IVP - Andy Unedited - Reading Archives

Schaeffer's Gift

My first exposure to InterVarsity Press came when a friend, George, handed me a copy of Escape from Reason by Francis Schaeffer over forty years ago. It was the original edition imported to the U.S. from Britain. I was in high school at the time and had heard of some of the philosophers and theologians and artists he mentioned. (Being raised Catholic, Aquinas was at least familiar.) Many were completely new, however. Even though I only had a vague sense of what he was writing about, I devoured the book.

Lighting a Candle of Technology

“Corbin and Eric want you to read to them, Mimi.” It’s not unusual for our son, Philip, to let us know that his sons want their grandmother to read to them. So this last Sunday Phyllis pulled out The Magic Bicycle by John Bibee. And as they sat quietly and attentive, she read to them—via Skype.

What I Read in 2010

Maybe you've noticed the "What I'm Reading" list on the right-hand column of the Andy Unedited homepage. Of those books I finished this year, by the numbers they represent fourteen novels, seventeen nonfiction books, eleven audio books, six books purchased, one given to me as a gift, seventeen from the library, one borrowed, five read for our neighborhood book club, four I blogged about and five published by InterVarsity Press (books I read off the clock after publication).

Here's the full list for the year:

No Ordinary People

While sitting in a limo in Manhattan wondering if she is overdressed for the party, Jeannette Walls looks out the window and spots her homeless mom rummaging through garbage in an alley.

Walls’ astonishing memoir, The Glass Castle, begins here and then chronicles a childhood in which alcohol, dysfunction and bad choices conspired to keep her whole family destitute. After she and her siblings moved to New York City and clawed their way out, her well-educated parents continued to live in poverty. And when the pair moved to New York to join their children, ultimately the two of them were without a home.

The book contains one incredible episode after another of pain, hardship and disappointment. Yet one that struck me the most took place after Jeannette had scraped together enough funds to go to college. There she took a course from a professor she enjoyed who began teaching about the effects of economic and social forces on people.

It's the Smell I Remember

It’s the smell I remember.

When my older sister was in high school she got a summer job at the local bookstore in the center of our town. It was only about a mile from home, so I would sometimes walk or ride my bike there to visit her. I tried not to interrupt her professional duties too much. It was there that I first learned to browse.

The Shallows 8: The Future of the Book

The book, as Nicholas Carr notes in The Shallows, has so far proven extraordinarily resistant to computers and the Net. While book sales and book reading have plateaued, this “long sequence of printed pages assembled between a pair of stiff covers has proven to be a remarkably robust technology for more than half a millennium” (p. 99). But what about now?

The Shallows 6: Try to Remember

Something’s gained: Everything is on the web. It’s an external hard drive for the brain, relieving us of the responsibility to remember mindless lists of facts or extended passages of literature. We free up our brain power so we can do other, more important things.

Something’s lost: Because of the way the brain works, when we cease exercising our memory, we don’t merely lose isolated bits of information. We actually lose the ability to gain insight and understanding.

The Shallows 4: The Net Effect

The Net distracts. But not all distractions are bad. As I’ve written here before, taking a break from a problem and letting your brain do something totally different can provide an opportunity for fresh ideas to emerge. The problem is that the constantly distracting state of the Net, contends Nicholas Carr in The Shallows, changes the way we read and think. (You can find the first in my series on this book here.)

The Shallows 2: A Brief History of Reading

In Phaedrus, Socrates muses on the merits of writing. Surprisingly to our minds, he is skeptical. Why? It is a recipe for forgetfulness. We won’t have to exercise our memories anymore. Knowledge of a subject, after all, is much more valuable than a written account of the same thing. The only virtue of writing was as a guard against the forgetfulness of old age.

So Nicholas Carr, in The Shallows, introduces us to the first Luddite in his book on how the Internet changes our brains. (See part one of my review here.) In chapter four he offers a fascinating overview of the history of the written word and how each change created changes in us and in society.

I Get Mail

Recently, readers of Andy Unedited have let me know about a number of pieces of interest related to stuff I've posted. I'm happy to pass them along to you as well.

IVP Fan Mark Denning read "Will Digital Outstrip Print by 2015?" and suggested two articles to me. The first is a Smithsonian magazine piece, "Reading in a Whole New Way" by tech-guru Kevin Kelly, founding editor of Wired magazine. There he mirrors some ideas found in Nicholas Carr's The Shallows (which I'll be reviewing here shortly) and goes beyond, suggesting how the very meaning of reading is changing.

