APPRECIATION #77: ABANDONING BOOKS

I am faithful in my marriage. Not in my reading. I feel no obligation to commit to finishing a book I’ve started. I have no moral qualms of starting and abandoning a book. I can get halfway in, and then stop. I check out stacks of books from the library and sometimes don’t go much further than the cover.

I have had many one page stands. Even one paragraph, or one sentence stands.

My willingness to abandon a book is rooted in my belief that people should read promiscuously and also, in a more abstract and maybe even metaphysical belief that for most people (assuming a reasonable level of curiosity and reading ability) there is a stack of books that they would probably sit down and read in one sitting if they had them in their hands.

Here’s the thing: this list of books changes. It changes daily, maybe even weekly.

Here’s another thing: there are thousands of worthy books.

Here’s another thing: you have to look at a lot of them to find them.

There is something to be said about giving a book a chance. I do that. Time is limited, and the world is fascinating, and some subjects are more helpful and beneficial at certain times. I would love to study EVERYTHING. But there are problems with this. (I believe similar things about writing.)

Maybe this is personality. I have friends who take a different approach on this issue. They don’t start a book if they aren’t willing to finish it. My life and my understanding of the world and my experiences of good writing would be much diminished if I took a similar view of things.

Let me explain. Next year (2017) will be the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation. I’m a Protestant. I’m a history teacher. I’m a student of most things.  When I see October 31, 1517: Martin Luther and the Day that Changed the World by Martin E. Marty sitting on a shelf at the library, I scoop it up and add it to the stack.

I open the first page, and read the first two sentences in the Foreword by James Martin, SJ:

My favorite genre of writing is a short book on a big topic written by an expert. This is that kind of book.

I’m sold. This is MY favorite genre of writing as well. And I love genre, and we are studying all the various genres of writing and storytelling in school. And etc. And etc. And I’ve renewed the book several times, and I haven’t gotten any farther than those sentences. And it is a short book: 114 pages. And it’s 4 a.m. right now and I’m making a stack of books to return to the library, and I’m planning lessons, and I’m…. etc. … life.

Those sentences have helped me. I realized that I am trying to write similar books. I realize that I gravitate to books just like that: short takes on big things. A Short History of Myth by Karen Armstrong, Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis, Simply Christian by N.T. Wright, On Bullshit by Harry Frankfurt, etc. I also love books like A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson, which isn’t really all that short (500ish pages) but it is about NEARLY EVERYTHING. I also love short novels, short stories, and poetry.

I might check this book out again. I might not. Either way, it has had a positive influence in my life. It has reminded me of a few things, and served as inspiration for my own writing. Not bad for two sentences.