that I would really do and enjoy at the same time. And I wanted challenges that would both enrich my reading and enrich my life. I also decided to cut the list down to five challenges. Some reading challenges (including some I’ve posted in the past) seem pretty daunting if you think of trying to accomplish all of them. I hope this one will seem doable, and at the same time take your reading in new directions that you like.

However, one thing you will notice is that there are no numerical goals. No page goals. No books read goals. In fact, you could read just five books and accomplish this challenge. Actually, you could read even less if you find a way to accomplish multiple challenges with the same books! But I hope you enjoy the reading in each challenge so much that you’ll read more books related to that challenge. And of course, your welcome to read all kinds of books unrelated to these challenges Keep it fun, not work!

Five Challenges

_____1. Read a “classic” work. I’ll keep the definition of classic simple: a work that has outlived its author. That means anything from Homer’s Iliad or Odyssey to a Lord Peter Wimsey mystery by Dorothy L. Sayers. I’m reading the six novels of Jane Austen.

_____2. Read an author new for you. It’s OK to look for an author in a genre you like–a mystery writer new to you, for example. I’ve read reviews of Thomas Pynchon’s books all my life but never read one. I got his latest for Christmas as well as an older book. We’ll see if I want to read more.

_____3. Re-read a book on your shelves that you’ve read. There must be some reason you kept it! Good books are like rivers. Just as you never step into the same river twice, so also a good book is not the same book the next time we read it. I have a one volume edition of the Chronicles of Narnia. I last read these over thirty years ago to my son when he was young.

_____4. Read a genre or subgenre of books new to you. We get into ruts of reading only certain kinds of books and we get to know that genre well, but other genres, not so much. You might need the help of a bookseller, librarian or other reading friends. In my case, I read a lot of serious books. So, I’d like to try some humor. Any suggestions?

_____5. Read up on a topic on which you’d like to be better informed or an interest you’d like to pursue. I took a watercolor class this fall and loved it. My artist spouse has a whole shelf of books on watercolor painting to help me build on what I learned. I want to both read and paint. And who knows, I might even review some of them.

Tell Me When You Finish

I’d love to hear from you if you decide to use this challenge and finish it. Let me know the books you read. And let me know if this was enjoyable and enriching for you. Not only that, I’d love to hear your suggestions for future reading challenges. Visit Bob on Books on Facebook and message me. Finally, look for something from me later this year about how my challenge went. Happy New Year 2026!

Bob on Books 2025 Reading Challenge

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It’s that time of the year again! Time for the Bob on Books 2025 Reading Challenge. For those who know me, you know that my reading challenges are not about the number of books or pages read. You don’t need a spreadsheet or a book app to do this challenge. For this year, my reading challenge focuses around reading deeply. In an age of web browsing, surfing from hyperlink to hyperlink, and push notifications on your smartphone, much of our reading is hurried, distractive, and often so broken up that we lose an author’s train of thought or the plotline of a story. The challenges here focus on developing our ability to read with attentiveness, to truly enjoy the gift of a good book, allowing it deeply into our lives

A word on the challenge. There are no awards for completion. The way you complete each challenge is up to you. Sometimes, by completing one challenge, you may find you’ve completed another. And you are welcome to choose to do some challenges and not others. We’re adults here (although I think the challenges are suitable for children as well). The point is for all of us to grow in our capacity to engage with and enjoy the books we choose. So, here are the challenges.

Twelve Challenges

Read a book with all screens elsewhere. Many of us live with our phones/tablets/computers/TVs. Push notifications, texts, new emails are all distractions. Try reading one book away from all these, even for 30 minutes at a sitting. For this, don’t read a book on a device with a screen unless it is a dedicated e-reader with no other apps or notifications. The book I read:_____________________________________

Read a book wide awake. When we are tired we have a more difficult time absorbing what we read. Falling asleep mid-sentence makes following an argument or plot harder. Read something when you are most wakeful. Choose something that keeps your attention. Wasn’t that fun? (BTW, if you can’t read without dozing, you might need help getting more sleep–lack of sleep has all kinds of health impacts!). The book I read:______________________________________________