The second, "Quick Change in Strategy for a Bookseller," is from the New York Times. This piece looks at how e-books are making huge changes not just for publishers but in the retail book business as well.

In a different vein, Dietrich Gruen alerted me to "Reading May Save Your Life" by Bill Ellis, following up my blog "Who Do Books Make Us?" There's still a human side to reading, not just technology and fads. Here's a good reminder of that.

Who Do Books Make Us?

Maybe I'm old fashioned. Maybe I'm out of style. Maybe I'm the hipster culture's worst nightmare. But I still think books make a difference.

David Brooks's piece in the New York Times cites another study that shows the power of print. When students take books home for the summer, the impact is as great as attending summer school--aligning with the 27-country study I mentioned here previously.

Brooks makes the interesting point though, that books not only improve our thinking or reading abilities, books make us into different people. They shape not only how we see the world but how we see ourselves. We gain an identity as a learner or science fiction fan or lover of history or maybe just as a reader.

Books help make us who we are. And I think that's a good thing.

Increase the Earning Power of Your Children

Want your children to go further in their education---high school, college, maybe more? Want them to earn more as adults? Here's one key predictor of educational attainment and earning power. Is it IQ? Is it economic status?

Stott's Farewell

John Stott, one of the most influential Christians in the world, retired recently from public ministry. Now he has issued his last book, The Radical Disciple.

In the postscript (titled "Farewell!") Stott offers a last bit of encouragement and exhortation, one that I resonate with myself after a lifetime of loving books:

As I lay down my pen for the last time (literally, since I confess I am not computerized) at the age of eighty-eight, I venture to send this valedictory message to my readers. I am grateful for your encouragement, for many of you have written to me.

Looking ahead, none of us of course knows what the future of printing and publishing may be. But I myself am confident that the future of books is assured and that, though they will be complemented, they will never be altogether replaced. For there is something unique about books. Our favorite books become very precious to us and we even develop with them an almost living and affectionate relationship. Is it an altogether fanciful fact that we handle, stroke and even smell them as tokens of our esteem and affection? I am not referring only to an author’s feeling for what he has written, but to all readers and their library. I have made it a rule not to quote from any book unless I have first handled it. So let me urge you to keep reading, and encourage your relatives and friends to do the same. For this is a much neglected means of grace. . . .

Once again, farewell!

All Writing Is Autobiography

All writing is autobiography.

Fiction. Non-fiction. Quasifictional-semirealistic-self-congratualtory historical narrative. It's all autobiography.

Obviously memoir, journals, travelogues and a lot of bad poetry are autobiographical.

But what about auto-repair manuals?

Love the Book

I encourage reading. I've tried to do it here and there and elsewhere, noting a variety of excellent reasons to do so. I tend to think that reading in general and thoughtful reading in particular need all the support they can get. My suspicion is that if people are reading, books will get their fair share of attention.

But some people just really love books. And who am I to stand in their way? It's delightful when someone exposes such passion in unfettered terms. That's what James Emery White has done on his Serious Times website.

He even makes an ardent case for not just reading books but for buying them, marking them and keeping them.

May his tribe increase.

How to Read More

I'm a very slow reader. Always have been. And yet when people hear of the books I've read over the course of a year, they tell me they wish they could read more. I've found several reading strategies to be very helpful. Even if you employ just one of the ideas below, you can read a half dozen or more books in a year:

The 2010 Andys

Last week I posted what I read in 2009. Here's the best, the most, the worst and the biggest of what I read this past year:

What I Read in 2009

I continue my annual tradition of listing the books I've read in the past year, in the order I read them. Reading is part of my job, but I enjoy the busman's holiday of reading on my own time. Some of the books I borrowed, some I bought, some were given to me and some I got from the library. Several I listened to while riding around town on errands and commuting to work. In those cases, I've linked to the audio version.

So here are the books of 2009:

The Next Chapter of Reading

Regular Andy Unedited reader Jadell alerted me to this item from Jeffrey Brown. Where is the book going? Where is reading going? That's the question Brown wants to tackle in an occasional series for PBS.

Want an Edge in the Job Market?

In today's job market, everyone wants that little edge that will set them apart from other applicants. And on the job, everyone wants to make themselves as valuable and indispensable as possible. What can you do?

