CREEDE HINSHAW: Disciplined reading includes many genres

Is reading an endangered activity? Estimate how many minutes you read per day. The average American spends 2.5 hours per day watching TV and 20 minutes per day reading (2013 survey, US Bureau of Labor Statistics). The Bureau breaks these statistics down by age, race and gender. Persons 35-44 spend 1.9 hours per day watching TV and 6 minutes per day reading. You can go online and compare your reading habits with those in your age, income or ethnicity.

Last October I suggested we could become more mature disciples by becoming disciplined readers; the onset of a new year provides a good time to do so. As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Finally, my friends, keep your minds on whatever is true, pure, right, holy, friendly, and proper. Don’t ever stop thinking about what is truly worthwhile and worthy of praise.” (Philippians 4:8, CEV) Paul may have included the activity of reading in his thought even though first century literacy rates were low, reading material was scarce and nobody had e-readers.

Here are a few preliminary observations about reading:

1. Persons of faith should read both sacred and secular material. I know some people who will only read the bible and/or devotional literature, a choice that severely limits a person. How can people relate to God’s world if they don’t know what’s going on in God’s world?
2. Fiction is as important as non-fiction. I have slowly come to this truth, having abandoned the prejudice that only books describing “real” events are worthy of reading. Novelists have written some of the greatest books plumbing the depths of God and the human spirit.
3. Reading should challenge the mind. Too many readers want to be spoon fed, gravitating to sacred and secular reading with simplistic solutions, bad writing, and happy endings.
4. Disciplined reading includes many genres. The books, periodicals, and newspapers one chooses (either physical copies or electronic) should cover the waterfront: straight news, editorials, opinion pieces, page turners, technical manuals, how-to/self-help, biography, autobiography, career improvement, and subjects spanning the entire range of the Dewey Decimal System. Is your reading wide-ranging in subject matter?
5. Reading can be taken to an extreme. Those who are naturally drawn to reading may need to evaluate whether they are reading too much as the new year begins. Some people subscribe to too many magazines and newspapers and have too many unopened books on their shelves.
6. No single reading plan fits everybody. Some seasons of life, for instance, afford more time for reading than others. The important thing is to fashion a realistic, achievable plan that you will not quickly abandon.
7. A disciplined reader must abandon other activities. Reading takes time. (Speed reading is not a solution!) Note the relationship between reading and watching TV in the opening paragraph.

Next week I’ll provide some specific suggestions taken from my own discipline of reading. Meanwhile, seek out other disciplined readers and ask them to share their habits and practices with you.