Read a book slowly. Some books can’t be read quickly but are worth reading. Works of religion and philosophy, history, some fiction and others are worth slowing down to read well. You might take notes or outline. Reading books with complex sentences aloud can help. The book I read: __________________________

Read a book of poetry. Read a collection from a poet you like or an anthology, if you are new to poetry. Poetry invites us to pay attention to words rather than let them flow over us. Take time to read and re-read. If you want, you can use this challenge to fulfill the previous one! The book of poetry I read: __________________________

Re-read a book that has been meaningful to you at some point in your life. Good books often grow as we do. We see things because of life experiences we did not ten, twenty, or more years ago. If you are ambitious, re-read one fiction and one non-fiction book. The book I read:______________________________

Read a book published before 1900. C.S. Lewis famously counselled that we ought to read one old book for every new one. People writing from another time often see things differently than we, for better or worse. Reflecting on that difference can be valuable. Unlike Lewis, I’m only suggest you read one old book for the year! This may be another one for which you accomplish several challenges. The old book I read:___________________________________

Choose an author you like and try to read as much of what they’ve written as you can. You could focus on this challenge for a month or all year. As we do we see recurring ideas or themes, notice writing styles, how their thought developed, etc. And isn’t it fun to become something of an “expert” on your favorite author? The author I read:____________________________________

Choose a subject to read up on. This can be anything from AI to zookeeping! The key is that it interests you. It can be fun to go deeper into something we find intriguing. A Google search or a conversation with your librarian or bookseller can get you started. Try to read several books if you can. The subject you chose:___________________________________________

Read one book “against the grain.” Choose one book you are pretty sure you will not agree with. Feel free to argue with the book in your head or in notes. But I would also suggest asking yourself how the writer reaches such different conclusions from you and what the appeal of this writer is for intended readers. The book I read:______________________________________

Read one book written by someone of a different generation than yours. If you are a Boomer, read a Gen Z writer or a Millennial. Each generation has to confront the human condition but does so in different ways. Might we learn from each other? The writer of a different generation I read:_______________________

Read a translated work. This is a good way to ensure reading works from a different cultural/ethnic perspective. Anything from Tolstoy to Murakami counts! The translated work I read:_______________________

Read a book to nourish your inner life. Regardless of what we believe, we need works to enrich our interior lives. In one sense, most books do that. You could choose a sacred text, a devotional work, or even a biography or memoir of someone you admire. The book I read:__________________________

I’ve been reading for sixty-five years. I don’t think I’ve exhausted what it means to be a good reader, one who reads deeply and attentively. I want to grow as that kind of reader this year. These challenges reflect the ways I hope to challenge myself toward that end. I hope you will use these challenges as you find them helpful. And remember, you are welcome to use the same book to meet more than one challenge! Have fun, and let me know how it goes.

Books and Community

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“Gathering a community of booklovers.” That phrase has been rattling around in my head ever since I heard it from Justin Bessler at Birch Tree Bookery. It reminded me that what I love about books is not only losing myself in them but also finding myself among others who love talking about books. This week I wrote a report summarizing reports on twenty-two book groups for a grant funder. That reinforced the idea of how powerful it can be to gather people around a good book. Books and community are a powerful mix!

Book groups help people find like-minded people. It is wonderful to know we are not alone in love for an author or in seeing the world in the way we do.

Book groups also can foster good disagreements. We may need to define “rules of engagement” about respect and curiosity. Disagreement can force me to think more deeply. It may make me stronger in conviction. Or it may change my mind.

Book groups build community. The shared experience of working through a book can transform acquaintances into friends, people we want to be with and have as part of the fabric of our lives.

Discussing books with others etches a book into our lives. Till We Have Faces is, perhaps, C.S. Lewis’s most profound book. But I just didn’t get it until a group of us struggled through it together.

Books are often a mirror by which we look at our lives. Sometimes, the comments and questions of another help hold that mirror for us.

And sometimes, a book will galvanize a community into action. It will inspire and call us into action and convince us “we can do this!” or “we need to do this!” Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have said, on meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe, “So you’re the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war!” Hopefully, books won’t call us to war but to constructive action.