The 2009 Andys

You saw what I read in 2008. Which books are awarded the 2009 Andys from this list? The winners are:

Books I Most Enjoyed Reading a Second Time
The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell
Children of God, Mary Doria Russell
I almost never read books twice. At some point I expect I'll enjoy reading these a third time. I recommend these two books constantly. Previously I blogged about Russell here.

Best Portrait of the United States in Microcosm
Friday Night Lights, H. G. Bissinger
Greed, materialism, racism and sports fanaticism are writ large in Texas, where everything is oversized. That's why we can see them more easily in this classic, but we dare not dismiss them as being quirks of "those" people in Texas. They were true and continue to be all too true of the United States in general.

Most Underlined and Marked Up
Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, Kenneth E. Bailey
The premise behind Bailey's project is that peasant culture changes very little over the centuries; therefore, one of the best way to understand the culture of the Gospels is to study contemporary Middle Eastern peasant culture. That approach creates a wealth of remarkable insights in every chapter. Here is just one example.

Best Book About Chicago
The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson
This bestseller weaves two stories that are quintessentially Chicago: (1) civic ambition on a massive scale and (2) murder.

Book That Best Fulfilled an Unintended Purpose
Story: Substance, Structure, Style and the Principles of Screenwriting, Robert McKee
The subtitle tells us this is a book about how to write a screenplay. But I found it immensely helpful in understanding how to watch a movie. McKee upacks how movies are structured on both macro and micro levels. Fascinating and revealing.

Book I Blogged On the Most
Publishing for Profit, Thomas Woll
I went through this book chapter by chapter, which you can see summarized here.

Most Unexpectedly Melancholic Book
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
I've wanted to read this 1980s science fiction classic for some time. When I did, I was surprised at the subtle tone of sadness that wove through the book but which became most pronounced at the end, even as a galaxy-sized victory unfolds.

Most Sensational Title That Actually Fulfilled Its Hype
The Lost History of Christianity, Philip Jenkins
The twentieth century was not the first time Christianity was a world religion. Read what happened over a thousand years ago that you've never even heard of before. This truly "lost history" is astonishingly revealed in another Philip Jenkins triumph.

Most Flippant Book About a Serious Topic
Sin in the Second City, Karen Abbott
A book about sex trafficking in Chicago (and the United States) in the first two decades of the twentieth century shouldn't make it all sound like great fun. But this book does just that.

Most of my reading, of course, comes at the recommendation of others. If you'd like to suggest books for consideration for the 2010 Andys, I'd be glad to hear of them.

What I Read in 2008

Reading is part of my job. But I enjoy the so-called busman's holiday of reading on my own time. As I did at the end of 2007, I am listing the books I finished on my own time (in the order I read them) during the past twelve months.

The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell
Sex and Dating, Mindy Meier
All the Ideas Living in My Head, Don Everts
Children of God, Mary Doria Russell
The Holy Longing, Ronald Rolheiser
The Last European War, John Lukacs
Culture Making, Andy Crouch
Friday Night Lights, H. G. Bissinger
Rethinking Christ and Culture, Craig A. Carter
Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes, Kenneth E. Bailey
Faith in the Halls of Power, Michael Lindsay
The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson
The Merchant of Death, D. J. MacHale
No Future Without Forgiveness, Desmond Tutu
Motivating the "What's In It For Me?" Workforce, Cam Marston
Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, Renni Browne and Dave King
Story, Robert McKee
The Shack, William P. Young
Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card
Speaker for the Dead, Orson Scott Card
Publishing for Profit, Thomas Woll
Daring to Draw Near, John White
Gilead, Marilyn Robinson
Sin in the Second City, Karen Abbott
A Promise Kept, Robertson McQuilkin
The Soul Tells a Story, Vinita Hampton Wright
Fire Sale , Sara Paretsky
The Lost History of Christianity, Philip Jenkins
Making Room for Leadership, MaryKate Morse
Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen

After the new year, I'll offer some general comments on the list and which were the best.

Who Did You Hit with That Book Club?

Would you pay $250 a year to hire the services of a book-group facilitator? Apparently that's just what some New Yorkers are doing. A New York Times article chronicles the troubles many book groups have--mostly with members who monopolize conversation or selecting books the whole group can agree to.

My wife and I have been part of a book group for over a year now. It was inspired by some friends who saw The Jane Austen Book Club and thought it would be fun. Five couples, mostly neighbors, meet five times a year. For each meeting a different couple selects the book we discuss, hosts the group and leads the discussion.

