How We Think About Our Reading Matters

I think reading is the single greatest act that can help us grow, but the act of reading alone isn’t enough: we also have to be thinking about our reading. I know this sounds obvious, but I know personally how easy it is to read something and go on about my life. If I don’t take the time to contemplate what I read, I won’t be changed by it, and then I question what is the point? Yes, sometimes we are just going to lose ourselves in a good story. But the best books you will read are going to be the ones you can’t stop thinking about. If you find yourself not enjoying your reading life, it may be that you aren’t taking the extra step of wrestling with and considering what you’ve read. Here are some steps that I have found help this happen naturally in my own life:

1. Reread. C.S. Lewis made a point about rereading in an essay entitled “Different Tastes In Literature”: “In literature the characteristics of the ‘consumer’ of bad art are even easier to define. He (or she) may want her weekly ration of fiction very badly indeed, may be miserable if denied it. But he never re-reads. There is no clearer distinction between the literary and the unliterary. It is infallible. The literary man re-reads, other men simply read.” Ouch! I love how Lewis cuts to the chase here: if you want to really get something out of books, you have to read them more than once. I’ve heard it said that it can take up to six readings of a book to really understand the content! I read To Kill In a Mockingbird in high school English class like everyone else (and enjoyed it very much then), but I didn’t really understand what Harper Lee was trying to say in it until rereading it this year. And honestly, if I read it again in a couple years I’m sure there will be more ideas that I grasp or gain a clearer picture of.

2. Join a book club. Or read the same book as your spouse, best friend, or sister. You read things differently when you know you’re going to have a discussion around them, and you also get the added bonus of someone else’s perspective on the story. I guarantee whoever else reads it is going to notice things you didn’t and you are going to notice things they didn’t. This is because you're different people with different storehouses of knowledge, life experiences, and personalities. Seeing a book from a different point-of-view than your own helps stretch you as a reader.

3. Listen to podcasts. By this I mean either a podcast hosted by the author you are reading (many contemporary nonfiction authors also create podcasts), or find interviews with the author on someone else’s podcasts. Hearing the author talk about their process behind the book will help you see it differently. Three of my favorites that have regular interviews are 1000 Hours Outside (parenting and time management books), the Crystal Paine Show (Christian nonfiction), and Read Aloud Revival (children’s literature).

4. Keep a commonplace book. You can absolutely buy a fancy reading journal, but I have found that I am much more likely to use a basic notebook or bullet journal for this. A commonplace book is going to specifically have reflections and quotes from what you’re reading. Writing in a commonplace book can be a great habit to start with your kids, too!

5. Read aloud to your kids. I have yet to encounter a book that I didn’t see differently after reading it to my kids. Don’t underestimate the perspective that children bring to literature; sometimes their insights are much deeper than our own!

6. Read books about books. I’m talking about both nonfiction that is specifically focused on the topic of books, and fiction that is centered around books and readers. I’ve learned a lot about myself as a reader from reading about other readers, not to mention building connections between books through this.

I want to end by reminding you of the importance of community in our reading lives. You will never find true enjoyment in your reading if you don’t enjoy books alongside others; it’s absolutely okay to have books you read by yourself, but also make sure you are joining with others in the reading life. This is what will help you think deeply about your reading and help you be, in the words of C.S. Lewis, “a literary man” (or mama!).