Since I have always enjoyed reading, I don’t get hung up on the question of whether I SHOULD read or not because I love to read. The problem is to determine what to read because I like a lot of different kinds of books.
I have three large sets of bookshelves in my house and currently there is no room to add another new book. Since I am out of bookshelf space, that means I will need to part with a few since I continue to discover new books I want to read and keep on my shelf for at least awhile. Books are sometimes like friends that stir up memories of the adventures the author invited me on.
I am not sure when I really began to love to read, but I do know it is love that has grown throughout my lifetime. Ask me some of my favorite authors and I will have more than a few come to mind. In some cases I have read every book written by an author.
When I was in school whether elementary, high school, college, or graduate school, there were many books that I HAD to read that I did NOT love. They were necessary to teach or inform me of things I needed to learn or know. I still own and have on my shelves a few of those, but I am not sure why since I don’t choose them when I am trying to decide what to read.
During those earlier days when I could steal a few minutes away from required reading, I loved diving into a good fiction book that would take me from my routine and stir my imagination about places I had never been, people I had never met, foods I had never tasted, jobs I had never explored, and so much more. I also loved historical fiction and still do since it made the history I loved seem more real and personal somehow.
When I was a young wife and mom, I still loved those great escape novels to add adventure to my days, but I also started reading books about how to be a better wife, a better mom, a better cook, a better house cleaner. The latter selections were helpful, but focused more on what I was doing than on helping me see who I was more clearly.
When I became a Christian, there was a wide array of choices from devotionals to books on doctrine and theology or how to gain healing from our wounds or how to face various trials.
There were inspirational books and books meant to teach me something. There were also more translations of the Bible than I had known existed as well as debates about which were the most accurate according to the Greek or Hebrew. Along the way, I likely acquired a good many books and tried out most of the translations in different seasons of my life up to the present exposure to The Passion Translation.
My choice of books to read is primarily guided now by one question. Does it nourish me in some way, in some aspect of my life?
If the book nourishes me, it becomes a cherished friend that I never loan or give away.
What books nourish me?
I still have a varied appetite. I LOVE great recipe books with photos that go with the recipes to show me the final goal and I enjoy books on healthy eating and exercise, aging well, current politics, biographies, classical novels from Jane Austin and others, as well as a good romance.
The books that nourish me most are those that impact my heart and spirit.
I am always on the hunt for those and there are authors I especially love, but truthfully it is when I sit with God’s Word in my lap or on my iPad with a good cup of coffee or tea that I most want to linger in my red chair in the morning. No matter how often I read it, I find something new or different that I had not seen before.
I know IT (God’s Word) hasn’t changed, but perhaps I have.
Perhaps it has changed ME.
Actually, I am quite certain it has!
I also love to read and have since I first learned how to read. My taste in books has changed over the years but my love of reading only gets stronger. Thank you for sharing.
I thought this was going to be another list of books, but a delightful how-too almost instead.
Pam, I’ve been waiting all week to create a few minutes to sit here with this post of yours! I love that ‘does it nourish me’ question!
Last year was all about non-fiction, both secular and faith-based. I felt like I feasted well and often and yes, was nourished.
This year seems to be more fictional reads … I can’t say I’ve been nourished in the same way. It’s been lighter fare, for sure, but somehow that’s ok.
A fascinating post, friend!
I love to read and try really hard to read a variety of books and not just the fun fictional ones that I enjoy for escape but also books about bettering myself and recipes and such. Lately I am finding that I am really enjoying reading biographies.
Love to hear this! I enjoy biographies as well and they are many times more exciting than some fiction.
In this season of my life, it seems I rarely get to read for fun anymore! My main interests are bible, bible study and leadership books. Hoping when retirement comes in the next 3-4 years to add more fiction back in!
I get that totally, Jerralea. I was only able to return to some fiction when retirement came 5 6 years ago and my enjoyment of it was rekindled to add to all the other deeper reading. What I discovered was some of the messages within the fiction stories were powerful indeed as I discovered new Christian authors on the scene since I had time to check them out.
I love books too and read a variety of titles – but I am also in a season of really valuing my time and being careful that what I read challenges and allows me to reflect on those things that are good for my spirit. Thanks for sharing – from InstaEncouragements link-up
I hear you and in this season it is important to be sure our reading is useful for those things that build us up and challenges our growth.
I agree with both of you ladies. Books…I love them too. Besides the Bible, I love historical fiction, biographies and autobiographies that are based on the life during some major historical event. I love devotionals, sound doctrine written by some of those Puritans, and the list goes on and on!! Thanks for sharing you love of books. Making me want to go look through my shelves to see what I missed or need to reread. I have a sweet threesome of 11-15 year old sisters who are currently reading Little Women and Diary of Anne Frank. They want to read them. I love that!!!
I think we could have a grand time sharing books we love, Linda! What a joy to have the reading time with these three young ladies! I love it!!💝
My bookshelves are overflowing too. Reading isn’t an option for me either. 🙂 And the Word never gets old. It continues to grow on us and in us!
♥️