Reading and You

Is reading a big part of your life or a small one?

Is reading part of work or play for you?

What kind of things do you read mostly? (Cereal boxes, billboards, books, magazines, newspapers, catalogs???)

What subjects - fiction or non-fiction, history, biography, science, romance, philosophy, mysteries, science fiction, poetry, technical subjects - interest you the most? Have your interests changed over time? How?

Give examples of books that you have read this year.

When you read a book, do you sometimes . . . .

. . . Start at the beginning and read until it’s finished?

. . . . Read only half of the book and then quit?

. . . . Read a book a second or third time?

Give examples of books that you’ve read more than once, or that you started but didn’t finish. Why?

What magazines do you routinely buy or subscribe to?

Have you ever wanted to write a book, or submit an article for a magazine? What would the subject and style be?

Give an example of a writing project in school that you especially enjoyed, remember or are proud of. Do you still have writing projects from your days in elementary school or high school?

What we read goes into our minds. It influences our actions and words. Here is some advice from Paul in the Bible about what to put into our minds:

“Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things.” Phil 4:8

Use this verse to test what you like to read. How much of what you read would pass this test? Why is it sometimes important to read about what is NOT lovely or good? What’s the difference between reading something and dwelling on it?