Fire and Knowledge

sIFR 2.0b

This has alot of potential. This might open up lots of new typographic possibilities!

“I am persuaded that without knowledge of literature pure theology cannot at all endure, just as heretofore, when letters have declined and lain prostrate, theology, too, has wretchedly fallen and lain prostrate…. Certainly it is my desire that there shall be as many poets and rhetoricians as possible, because I see that by these studies as by no other means, people are wonderfully fitted for the grasping of sacred truth and for handling it skillfully and happily.”
-Martin Luther, Letter to Eoban Hess

This is my list of reading tips and helps. They have been gleaned from various resources and experiences.  Please feel free to add your own in the comment section—I’d like to compile as many as I can, and I can always use advice about reading more effectively!

• Read when you are alert. Many people make the mistake of reading when they are not awake enough to do much brainwork. Being tired and trying to tackle hard books can be a bad combination!  I read well in the evenings—others would fall asleep.  Pick a time that suits you best and stick to it consistently.
• Pray before you start.  Ask God to bless the reading of the book and ask him, through His Spirit, to help you understand things so that you can know him more and treasure Christ more.  Tell him you are dependant on him, that you desperately need his help understanding the small things, the big things, and everything else in-between!
• Pick an ideal environment.  For me, that probably means on my bed at a time when people won’t bother me.  I run a fan to drown out the ghetto sounds around my house.  I have a decently bright light reflecting off the wall to give a subtle light that isn’t overpowering.  A glass of water next to me keeps me from having to interrupt my thought process when I want a sip.
• Keep writing utensils handy.  A pen (usually a Pentel R.S.V.P) and a highlighter (Accent brand) is what I use to do the next point.
• Make the book your own. I do this by writing “mini-essays” throughout the book.  Thoughtful publishers leave ample space in the header and footer to appease their writing readers.  Many also have blank pages at the beginning and the end.  They were purposely put there, and they can be used for writing down quotes, notes, things to research, ideas that pop in your head, and just about anything else you want to write that you might want to look back at.  Through trial and error, come up with your own system of underlining, highlighting, straight marking, exclamation pointing, writing stars, etc.
• Read at an appropriate speed.  Some books should be enjoyed slowly, like a good steak—others can be “gobbled up” like fast food.  Dense theological writings normally need to be read slowly to follow the argument and to understand what they are saying.  But a novel can usually be read more quickly—although in good novels there will always be parts to read slowly.
• Read the entire book.  Good books are to be read once and remembered.  Great books are to be read more than once and savored! If a book is really “great”, it will often take more than one reading to really understand them and probably more than that to exhaust them.
• Keep moving.  Don’t stumble at words.  Keep plowing through.  Things might make sense in a few more paragraphs, but if not then that is okay too!  Reading authors that stretch us and make us strain our God-given brains are almost always a blessing in the end.   Here’s a quote about this, lest you think I be alone in my assessment:

“In tackling a difficult book for the first time, read it through without ever stopping to look up or ponder the things you do not understand right away.  Pay attention to what you can understand and do not be stopped by what you cannot immediately grasp.  Go right on reading past the point where you have difficulties in understanding, and you will soon come to things you do understand.  Concentrate on these.  Keep on in the way.  Read the book through, undeterred and undismayed by the paragraphs, footnotes, comments, and references that escape you.  If you let yourself get stalled, if you allow yourself to be tripped up by any of these stumbling blocks, you are lost.  In most cases, you will not be able to [figure] the thing out by sticking to it.  You will have a much better chance of understanding it on a second reading, but that required you to have read the book through at least once.” (How to Read a Book, pg. 36-37)

• Keep a dictionary handy.  If you can’t understand a sentence and it seems essential, look it up.  If you really want to learn them, pencil them down along with the definition.  There is a reason they had us do that in school—it helps us memorize. The more words that you learn, the better comprehension you will have.
• Write down things for further study.  Write down ideas or names of people that you might want to study more.  If a term comes up that you want to research, you can go to google or wikipedia.com (a free, usually helpful, encyclopedia) and see what they has to say about it.
• Read books on reading.  I know, Oh the irony!  The best and classic is How to Read a Book by Adler and Doren.  It gives fantastic advice about reading in general, and then goes into specific types of literature and how to read them most effectively.
• Use an eye guide.  I admit that I don’t do this, but it is said that if you move your finger (or something likeminded) underneath the sentence with you, you are able to read faster and also stay focused longer.  I personally find it annoying.
• Read consistently and often.  I read nightly, and as much as my wife (or my life) lets me on the weekends.  Even if it is 15 minutes a day, do it.  It’s amazing how many books can be read (and re-read!) just by skipping a TV show that probably isn’t doing you any good anyway.

So, what are your tips for reading?