12 Things I Learned about Reading Books from Tony Reinke

How do you decide what books you read or not read? How should you read a book so that you absorb as much as you can for the long run? How should Christians read to engage the head and the heart?

In Lit!: A Christian Guide to Reading Books, Tony Reinke lays out a helpful theology of reading books and shares several practical tips on how to be a more intentional reader.

Here are 12 things I learned about reading books from Tony Reinke:

1. Everything we read should be filtered through the lens of Scripture and in the presence of God. This may seem like a no-brainer, but it is always a good reminder. “In the presence of God” was a helpful point because God is always present with us.
2. For every book you read, there are 10,000 that you can’t read. Choose carefully and ask what a potential book builds into your life and how it will help you for the future.
3. Follow the 100-Minus-Your-Age Rule. Don’t feel guilty for being tempted to put a book down. Not all books are good or worth your time. Reinke recommends judging a book by the 100-Minus-Your-Age Rule, meaning that if you don’t like a book by 100-YourAge pages, you can put it down. 30-year-olds can put a book down 70 pages in, 60-year-olds 40 pages in, and 100-year-olds can judge it by the cover, because, heck they’re 100 :). The older you get, the quicker you should be able to tell if it is worth your time.
4. Actively discern fiction. A helpful test for if non-Christian fiction is good to read: how does it portray humanity? Good, bad, neutral? This will shape your outlook on life. Sometimes it can be beneficial to read non-fiction to gain a better understanding of how the culture thinks different than the Christian worldview.
5. You are never too busy to read. Cut out time wasters like watching TV and browsing the internet and pick up a book! Make time to read, not excuses.
6. Reading several books at a time could be a valuable practice. Different genres are good for different times and levels of engagement. Some books are like a steak: you need to go slowly and savor every bite. Some are like milkshakes: you can chug them down quickly and move on, while others are able to be picked up randomly like food from an appetizer tray.
7. Are you pursuing externalized knowledge or internalized wisdom? Books can become crutches of external truths that don’t actually deepen your intellectual life or make you wiser. Don’t let that happen.
8. There are four temptations for Christian readers:
   1. Fragmented Browsing vs. Sustained Comprehension
   2. Reacting vs. Thinking (see #8)
   3. Skimming with the Head vs. Delighting in the Heart
   4. The Kindle Temptation: eReaders make it easy to be less discerning and feel like you have read a lot when in reality the way you use them makes you a shallow reader with a short attention span. The greater the technology (eReaders), the greater the temptation for distractions.
9. Think about good/challenging things in books before you tweet about it. Learn what the book is saying before trying to teach it to others. Related to #7, this helps you prioritize internalizing wisdom.
10. Read in a way that helps you in the future. Develop productive habits of marking books up that will help you reference a book in the future. At the end of a book’s chapter, Tony summarizes the chapter in one sentence and puts it at the beginning of that chapter so the next time he can know if it is worth reading. For non-fiction, find the thesis of the book and search for it in each chapter.
11. Realize what you shouldn’t read. On page 61 of the book, Reinke says, “Be cautious of reading literature that you are ill-equipped to read with discernment. Sometimes the proper Christian approach to literature is humble postponement.”
12. Don’t idolize books. “Books are great tools, but they are disappointing gods. And once books become idols, those idols will leave us deeply unsatisfied.” pg183

This list is a random smattering of wisdom gleaned from Lit!. I hope the tips help you become a better reader and think about reading in a different light.

Related: 100+ Book Recommendations for Christian Readers

A version of this post originally ran August 2, 2013.

Print Friendly