I am great when it comes to starting books. Seriously, one of the best. Yes, that may sound prideful, but it’s true. One of my best talents is the ability to dive into a book and begin reading. The problem is, I am probably the worst person on earth at finishing books. Starting is easy…getting past chapter 2 is another story.
I love reading and I love reading all types of things–newspapers, fiction, theology, sports, technology, entertainment, etc. However, for some reason, I have trouble getting through entire books.
The irony is, there are so many books I want to own, but so few I’ll probably finish reading.
A few weeks ago, I started reading Toy Box Leadership by Ron Hunter (CEO of Randall House) and Michael Waddell (my former college speech teacher). The book focuses on what our childhood toys can teach us about leadership. As an avid fan of the Toy Story series (or an infatuated cheerleader of Pixar as I have been called), the book has definitely held my attention. The problem is, once I missed a few days of reading due to vacation, I was ready to start another book as though I had finished one.
While reading Toy Box Leadership, I started reading Simple, by Pastor RobMorgan. The short book is great and breaks down the essentials of the faith. However, when I ended up leaving the book with my girlfriend, I decided it was time to start another book, while continuing to read Toy Box Leadership at the same time.
That next book happens to be I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist by Norman Geisler and FrankTurek. The book focuses on apologetics and defending your faith against false claims. Another great book that I intend to read, but now I’ve found myself in the middle of 3 different books.
On top of that, I have been searching everywhere for A Mind for God by James Emery White. The book has been at the top of my “Need to Read” list for months but I cannot find it in any stores. However, I realized that maybe I should finish the other 3 before I start anything new. And even while all this is going on, I suddenly have an appetite for fiction as well.
I’m guessing I’m not the only person like this. I’m sure there are plenty of people out there who are currently reading 87 books like me and will end up buying 5 bargain books the next time they go to Barnes & Noble.
So what do you do? How do you decide what books to read? How do you make sure you finish a book before starting something new? Do you set aside time each day to read or read when you have time? Do you try to balance fiction and non-fiction?
Help me out. Let’s help each other out. And maybe someday I will actually finish a book!
Tags: I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist, Reading, Simple, Toy Box Leadership
August 11th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I’m reading “Velvet Elvis” and “The God Delusion” right now. I think I’m on chapter 2 of both of them. For me, a book has to really hit me for me to be able to get through it quickly without getting bored. I dunno why, but some books just don’t hit me like others. The book, “Just Walk Across the Room” was one of those I couldn’t put down, the two I am reading now are too slow. It’s like a movie I guess – impress me early, otherwise I might not finish you.
August 11th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
I am just like you!!! It’s so crazy! I do end up finishing them but I have been known to read up to 3 books at once. They were all fiction books too! How I didn’t get the characters confused I don’t know but I did it! LOL. I just finished reading Simple. That is really awesome. I want to read it again. I’m now reading Come Thirsty by Max Lucado. I’m also reading a novel by Karen Kingsbury (my favorite author ever!!!)
I actually read an entire series of Karen Kingsbury in one week. (and yes, I did get other things done!)
What can I say? I’m an avid reader! I can never get bored with reading. Call me a dork but it’s true!
August 12th, 2008 at 7:31 am
I love to read too. I dont do so much in non fiction because I cant get into it but the toystory one does sound good. I think currently I am only reading 2 books. I get bored and switch then later come back. I’m not sure why we do it but apparently its more common than I thought. Good luck finishing your books
August 12th, 2008 at 3:48 pm
David,
I am currently reading Spiritual Leadership by Blackaby and A Mind for God by White. I got White’s book on lifeway.com. Its a good read, but pretty deep. I am the kind of reader that really should focus on one book at a time, but I am not patient enough to do that. Just remember that there is no such thing as the reading police to arrest you for not finishing a book.
August 12th, 2008 at 6:32 pm
I tried carrying the same book around everywhere I went, but I would forget to read it where I was, or I would lose it. Now I place a different book at various stations throughout my daily routine.
Currently: Bible at breakfast, Warren at lunch, Lutzer at the office, Randall in the living room, Prime on the nightstand. Try it!
August 12th, 2008 at 8:04 pm
I read tons as well, but I have found that balance between fiction and non-fiction is key. The best question to ask is, “Why am I reading this book?” before you start reading. Sometimes Christians get caught up in intellectual foot races with books just so they can add a book to their list of books they’ve read list in case someone asks. Other times we read books because we are really looking for some small self-help snippit of wisdom that will change our faith, life, marriage, etc. Other times we don’t want to read the Bible so we substitute Christian books instead. I say to balance fiction because God loves stories (the Bible is filled with them) and stories can bring to light things that non-fiction books can’t.
Personally, I’ve always wished I could/would read like my dad. He takes longer than most to get through books, but in every book he reads he highlights key passages, makes notes in the margins, and really tries to apply challenge himself with what he is reading.
August 13th, 2008 at 10:04 pm
I start a new book about every week, and rarely finish them, unless they are REALLY good. And even worse, I’m not smart enough to read more than one at once.
August 16th, 2008 at 12:54 am
Yeah, I do that sometimes – then by the time I get back to the book I’ve forgotten what the whole first part was about! My other weakness comes in the form of skimming ahead.
But taking time every day seems to be the cure, so that your mind stays involved and interested… (Two at a time can help with that too) unless it’s one of those rare books that you get so sucked into you about have to fall asleep on top of it to stop reading. LOL
Another thing is to put your book in a place where you “land” a lot and can easily pick it up. In my family, leaving your book on the kitchen table is a good way to get in a few pages over breakfast and lunch, and before you know it the whole book is gone. And two other people have are reading it also. haha.
Sounds like you need to go on a “finish the book” mission!