I have always
been an avid reader, but I have rarely organized or recorded my reading over an
extended period of time. I began keeping a list of books I read in the summer
of 2013, and I set specific targets for my reading in 2014, modest enough but
sufficient to motivate me, and I easily surpassed those goals. Lately I have
been thinking about 2015 and what I hope to read and accomplish in the New
Year.
There are
several factors that significantly affect the nature, content, and volume of my
reading. These include my off-and-on involvement in seminary and graduate level
studies, my workload with the church, and the amount of time I spend in language
study or other disciplines. I have curtailed my online engagement and social
media presence to allow more time for productive activity, such as meaningful
reading, but my schedule since moving to Arizona provides far less opportunity
for extended reading time than in years past.
The form and
content of my yearly reading record is somewhat arbitrary. At least so far, I
have chosen not to record everything I read. I do not log my Bible reading as
part of my reading record, though it consumes a significant part of my reading
time. I also do not record journal articles, essays, booklets, or individuals
chapters or sections of books that I read in the course of study and research.
I only log books, complete books, which I read during the course of the year. These
books vary significantly in length. The longest one I read in 2014 was over 900
pages. The shortest may have been only 60-90 pages. What constitutes a book and
what a booklet may be a bit subjective, and when I am uncertain, I generally do
not record it. So my log is actually a very selective and incomplete list of
what I read each year, perhaps as little as 30-40% of my total reading volume.
I decided my
2015 reading goals would be more focused on content and genre than total
volumes. I have decided to read 100 books in 2015, more than most people read
but much less than many passionate readers. The challenge will be in the nature
of those 100 books. I have decided to divide the year’s reading according to
specific categories. I intend to read a minimum of 12 classics, 12 books on
history, 12 works of historical theology, 4 biographies, and to read the entire
New Testament in two different languages (Koine Greek and Esperanto). This
leaves 58 books as “open electives,” unrestricted as to content or category.
This challenge will require me to read at least one classic, one history book,
and one work of historical theology every month, plus one biography every
quarter. This will be the most challenging aspect of my reading in 2015 since
most of the volumes in those categories will be longer, denser, and more
time-consuming than the average novel or work of non-fiction. But I am excited
about the challenge, and I am looking forward to increasing the difficulty and
reward involved in meeting my reading goals.
Posting goals
like this one is not something I normally do. I generally prefer to keep my
personal goals and daily disciplines off the public radar. But after seeing how
keeping a simple reading log helped me over the last 17 months and how simple
reading targets made me a more disciplined and effective reader, I hope posting
these details about my 2015 plan might encourage and inspire readers to develop
similar goals and strategies for themselves. Whether it is reading 100 books a
year or only 1 book a month, reading more and better books in 2015 will be a
blessing to the vast majority of people. What matters is not how many books you
read but what you read, how you read, and what you take away from it. It is far better to read fewer books
but to read them well than to read many books but learn nothing from them. Most
of us will benefit from reading more, reading better books, and using better
reading habits. Plan to do so in the New Year. -JME
