Mohler on Books

Al Mohler isn't a regular on my reading list (to put it mildly), so I'm not quite sure how or where I came across this blog entry on reading a few months back. Apparently, Mohler is a lifelong voracious reader: "I took books to high school athletic events when I played in the band. [Heap coals of scorn and nerdliness here.]" He offers six resonant suggestions for structuring one's reading life, including:

1. Maintain regular reading projects. Mohler describes his own ongoing projects in several categories; I do this, to some extent, and always mean to be more intentional about it. On average, I have something going in some particular subset of "Literature," Theology or Spiritual Practice, and Essays & Criticism.

3. Read all the titles written by some authors. The list of writers deserving of this attention will be exclusive, and not the same for everyone. A few who make the cut for me: Somerset Maugham, C.S. Lewis, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Robertson Davies, Jane Austen, Eugene Peterson.

5. Allow yourself some fun reading, and learn how to enjoy reading by reading enjoyable books. I can't add an iamb to Dr. Mohler's sentiments:

I like books across the fields of literature, but I really love to read historical biographies and historical works in general. In addition, I really enjoy quality fiction and worthy works of literature. As a boy, I probably discovered my love for reading in these categories of books. I allow some time each day, when possible, to such reading. It doesn't have to be much. Stay in touch with the thrill.

6. Write in your books; mark them up and make them yours. This is a divisive issue among bibliophiles, I haven't yet gained consistency in my own practice. In high school, where we weren't allowed to leave a mark in our Permabind classics, I developed an elaborate but highly effective note-taking system involving post-its and loose leaf paper, the particulars of which I don't clearly recall. Nowadays, Book Darts are my best friends (if you ever want to really confuse the TSA staff, stuff your paperback full of them before getting on a plane). Plenty of marking systems have been proposed by various authors (Steve Leveen of Levenger among them), and I hope to review a few here.