Why and How to Read More Books

Reading is one of those things that most people would like to have done but struggle to do. We would love to “have read” many good books but find it hard to get them read. I want to share some thoughts that have inspired me to create a reading practice, as well as share some practical tips that have helped me get through a lot more material with great benefit.

It’s worth asking the question here, "Why should we read?" I have heard different reasons from Christians as to why they don’t have any consistent practice of reading books, and most of the reasons I hear are of the “I don’t have time” variety. But occasionally, I will hear the argument that they only want to read the Bible. “I just really want to focus on the Bible,” they say. “Why read man’s words when you can read God’s words?” And so the idea goes.  I’ll admit, this does sound somewhat virtuous and compelling on its face. The only issue is the Bible itself does not encourage us to think this way.

First, let’s think about what the Bible is. Yes, it is the inspired and infallible Word of God. But how did he get it to us? The word “Bible” is derived from a Greek word meaning “books." This is fitting because our Scriptures are a collection of sixty-six “books,” recognized throughout church history as authoritative and authentically inspired by God. What’s more, these sixty-six books were written by over forty authors spanning a time period in excess of 1,500 years. Those authors came from three different continents and a plethora of different walks of life including kings, generals, fishermen, tax collectors, doctors, historians, and more.

God used a wide variety of people and experiences to communicate to us. I believe that this should give us an appreciation for the thoughts and experiences of others and an eagerness to learn from them through broad reading. All of our reading and thinking should have the singular aim of ultimately refining our knowledge of God. However, the mere fact of how God chose to providentially bring us the Scriptures should encourage us to read outside of just the Scriptures.

Second, consider 2 Timothy 4. Paul is giving Timothy some instructions in closing out his letter to him. He urges Timothy to come visit him soon and directs him on what to bring when he comes. What is one of the things Paul is most concerned about Timothy bringing? Books (v.13). In preaching a sermon on these passages, Charles Spurgeon had a great take:

"He is inspired, and yet he wants books! He has been preaching at least for thirty years, and yet he wants books! He had seen the Lord, and yet he wants books! He had had a wider experience than most men, and yet he wants books! He had been caught up into the third heaven, and had heard things which it was unlawful for a man to utter, yet he wants books! He had written the major part of the New Testament, and yet he wants books! The apostle says to Timothy and so he says to every [person], "Give thyself unto reading”… He who will not use the thoughts of other men’s brains, proves that he has no brains of his own."

Point taken—if the apostle Paul saw fit to work in some reading, why wouldn’t I?

On a more pragmatic note, I must confess that I have not met many Christians who have a very consistent and rich practice of reading the Scriptures who do not also have a consistent practice of reading books generally. Why would that be? Because it is the same muscle. When we sit down with the Bible we are focusing our mind on words and ideas, thinking about them and turning them over in our mind. When you have a practice of reading books, you do the same thing.  

In my experience, those who struggle the most to sit down and mediate on God’s Word are not getting any “practice” anywhere else. It’s like a sports team that only plays games but never trains or practices their playbook. Reading books is a wonderful aid to reading the Scriptures better.

I hope that I have given you a nudge to want to press in to reading more yourself. If so, below is a list of practical tips that have helped me develop and maintain a reading practice over the years.

Just like any other discipline or skill you want to develop, getting inspiration from those who are good at the thing you are trying to improve is a major lift. When it comes to reading, having good sources for book recommendations is invaluable.

Tim Challies has been a helpful aid to me over the years. He does a daily roundup of Kindle deals on good Christian books and will do reviews on books occasionally. Reading a review of a book is a great way to sample it before diving in.

Albert Mohler, President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, is a voracious reader and occasionally publishes recommended reading list articles on his website. Here is an archive of previously published lists to get some great recommendations.

Another source of inspiration I would recommend is reading (or listening to) a book recently published by Andrew David Naselli, How to Read a Book: Advice for Christian Readers. This book will do everything that I am trying to do in this article and more.

One of the most helpful things I have done is to remove any self-imposed budget for books. When I see a book that is interesting or get a good recommendation, I just order the book. No one ever ruined their budget or went broke because they bought too many books.  

The benefit of this is that you will surround yourself with interesting options to read, and there will always be something you can pick up. A lot of us have baggage from our educational days where we were assigned books and had to read them cover to cover. Personal reading should not be like this.  

Some books might only have a chapter or two that are worth your time, and taking the time to buy and read them is still worth it. John Piper has said, "What I have learned from about twenty years of serious reading is this: sentences change my life, not books.” If this is true of mere sentences, we should feel fine about getting a lot out of a single chapter of a book and then moving on. Time and money well spent. Surround yourself with good books so that you always have something interesting to grab.

Here are ways to work reading into your everyday life:

• Audiobooks are great (yes, I still think of this as reading, just in a different form). Try Audible, a subscription service with an extensive library of audiobooks. Libby is a free app that connects you to your library’s audiobook collection where you can check out tons of great audio books for free. Blinkist is another great tool that has audio versions of book summaries to get the main points and cut down on time.

• Always have a book with you. You would be surprised at how much progress you can make through a book by reading five minutes here and ten minutes there. Replace the aimless time spent scrolling on your phone with time spent reading.

• Read with others. Join a book club, or better yet, create one. Read with your Discipleship Group or some other friends. Having some accountability can help a lot. 

• Read what truly interests you. We all have a list of books we feel like we “should” read.  However, you’ll never get to them if you don’t develop a practice of reading first. Building a consistent reading practice reading books that genuinely interest you, whether they seem immediately relevant or not, practices the muscle of reading and will lead to you being able to tackle more challenging books later on. Read the books you want to read and eventually reading the books you “should” read will be much easier.

When it comes to reading, consistency beats intensity. No matter how small the effort, starting and continuing is key. Happy reading!