Summing up, books and community are a powerful combination. So that is why I love to host book groups, write about books and host social media devoted to discussing books online. And that is why I’d love to hear your stories of the power of books and community.

The Ways We Read

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I’ve been thinking lately about the ways we read. Ways? Most of us think reading is sitting in your favorite spot, a physical book in hand, our favorite drink at our side, and under good light.

But readers are far more versatile than that. The book could be an e-reader or tablet. Or an app on our phone, used on a bus, or train, or tram, or sitting at an airplane gate.

Or we may be “reading” by listening to someone read a book. While we drive. Or walk. Or exercise. Or cook.

Of course we don’t just read books. There are magazines, newspapers, instruction books, employee and student handbooks. even cereal boxes!

But we don’t just read silently. or alone. Even when it appears we are, we really are in conversation with the author, a communion of minds and thoughts.

We read aloud. As children called on in class. When we want to hear the sound, the rhythm of words in a poem. I read aloud when I edit an article. Sometimes I read dense writing aloud, phrase by phrase, aurally unpacking closely written ideas.

We read aloud to others. In church or synagogue, reading lectionaries or sacred texts. Sometimes one reader. Sometimes responsively or antiphonally. Sometimes in unison, joining our voices together. Some of us gather in small groups to study the Bible, and often before discussing a text, it will be read aloud.

Authors give readings of their works. We sometimes read favorite passages to each other. Lovers read poetry to each other…or at least once did.

Before audiobooks, my wife and I read to each other on long car trips. And we cherished family read aloud times at our son’s bedtime, sometimes all snuggled up on a sofa, as when we read through the Little House books.

We read to those unable to read. I taped textbook readings for a sight-impaired student. I shudder to think of the hours he spent listening to my voice! I wish I had thought to throw in a few jokes!

We read to the infirm who cannot read. We read to those seriously ill, even nearing death, words of comfort from Psalms, poetry, perhaps an author favored by us both.

We read aloud on holidays, texts appropriate to the day. “I Have A Dream” on Martin Luther King Day, the Declaration of Independence on the Fourth of July, “The Night Before Christmas” on Christmas Eve, the Seven Last Words on Good Friday.

All this is amazing for a learned skill, acquired with varying degrees of difficulty. As I look at all the ways we read, I’m struck with how much reading is part of the warp and woof of our lives. It’s a cultural good worth preserving, a way of preserving richness and imagination against the forces of banality and entropy that would wear away at us.

All the ways we read.

Is This the End of Reading?

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I’m borrowing my title from an article (paywalled) published on May 9 in the Chronicle of Higher Education under the same title. The article described the struggle of college professors with students not doing assigned readings, of reducing the number and length of readings without any improvement, and often summarizing readings in class. They noted declines in ability to follow a longform, complex argument, and fragmented and distracted thinking. This has been found to be accompanied by declines in writing ability (a 750 word essay being too long–ironic because this post will likely surpass that), and difficulties with notetaking if not structured by the professor.

The article explored various factors contributing to such decline:

  • Inadequate reading instruction going back to primary education.
  • Standardized test-oriented instruction, focused on close reading of short passages.
  • COVID related declines due to relaxed requirements and isolation from good instruction (although these declines were being noted pre-COVID–and have only accelerated)
  • Lack of leisure reading among teens.
  • Smartphone use and social media, where reading comes in fragments and rapid scanning..
  • Preference for information through audio-visual sources, often attended to while multi-tasking.

The upshot is either dumbed-down instruction or remedial efforts to teach reading, sometimes incorporated into instruction.

It is scary to think of the possibility that we are turning out functionally illiterate high school graduates and marginally literate college graduates without the habits equipping them to be lifelong learners. Yet it is disturbing to me that many state legislatures seem more concerned with what students should not be reading and what should not be on library shelves than the fact that students are not reading!

