Fallen and Flawed

I like the method suggested by Bruce Mawhinney in his book Preaching with Freshness (though I admit I don’t follow it slavishly): you read six books at a time from six different categories. The first part was easy because I long been in the habit of keeping several books going, but many times they were all (or most) about the same or similar topics. He suggests these topics: novel, historical, biography, diary/journal, poetry, and one on a “hot” topic.

The idea is that not only will the pastor be growing as a person, he will come across relevant illustrations and information. This is part of what Mawhinney calls a “key to long-term freshness.”

It is in chapter 20, pp. 157-164, titled “The Six-fold Path.”

Hope this helps. This book is one of the best books for preachers who already know the basic mechanics of preaching and want to integrate it into their whole ministry.

Fractured – 5 different books at a time all different content, theme and type. Hyperlink reading.

Like Michael I follow a method similar to Bruce Mawhinney’s. I read several books at a time in several different categories. I’m easily distracted, so I find that this works best for me.

For instance, right now I’m reading two books by Philip Yancey, the complete works of Shakespeare, a large volume of poetry, a biography of Bill Clinton, Critical: What We Can Do About the Health Care Crisis by Tom Daschle; Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin;
Living for God’s Glory: An Introduction to Calvinism by Joel R. Beeke, as well as a few others.

Some of these books I’ll read through in one-sitting, some I’ll read throughout the year, and meditate on what I’m reading.

@Michael: Thanks for the tip on the Mawhinney book. What’s on your plate right now?

@Nathan: “Hyperlink reading.” Love it, dude.

@John: Good list, man!

I suppose it depends on how good the book is…

I can’t start a well composed novel and then divert my attention to a lesser one.
I can, however, start a poorly written book and find myself dabbling into the pages of others a few days later. Have I finished the aforementioned work? No, but nor would I say I have “stopped reading it.” It becomes mentally shelved, until my constitution (or boredom) permits me to return to it’s embrace.
Sadly, I have found that often those who mention they are “currently reading” more than a few titles are simply dropping the names of a few good ideas they wish to be associated with.

Unfortunately this line of thought has left a tawdry and irksomely flamboyant mark on many a Facebook profile.

That said I’m currently reading Dostoevsky, Fitzgerald, Hume, and John Locke’s Two Treatises of Government. (not really)

Archie: A bit harsh, but you’re probably right. Here’s a question: How much time has to pass since you’ve laid a half read book down before you are no longer “reading” it? Probably over 2 months before I have to start over.

Demian,
I hadn’t thought too much about how I read until you posed the question. First of all, I’m in awe of anyone who can read a book in two hours! For me, I’ve found that I now read in a manner that reflects how I’ve been working for the last couple of decades at ad agencies… a few hours working on an ad for a retail outlet, then a couple hours writing a brochure for a high-tech company, a couple more writing a direct mail campaign for a financial firm and then a few more writing web copy for the agency itself. It has all left me with a low tolerance for boredom and an insatiable need for variety. And I was also pleased to find out that there’s a book that actually recommends reading the way I currently do! So here’s the list as of today. Because I’m also a painter, a lot of art history is often in the mix for me, so at the moment I’m reading a biography on de Kooning, I just downloaded an essay by T.S. Eliot, I’m chipping away at two novels, have started “Blink,” peruse “Nonprofit Internet Strategies” for work-related references, have Dave Barry’s latest on the stack, a collection of Raymond Carver’s short stories, and I wasn’t kidding when I said in an earlier post, I have Strunk and White’s “The Elements of Style” on top of the pile for brief peeks for inspiration and confirmation. And of course, I can’t leave out spending about 15-20 minutes reading some Scripture each morning. Whew! I need a nap now.

I tend to get a new book (“because its such a great deal”) and then put down the old book and start reading that shiny new book. And so the cycle continues.

I can’t imagine ever reading a couple of books at once, and actually be engaged.

I also fall for that old fallacy that if it’s not a non-fiction Christian book it probably isn’t worth reading. I don’t believe it’s true I just don’t see any poetry/fiction books I really wanna read.

I seem to only finish books while on holiday. I can spend an entire day rattling through them.

Without too much exception, I devour books one at a time. Doesn’t usually take me long to do it, either: maybe a day or two.

If a book takes longer than that to read, it is probably not very good and I might do the same thing Archie does. I might start another book in the meantime and go back to that one later. I rarely leave a book unread permanently. Just can’t bring myself to do it.

Unlike some of the other commenters, other than the Bible and my Bible studies, I read mostly fiction. Lots of it. I don’t watch TV very often. Since I was a young child, reading’s always been my form of entertainment, escape, and fun.

i am always reading between 2 to 5 books at a time though I never read 2 fiction books together.

Currently I’m working through 4 books: the Cross of Christ by John Stott, On Asking God Why by Elisabeth Elliott, Unpacking Forgiveness by Chris Brauns and The Hidden Smile of God by John Piper.

I don’t read with a separate journal but I do highlight and write comments in my books (which is the reason I hate borrowing books!) I find that this is very helpful when going back to a book as a reference and it keeps me focused on looking for the main ideas.

I usually have 2 books going at a time — one heavier, one lighter (meaning something that won’t get me thinking and keep me up for hours). Right now my “heavy” book is Evil and the Justice of God and my “light” is Boice’s systematic theology.