Why I keep reading
KINDLE Strand: Stewardship of Self
Practice 8: Grow in Wisdom-For intellectual health intentionally and regularly engage in learning opportunities.
Wow, do I love to read. Always have. I suspect I always will. The interesting thing is that I remember very few details of anything I read. I have strong impressions—”I loved that book.” “I felt empowered after reading that book.” “I made a change after I read that book.” “The characters in that story were wonderful.” I have impressions but can’t remember any details. This post from John Piper(in 1981), which was quoted by Tim Challies really struck me:
What I have learned from about twenty-years of serious reading is this. It is sentences that change my life, not books. What changes my life is some new glimpse of truth, some powerful challenge, some resolution to a long-standing dilemma, and these usually come concentrated in a sentence or two. I do not remember 99% of what I read, but if the 1% of each book or article I do remember is a life-changing insight, then I don’t begrudge the 99%. And that life-changing insight usually comes in a moment, a moment whose value is all out of proportion to its little size. That’s why I call it an "immeasurable moment."
I think this is true for me. I will keep reading. God’s Spirit will help me keep growing in wisdom. Amen? Amen!
Tags: John Piper, Tim Challies
really enjoying your blog. keep it up!
Sue… I share your passion for reading. I am wondering the following: do you ever re-read pieces? Do you ever highlight or underline? I have found that the memory re-activates via both practices. The speed with which one reads may also impact impression and recollection…
Hmmm… I needed that perspective. Thanks for sharing, Sue.
Karp – I am highlighter and note taker when I read – and I read somewhat slowly. And I still forget the details! (maybe I’m just spacey) Though going back to my notes/highlights does help with some of the recall – especially if I’m going to be discussing what was read with a group.
I don’t reread a whole lot, Karp. Although I do if my impression was that there was something there I wanted to remember. I underline and write and take notes. Actually, now with my Kindle (not the same as KINDLE), I can collect the notes into Word documents, which is making it a lot more likely I will be able to find what I was looking for in my notes because I can do a search. Thanks for visiting the blog, Korey!