A few things seem vitally important:

  • Reading skills seem foundational. The article raises the use of whole language approaches that fail to teach phonics (which was an important part of my reading instruction).
  • Equally foundational is the association of reading with love. It can be the closeness of read aloud times with a parent or caregiver, sometimes learning the words of favorite stories. It is finding stories children love to read, sometimes with multiple readings.
  • It’s talking about stories, fostering critical thinking skills. This can be fun and discussions may be memorable!
  • It seems that learning how to read texts that are not “fun” is important. It’s more than just slogging through. It’s identifying what body of knowledge a text is addressing, what questions it is trying to answer, and then looking for how the writer unpacks those ideas.
  • I’m also struck by the fact that audio-visual culture might be an ally rather than an enemy. Book-Tok has been hugely influential in driving the sale of Young Adult fiction (this might be a good reason to save Tik-Tok!). I’d love to see media influencers exploring how they might encourage college-level reading skills among their followers.

I do think about how smartphone usage affects all of this–even for me as an inveterate reader. Perhaps this ought be a part of whatever passes for health instruction these days because of the far-reaching effects smartphones have on physical, mental, and reading health. Perhaps apps need to carry addictiveness and anti-social behavior ratings.

A final word here from the perspective of faith. Every faith has its sacred texts. The Abrahamic faiths are “people of the book.” God communicated God’s self in words that were written down on tablets, scrolls, and codices. Universities as centers of literacy arose from cathedral schools. In my own experience, I learned more about the close reading of texts, that I applied to great advantage in research papers, through the Bible studies I attended and led and Bible study methods I learned. I became a better reader of all books by learning to read the Bible well, having learned skills I wasn’t taught in school. Sadly, I hear little in most faith communities about fostering any sort of literacy, biblical or otherwise. There is a rich heritage here and a contribution to be made to our wider society that is at the heart of our faith.

The decline in reading ability in our universities ought to ring alarm bells. It would suggest a decline in many other areas–imagination. empathy and reasoned thought among them. It suggests systemic issues requiring thoughtful, evidence-based action. And it ought challenge all of us who love books and reading to think about how we might share that love winsomely and joyfully.

Real Men Read

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I often feel myself an outlier. Very simple. I am a male. And I read. Perhaps because I work in the university world, I do know a number of men who read. But in the wider society, not so much.

My Facebook page is a case in point. Of my 85,000 plus followers, only 29% are men and 71% women. Now 29% is nearly 25,000 and so it is hardly the case that no men are reading. Likewise, when I look for images of people reading to post, they probably run 10 to 1 in favor of women. Try finding images of BIPOC persons and it is even harder.

More women have read a book in the last year. Women read more books. And in a shift, women authors are dominating publishing, which was not always the case. Nearly every one of the celebrity book clubs and influencers I can think of are women. Levar Burton and James Patterson are the only ones who come to mind as male book influencers…and maybe Barack Obama and Bill Gates when they post about what they are reading.

I say kudos to the women! The last thing I want is for women to step back so men can step ahead. Rather, I simply want men to step up and read and be reading influencers. I hope in a small way that I am doing that myself. Here’s a few reasons:

  1. Read for yourself. Sitting down with a book, even a Jack Reacher novel or a Tom Clancy thriller reminds you of worlds beyond your own and people courageously meeting troubles that dwarf your own.
  2. Sharpen the sword. All of us need to keep learning to stay nimble in our rapidly changing world. There are a variety of ways to do that but reading is still one of the best.
  3. Understanding our times. Our society faces a variety of complex challenges, many too great to leave to our politicians alone. We need a knowledgeable, engaged citizenry who can dig beneath “talking points” to real solutions.
  4. For the sake of our children, especially for our sons, who take many of their cues from us. Part of it is reading with both our sons and daughters. Not only can reading together create warm, joyous family times, but they create rich memories for both us and our children. Also, being seen reading, as well as doing all the more physically active things from tossing a football to building a piece of furniture to loading the dishwasher says real men do all these things–and many more–but that reading is a part of it.
  5. Have more interesting things to talk about with your spouse or partner. Nuff said!

I hear men complain that bookstores seem to feature books more oriented toward women. There may be a grain of truth in that, simply because bookstores configure themselves to who buys the books! If that bothers you, ask a bookseller to help you find books that you like. Any good one will love such request and the more men make that request and buy books, the more that may balance out.

