It’s not a natural habit for me. I enjoy reading for its own sake and I often convince myself that even when I don’t do the hard work of summarizing and responding in words, the book has become a part of the ongoing conversation in my head and I’ll remember enough to return if needed. I can think of at least one seminary course in which my grade was slightly lower, not because I didn’t read (it was historical theology, I loved the stuff), but because I would only grudgingly write the required daily reading reports and often blew them off.
I no longer think that’s good enough. I want to ensure that I don’t simply consume books for an aesthetic buzz or to lift my thoughts out of everyday anxieties and ambiguities through abstract reflection. More importantly, too much non-stop reading without engagement and response on my part is detrimental to my spiritual and mental health. For someone who loves words and aspires to be reflective and purposeful, I’m a terrible journaler and an excruciatingly slow writer.
So, here’s what I want to comment on before returning to grad school for the first time in two years next month:
Eric Jacobsen, Sidewalks in the Kingdom: New Urbanism and Christian Faith Albert Borgmann, Power Failure: Christianity in the Culture of Technology Marilynne Robinson, Gilead J.H. Yoder, The Jewish Christian-Schism Revisited Eugene Peterson, Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer James Wm. McClendon, Jr. Ethics and Witness (Systematic Theology Vols. I, III) Brad Kallenberg, Ethics as Grammar Chris Anderson, Teaching as Believing: Faith in the University C.S. Lewis, The Chronicles of Narnia (I’m just finishing something like my 8th read through the entire series. This time I’m reading them in chronological (not publication) order.
I'm not sure who, if anyone, checks this blog anymore. If you're reading this, and you have any words of wisdom on developing a discipline of regular writing, let me know (and yes, I have read Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird).