In addition, it costs us nothing. Our local library gets ten copies of each book on loan from other libraries.

In the course of our first year we read

The Sparrow

Children of God

Saturday Night Lights

Devil in the White City

Sin in the Second City

It's been a good mix of fiction and nonfiction with a nice dose of Chicago-themed books. Interestingly, while each couple can choose one book a year, members have not taken this an an opportunity to impose their book taste on the group. Actually, the tendency has been to think quite hard about what books most everyone in the group would appreciate.

Sure, we could probably have more balanced discussions with quieter ones speaking up more and those of use happy to hear our own voices backing off more. (OK, I confess.) Maybe a facilitator could help us with that. But for $250 a year? As my colleague Gary Deddo said, "Only in New York City! Groups that are willing to pay for one and probably couldn't function without it. Do facilitators have to be psychiatrists as well?"

"Scram, Kid. I'm Reading a Book."

I have always been a slow reader. I've written here before about the anguish of trying to read a book in elementary school for a book report. Winnie-the-Pooh was simply beyond my capability. I tried to fake a report based on having read only one chapter. But I turned into an avid reader. Why?

A Gentle Madness

I met a pastor recently who introduced himself this way: “Hi, I’m John.” (Not his real name.)

“Hi, John,” I said.

“I buy books,” he replied. It was the beginning of a sad tale that sounds like fiction, except that it is true. John confessed that he didn’t just buy books. He was addicted to book buying. In fact, he had already bought over 850 of IVP's 1200 books in print and was closing in on the rest. That doesn't include Bible study guides or booklets, though he's sorely tempted to pick those up as well. "Just to complete the set, you know," he said. "Like Pokemon. Gotta catch 'em all."

Fifteen Minutes a Day

When I first entered publishing, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth, the folks at InterVarsity Press had a slogan for a reading program they were promoting: "Fifteen Minutes a Day Is Fifteen Books a Year." The idea was that if you could give on average fifteen minutes a day to reading, over the course of a year you could read fifteen books.

Never Apologize for Your Reading Tastes

"Never apologize for your reading tastes." My local library uses that quote from Betsy Rosenberg as a motto. There's a lot of wisdom there.

What I Read in 2007

I read many manuscripts each year on the job, of course. Here are the books I read in 2007 after they were published, in the order I read them.

Trashing a Book

True confession. Last week I threw away a book. I hesitated a moment before I did so. Could I sell it online? Should I try to give it away? Was it somehow immoral to throw away a book? It sure didn't feel right. But I did it anyway. In fact, I threw away eight or ten.

The Joy of Reading

Much has been made of the massive effort Scholastic, Harry Potter's publisher in the United States, has made to keep the final book secret till it is revealed (and sold!) to all on July 21. Scholastic says it is to keep the plot from becoming known and spoiling it for all those Potter fans out there. (The cynic in me wonders if it isn't to create more hype and sell more books. After all, on July 22, anyone can be a spoiler by putting key plot points on the web.)

Nonetheless, Time magazine's article on Scholastic's efforts concludes with an interesting reflection on what in fact does make reading enjoyable.

Starting to Read

My recent blog on the need to encourage reading among youth got me thinking about my own early experience with reading. I clearly remember growing up with two older siblings who, to my mind, were book hounds. They belonged to kids' book clubs and seemed to read all the time. Not me. I was (my coworkers and friends will no doubt find this hard to believe) as social as Paris Hilton at a party in, well, Paris.

With people I was great. Reading on my own was hard. I struggled from word to word. I would much rather be entertaining a crowd. Reading aloud was torture. I remember painfully having to give an oral book report in third grade and only being able to make it through one or two chapters of Winnie-the-Pooh and being mortified at the horribly incomplete job I did in front of the class and the teacher, hoping no one would notice I said nothing about 90 percent of the book. I'm amazed I ever picked up another book again.

But I did, and another, and another. Maybe it was the example of my brother and sister, or not wanting to be left behind. Or maybe it was the membership to that kids' book club that seemed so cool. But by the summer after my eighth-grade year I set myself the goal of reading Moby Dick. And I did.

So when my kids were young, I had a policy. I will buy you any book you want me to buy. I don't care if it is Calvin & Hobbes or The Far Side. You want it. You get it. And sometimes they did. We weren't awash in money. But we made it a priority.

Now my kids are adults, and they are recommending books to me. I borrow their books. And their taste is great--from fiction to history to social commentary.

I believe in reading. It changes lives. It did mine.