This is actually a good time of the year to start in places that celebrate Father’s Day. Many stores will feature books that they’ve found make good gifts for men. So men, this is a good time to treat yourself. And those with men in their lives–husbands, fathers, sons, grandfathers–this is a good time to look for gifts. And the more that happens, the more stores will sell books for both genders.

I realize as I write that I have suggested a fairly gendered view of books–books women prefer and those men prefer. I think there are many books that may appeal to both–for example Louise Penny’s Gamache stories. As a guy, I want to be like Gamache (and I suspect many women wish they were married to him!). My mother loved Tom Clancy novels and introduced me to them! But many genres favor one over the other. Romance is read, in one statistic, by 84% women to 16% men. I think this variety is good and that people should read what they like, not what they “should.”

So one piece of advice if you are thinking of buying a book for dad this Father’s Day, buy him something he will like, not something you think he “should” read. What are his interests? And if he has read, what did he like? Your bookseller will be glad to help you find that right book. Just don’t wait until the Saturday before!

A Skimmer or a Deep Reader?

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NPR recently posted an article titled How to Practice ‘Deep Reading.’ It’s a great interview available in both print and streaming audio. For any of us dedicated to what I like to call “the art of reading,” this is worthy of our intention.

One of the observations was that we were not pre-wired for reading–that for all of us, this is a learned skill, and like any learned skill, we have the opportunity to keep learning. It also suggests why reading doesn’t always come naturally for us. Neither does typing, playing a musical instrument, or painting. But we can develop our proficiency as we practice.

The interview explores the idea of deep reading, where we fully engage what is written with our thoughts, our questions, reflections, and even emotions–what does this evoke in me? In fact, reading with affect is one of the ways books become imprinted in our minds. I think this so true–whether I rhapsodized over the writing or an exceptional plot, didn’t like an ending, or got angry with an argument–those are the books I remember.

The article contrasts deep reading with the practice of skimming. And this caught me up short. I skim a lot of material–articles for posting, emails, and to be honest, some books, at least to a certain degree. I suspect many of you do as well. Since I read many books, an occupational hazard of a reviewer, I read books where people cover ground I’ve seen others cover before. I’m looking for what they bring to the conversation that is new.

What catches me up short is not that I do it, but seeing how doing it affects all my reading. This has been brought home to me recently by reading A Secular Age by Charles Taylor along with a friend. It is a long, dense but elegantly written book reflecting a great mind tracing an intellectual history spanning centuries and dozens of thinkers in several languages. I was trying to read 20 pages a day, and found it difficult to absorb. My friend told me, “I can only do 10 pages at a time, and I have to go back and re-read the 10 pages.”

I’ve decided that this book is my primer in deep reading. One of Taylor’s sentences often provides ample fodder for thought. I’m going to allow him to teach me to take the time to read him well and not read just to get the gist. And this practice is suggesting a rule worth applying to other things–if I only have a vague notion of what this book is saying or how this story is put together, I’m probably reading too fast.

The interview also suggests some form of note-taking helps us absorb and keep track of the flow of an argument and the things we remember. I don’t like to write in my books because I will re-sell many, and I don’t like slowing down to write in a journal. One suggestion from the article I might try is jotting down (maybe on a slip of paper) in the back of a book) page numbers of key thoughts, maybe with a key word or phrase. I’d love to hear how other note-takers do it.

Taylor will keep me busy for a while, so this will give me a good opportunity to practice deep reading. Perhaps after that, I may try to have at least one book where I follow a suggestion from the interview to “read at your own pace and the book’s pace.” Actually, it’s pretty exciting to be approaching my eighth decade and still be learning to read!

Tips For Reading More–If You Want

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I read a lot of books. If you notice, most days on this blog are devoted to book reviews. This happened to be the rare day when I had no finished books waiting for review. Last year, I read 219 books. It’s an occupational hazard of book reviewers! I’m not bragging because I know a number who read more. Equally, I know a number of very happy people who love reading who have read far less. What’s important is that you find enjoyment and enrichment in whatever you read. Here are some things that help me make the most of my reading time.

