RECOMMENDED READING

People have asked me why reading is so important. Those who don’t read often wonder why it’s such a coveted pastime, and why it is sanctioned in the educational system as a priority in any class or curriculum. Truth be told, the literary arts — in every form — are still the primary means for reaching the masses. From children’s books to regal novels, reading has always been of primary importance for a functioning society. Ask anyone who is illiterate, and you’ll soon find why reading is so important.

Yet aside from basic literacy, reading develops us as human beings. And aside from the Bible, reading a good book is one of the best therapies there is, allowing us to experience people, places, and eras of time we would never otherwise encounter. A good author has the ability to transport their readers, affording them a grand escape, where they’re transported into another world meeting new people and experiencing things life could otherwise never afford them. Come and go at your leisure. A good book, unlike a movie, can travel anywhere. Without the help of these authors who offer us such amazing experiences, we can remain very shallow, naive, and ignorant people who do not truly understand the real world beyond us, or the people who live in it, whether past, present, or future. If you want to grow as an individual of maturity, substance, and depth, reading is one of the very best ways to do so — all with the pleasure of being greatly entertained.

Jesus understood the power of a good story. It has the potential to effect change in the hearer. And when the author knows what they’re doing, that is precisely what is maximized in an excellent high quality read.

How long has it been since you’ve read such a book? Or, have you ever read a book like this? Books which fit this profile are not only a wonderful pleasure, but they are truly life changing. If you’ve answered no, you’re not alone. Books such as these are rare. They’re not easy to find, and that is what this page is about.

Finding a truly good author is like finding a best friend. They deliver. Reading is a precious investment of time, so I have some hard fast rules I’d like to share with you. First, I give any work three chapters. If the plot is not developing by then, and I’m not consumed in a storyline that I see beautifully unfolding, or if I’m not intrigued, inspired, or interested in what happens next — it’s over. I’m done. An excellent author will capture their audience through an engagement of both imagination and emotion — and they won’t waste their readers’ time doing it. A good book has the ability to not only entertain, enlighten or educate you, but challenge and change you. Quite simply, you come away better than you were before you read the book.

There is nothing worse than investing faithfully in a written work, only to finish it and feel as if you’ve wasted your time. Whether its a predictable ending, a shallow storyline, undeveloped characters, or a dead plot — those are hours you simply can’t get back. I caution anyone against reading a book just for the sake of finishing it. With all due respect, toss it and keep looking. Authors are equally as diverse in their literary taste as readers.

Therefore, if you’re looking for an excellent book from a Christian perspective, I’d like to help you find one. Personally, I’m a deep person. I’m not into shallow superficial ‘beach reads’ that are often full of recycled fluff. I love deep, stimulating, complex and layered stories that have the potential to consume, challenge, educate, and change me. The more I can experience –  the better.

Reading is a pastime of luxury which is far too inopportune for me. As a writer I have what I call ‘required reading’. And then there is my ‘pleasure reading’. With any book, I try to read a chapter a day as a rule of thumb. And not only do I love reading, but a great portion of it as an author is spent doing research for my own work. I usually have about three different genres going at once: one for spiritual growth, one for pleasure, and one for research.

A good book is much like a wave of the sea that rushes in, grabs you, and sweeps you away. For those of you who have never experienced that, may I humbly suggest that you’ve yet to find a book truly worthy of your invested time.

As a Christian author, you may wonder if I read secular works. Absolutely, I do, and frequently. One of the biggest misconceptions among Christians is that secular works are somehow inherently bad, wrong, or perhaps even evil. As a follower of Christ, I would like to debunk that myth. Don’t cheat yourself. There are many, many wonderful secular works that have tremendous value, which actually uphold Christian principles, truths, and which tell stories that can deepen and challenge your faith. If you’re a Christian who has strictly abstained from secular works, I’d like to encourage you to broaden your horizon. Just because a book is secular does not mean the message is inherently ungodly or profane.

I intend to reach the masses. I can’t do that living in a bubble. Christ calls us to be in the world, not of it. Many times that means having a diverse and broad exposure to other cultures, people, and ways of life. I want to understand the world God called me to reach. That understanding is readily available through reading a diversity of works across the spectrum by various authors.

Some of my favorite secular authors are of antiquity such as Jane Austen, Harriet Beecher Stowe, William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, Victor Hugo, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the like. I also love reading autobiographies and memoirs of individuals from all over the world. These afford invaluable insight and understanding to the world beyond me that I could never otherwise gain.

When choosing a literary work, one must always use discretion, which goes without saying. No one should pollute their mind. With that being said, some of the finest literary classics were never written with an overt intent to reach a Christian audience, yet they had stories that were very much ‘Christian’ in their foundation, affecting the world with an invaluable and timeless message. They were written to reach the masses. And reach the masses, they did. That is always the goal of any invested author.

As an invested reader, I encourage you to expand your library.