AUTHOR: Rachel B. Griffis, Julie Ooms, & Rachel M. De Smith Roberts
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2024, (240 pages).
- “What do our reading habits communicate to ourselves and others about what we are doing and why?
- How do our reading rituals give us opportunities to practice attentiveness, hospitality, and leisure?
- In what ways can our reading practices cultivate equity and justice?
- How can we form emotional attachments to ideas, language, characters, and stories?
- How can we grow in genuine appreciation for the texts we are reading communally?
- What aspects of the reading community help us to develop virtuous practices (such as patience, docility, or contentedness) in other areas of our lives?”
Each chapter begins with an overview of the cultural contexts we are in. The "Theological and Cultural Considerations" critiques the predominant forces that threaten good reading. Using support from reputatble sources, the authors help us to see how the world is increasingly changing the way we read. The section "Practices and Examples" provides us with different methods to deal with the growing problem. Using techniques and practices such as "Lectio Divina," "Field Trips," etc, we are equipped with ways to tackle the problems that plague modern readers. The "Summary of Suggested Practices" is an excellent section to help readers implement the things read in the chapter. This is supplemented by the "Reflection and Discussion Questions" to invite others to read and practice along with us.
By addressing the three vices that threaten deeper reading, the authors
address the problem of reading at three levels. The first level is that
of tackling distraction. This is a real problem today among many people.
For instance, in an age of social media, we are grooming a generation
of superficial browsers instead of inspired readers. The authors are
spot on when they identify the differences between worldview and
specific practices. The former is a crude blanket-wise generalization
while the former requires a more discerning attitude.
The second level is that of hostility in public life. While many blame social media and the widespread use of the Internet, the root of the problem is the lack of respect for alternative views. The authors recommend greater levels of inclusive reading as well as increasing opportunities for community reading. Read widely. Engage charitably. Listen graciously.
The third level teaches us to read beyond any forms of consumeristic bent. Instead of reading to mine information, read to grow in other aspects of life such as discernment, growth, pleasure, spirituality, wisdom, and so on.
My Thoughts
Here are my three thoughts about this book. First, it is a necessary counter against the present age of casual superficiality and misguided reading. Amid the dwindling numbers of bricks-and-mortar bookshops, there is a rising number of eBooks and Internet "reading." Not only are people reading less printed books, they are increasingly losing the ability to engage deeper reading in the electronic media. That is largely the perspective from many digital immigrants, or those who grew up in the printed media environment. In those days, students still buy printed textbooks for their studies. Newspaper delivery occurs every morning. Adults read spread out newspapers with their morning coffee. Bookshops can be easily found at malls and shopping centers. Today, it is hard to find a single bookshop even at major malls. Students do all the reading online. Many no longer buy books leading to the demise of many bookshops and publishers. Having born into an Internet world, many digital natives will find it normal to read from the computer screen. Regardless of whether one is a digital immigrant or a digital native, the threats to deeper reading is real and this book offers a way forward to cultivate better reading. The practices give us many ways to improve "attentive reading." They also encourage community reading in order to foster multi-perspectives in our understanding of the texts.
Secondly, the authors point out one of the sources of modern hostility: Misunderstanding due to misguided indoctrination. Using higher education as an example, both Christian as well as secular institutions are guilty of lopsided use of unquestioned ideology instead of thoughtful Christian inquiry. This easily leads to a us-vs-them paradigm which is increasingly polarizing a pluralistic society. Partially due to the flawed worldview approach of teaching, the alternative would be to listen as empathy, and to learn to discern the different voices in our culture. Learning when and how to critique as well as to listen is key to spiritual maturity. The authors present a beautiful chapter on prudent reading beyond dogmatism. Instead of letting worldviews be our paradigm, the authors urge us to lead prudent reading practices guide our interpretation of worldview. This is a paradigm shift and requires some patience for understanding first and adoption later. This might very well be the most difficult challenge issued in this book. We have become so used to worldviews as a way to interpret life that to unlearn that would require substantial changes and great humility. It is good to note that even the authors of this book are not in full agreement. That is why there are frequent qualifications throughout the book, where a thought was attributed to a specific author named in bracket. The recommended "promiscuous reading" approach can be controversial. Plus, not every layperson has the ability of an English professor to read multiple texts with prudence.
Finally, I affirm that good reading is re-reading. This is also a challenge for many of us. There are so many good books to read but not enough time to read them all. Thus, we need to decide how best to make use of our time. I have friends who tell me that to supplement every two or three new books with an old classic. Not all new books are worth reading. Likewise, not all old books should be read only once. Some of my friends also make it a point to read certain classics every year, such as Augustine's "Confessions," or modern works like CS Lewis's "Mere Christianity," GK Chesterton's "Orthodoxy," or Parker Palmer's "Let Your Life Speak." Of course, the Bible is the one book that we all should read as frequently as possible. Will this book be a classic for reading? I don't know. What I do know is that this book deserves a wider audience in the light of an increasingly distracted, hostile, and consumeristic world.
Julie Ooms (PhD, Baylor University) is associate professor of English at Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis, Missouri.
Rachel M. De Smith Roberts (PhD, Baylor University) is associate professor of English at North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina.
Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5.
conrade
This book has been provided courtesy of Baker Academic via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.
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