  1. Eliminate distractions. This is the biggy! When you read, read. I always read better when my smartphone is plugged in somewhere else. Don’t try to multi-task, especially with loved ones.
  2. A good reading location. This means a chair that offers comfort and support and good light (neither to dim nor too glaring. If you are an older reader, you probably need more light, unless you’ve had cataract surgery. I like it when I can rest my book on a table, though the binding on books don’t always lend themselves to that.
  3. Good eyewear. My eye doctor learned I read a lot and gave me a prescription for reading glasses in addition to my regular glasses that include a reading prescription. This has so improved my reading experience.
  4. I always have several books going at a time. Partly this reflects reviewing where this allows me to have a book I’ve finished most days. The other thing is that I tend to want to take a break after reading a stretch in a book, usually about 30 pages of non-fiction and 40 pages of fiction.
  5. Take stretch breaks between books. For me, it’s a way of clearing my mental palate. As readers, we also need to move our bodies. Usually, I don’t read more than 30 to 45 minutes at a stretch without getting up, maybe doing a household chore or two or at least refilling my coffee cup or water bottle.
  6. Read when you are most alert. Sometimes a half hour nap or walk perks me up enough that my mind is refreshed. You don’t read much when you are nodding off–usually the same paragraph ten times.
  7. Reading expands to fill the time you give it. And usually with little difference in comprehension. I can read 30 pages in 30 minutes, or 45, or an hour. I find that if I am determined, I can do it in 30, and sometimes less if I focus. Often we are slowed by distractions or going back over what we’ve read. This will vary, of course with the density of what we are reading–not only the words on the page but the complexity of the ideas. Sometimes a skim to get the outline of a plot or argument followed by slower reading helps with dense material.
  8. Reading with others. Recently, a friend mentioned wanting to read Charles Taylor’s A Secular Age–a significant book coming in at over 900 pages. I have too, and we decided to tackle it together, beginning April 1. I’ll let you know how it goes. Book clubs do the same thing with more people. The ones I’ve appreciated most are those where we get into books we’ve wanted to read, often ones that have sat on the shelves of some of us.
  9. I usually have a series or two and a good one will spur on my reading. Right now, I’m reveling in the Brother Cadfael stories as well as Margery Allingham’s Albert Campion series. These are just great fun! Louise Penney’s Gamache series got me through the years of the pandemic–allowing me to lose myself in her writing during those grim times.
  10. When you find a writer you like, read all you can by them. I find the more I read such writers, the more I get “in sync” with them, whether it is Wendell Berry’s essays, or Willa Cather’s fiction, my discovery of last year. When I discovered David McCullough, I read everything by him. I miss him.

Those are some of the things that have worked for me. If they don’t work for you, we’re just different. I think all of us who love reading live under the awareness of “so many books and so little time.” Some of what I’ve written here falls under making the most of our reading time so that we might read a bit more of those books. But another part of what I’ve written relates to getting the most enjoyment and enrichment out of our time. If that is happening when you read, you are reading enough. And don’t let anyone tell you any different!

So Many Books and Only Two Eyes

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“So many books and only two eyes.” I saw a meme with this quote the other day and it reminded me of one of the fears that lurks at the back of my mind. My immediate family history includes two people who had or have macular degeneration. One was my mom, from whom I probably inherited my love of reading. As the macular degeneration progressed, reading became more difficult until she just gave it up. I’ve wondered what I’d do if this happened to me. I’m approaching the age of onset for my other family members. Perhaps it is one of the reasons I read like crazy. I don’t know how long I’ll be able to do so. While giving up driving would be tough, there are days I’m glad not to. I can’t say that of reading.

One article I read said that 3.22 million Americans have a visual impairment. That’s a sizeable enough body of people that there are devices and strategies and support that can help. For those with low visual acuity the keys are light, contrast between print and the background, and the size of the print.

Light. With mild to moderate cataracts, not yet requiring surgery, I need more light than I once did. LED bulbs make this possible at a fraction of the energy we once used. A good reading lamp is more essential than ever.

Contrast. This is where electronic screens that allow us to adjust contrasts are helpful. Black against a yellow or white background or white on black (particularly in low light situations) is helpful.

Print size. This seems to be the biggy. Magnifiers from handheld to sheets to electronic magnifiers that project enlarged text on a screen are out there. Many books are released in large print editions, often available at libraries. The only downside is the size and weight of such books, and often a more limited selection. The advent of e-readers has been a boon for many visually impaired. These allow enlarging font sizes and adjusting backgrounds. I would suggest finding places, whether libraries or showrooms where you can try out devices before buying. Think about usability, weight, and especially the readability of text. Some devices also have read aloud features.

When Low Vision Becomes No Vision. For some of us, we will reach the place where these aids will no longer help. Here are some directions one may take:

Audiobooks. Far and away, this is the best option for many. Local libraries offer these for free (a wait may be required). You will need the app your library specifies. Go visit. They will be glad to help set it up.

NFB-Newsline. The National Federation of the Blind makes audio versions of many national and local newspapers and other periodicals, as well as offering a children’s version.

Podcasts. There are a host of podcasts on every subject that also make for great listening, often with opportunities to hear interviews with authors we like.

Human Readers. This is trickier, but there may be a family member, perhaps even a grandchild who might read, or a friend. Sometimes it could be someone you read to at an earlier time in life who returns the favor. There is an intimacy of the shared enjoyment of a book at any age.

Braille. This is still an option but one that requires training. Your local Society for the blind or similar organizations can help.

Having books read aloud is hardly new. In societies with low literacy rates, this is how most people “read” books and often, especially with good narrators, one may hear things that wouldn’t come across in a visual reading.

It also occurs to me that slowing down, absorbing what we read more slowly, might not be entirely bad.

Recovering the Practice of Memorizing. Many of our forebears had a wealth committed to memory: Shakespearean sonnets or passages of plays, poetry, scripture and more. They carried something of a library in their heads.

Have we staked too much on reading? Reading is not my life, just an enjoyable part of my life. If my sight goes, my faith remains, my relationships remain, hopefully other senses remain and grow sharper, where I can smell the new mown lawn, feel cool breezes and warm sunlight, and savor the different ingredients in a fresh salad. It’s probably a good question to ask ourselves whether we have resources within us to sustain us if we’re not able to take in new ones from without.

So many books and only two eyes. Perhaps it ought to make us grateful to have TWO eyes still able to read, if we do. Perhaps it ought to make us mindful of our reading choices. No matter what, we can’t read everything–but we can dead some good things that enrich us. And perhaps it ought make us mindful of ways to sensitively share that gift with those who no longer enjoy it. I’m not sure we ever outgrow the voice in us that cries, “read me a story!’

Reviewing Christian Books

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A random selection of books awaiting review. ©Robert C. Trube, 2024.

I imagine one of the questions some have asked on encountering this blog is “why does Bob review so many Christian books?” That’s actually pretty atypical of most book blogs. I suspect some of you just pass these up and read other reviews on books, or my Youngstown posts. That’s just fine, although I hope you will dip in if you see an intriguing title. Don’t worry, this blog is not about proselytizing. Like all reviews, I want to help people get a sense of what the book is about and what I thought about it so they can decide if they want to buy or borrow it.

OK, so why do I review so many Christian books? Besides the fact that I am a follower of Christ, it stems, I think, from a conviction formed early in my Christian journey. A Christian leader I deeply respected once said, “While not all Christians who read are growing Christians, all growing Christians are reading Christians.” That resonated. Deciding to follow Christ was quite simply the best thing to happen in my life and I wanted to grow into all that this meant for my relationship with God and neighbor, my calling in life, my character, and how my faith informed how I saw and lived into every aspect of life. More than fifty years later that is still true.

I believe we grow through our interactions both with God and other Christ-followers. Some are those in my own Christian community with whom I share life. The first book, of course, that we should read and re-read is the Bible. But the wonderful thing about other Christian books is the chance to learn from other Christians I may never meet, especially if they are from before my time. How thankful I am for what I’ve learned from Augustine, Calvin, C. S. Lewis, Francis Schaeffer, John R. W. Stott, Theresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, Martin Luther King, Jr. and so many others. Likewise, I’ve been enriched by so many contemporary writers from N.T. Wright to Tish Harrison Warren.

I began writing reviews to remember what I read, to record what I wanted to remember. I started posting them on an old Facebook app and then on Goodreads (where they still appear). A few years later, I started Bob on Books with the idea of making my reviews, and other thoughts about reading and life available to those who didn’t want to be tied to Goodreads.

I work with a collegiate ministry serving graduate students and faculty. I also hold a Masters degree from a seminary. That leads to reading works written with a kind of academic rigor and careful thought that characterizes what the students and faculty I work with read. While those kinds of books are not generally so popular today, they offer the heft to meet the spiritual and intellectual challenges the scholars we work with face. And this is not so unusual in a Christian history in which the great universities of both Europe and the United States grew out of the church. Any study of intellectual history will number devout Christians like Aquinas and Pascal among the greatest thinkers.

One of my reasons for my reading and reviewing is to share these resources with colleagues, faculty and students who will find these helpful. In earlier years I carried a trunkful of books to share with students I met on campuses. Books would continue conversations we began, with conversation partners who offered far more than I could. I discovered that in writing about books, I could do something similar with a wider group of people. I get to connect people with everything from devotional resources to the latest in Pauline scholarship to books discussing the relationship of faith and science as well as books discussing pressing societal issues from a Christian perspective.

While some of the books I review are academic in character, I try not to write “academic” reviews such as one would find in an academic journal. Most of my reviews are under a thousand words–a challenge when trying to distill several hundred pages! I work to identify the writer’s main idea and how they unpack it, highlighting what seem original, or sometimes, controversial insights. I try to write for ministry colleagues and for non-specialists in theology or biblical studies, though they are often highly specialized in their own field of study.

I’m a non-specialist myself. While I read widely and have some academic training, I am not a specialist in many of the fields in which authors work I review. I don’t attend the American Academy of Religion/Society of Biblical Literature (AAR/SBL) conferences they attend or follow the journals where they hash out ideas with other scholars. That’s a handicap, and I will be the first to admit I miss things, even though I try to fairly and accurately present a writer’s ideas. Mostly, authors are glad for the publicity for their books and often pass along resources to fill in the lacunae in my own knowledge.

But this is the same handicap most of my readers have. They are bright folk but not trained in the fields of the writers I review. Sometimes, I’m saddened because writers actually have important ideas for “people in the pews” but they write only for the AAR/SBL crowd. But many of the writers I review write plainly enough that any fluent reader of English will profit from reading them if they are willing to give them undivided and unhurried attention, something increasingly rare in our age of distraction. I consider it a privilege to help them reach a wider audience than they might otherwise–and I learn along the way.

A book that greatly influenced both my sense of call and my passion for reading and reviewing thoughtful Christian writing was Mark Noll’s Scandal of the Evangelical Mind. Noll’s point about the evangelical mind at the time he wrote was that there wasn’t one. He noted the penchant of evangelicals for action rather than thought and the critical need for both. In seminary, I researched the work of William Wilberforce, who with a circle of reformers called the “Clapham Sect” achieved a number of social reforms including the abolition of the slave trade and then slavery itself in the British colonies forty years before our Civil War. Again, the one critique that might be offered was a tendency to action over thought. In consequence, many of the reformers children carried on the reforms but departed from the faith.

I’m concerned that I sometimes hear a longing for spiritual renewal set against the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:1-2). I want it all and think being asked to dispense with one is like being asked which wing of an airplane I would dispense with. I long for living a life of loving God with heart, soul, mind, and strength and my neighbor as myself. I do think what we read, what we nourish ourselves on, matters. We rail against junk food but settle for mind candy when there is so much rich fare out there. I hope my reviews point the way to a better diet that enables us to link thought to passionate devotion and action. Instead of banning ideas in the world of higher education, I long for Christian scholars who meet deficient ideas with better ones. This is the renewal I long for. I hope the reviews you find here will help in some small way toward that.