Aspirational Reading

I remember coming across some content a while back that poked fun at the types of books that people get for their bookshelves, including books meant to make the owner look more intelligent. Most of these books included the classics, or more high-brow reading materials such as philosophy or art history books. It gave me a few chuckles at the time, because there were a few products linked to the content where you could purchase the façade of book spines glued onto boxes, lest anyone desire to purchase spines over actual books.

This made me wonder if I've approached my reading in the same aspirational manner, especially around Christian books. I admit that there have been times where I've read some general Christian fiction books just so that when someone asks for a recommendation, I'm not always recommending a romance title (although, general is such a vague genre that there often is a romance involved, even if it's not the whole premise). Some of these books have thankfully turned out to be great reads; however, my motivations aren't always the best if that's a primary reason in reading them 😄

With non-Christian books, I do the same thing where I can gravitate toward titles that I think will make me look more academic or spiritual or more of a deep thinker. While I have the hope that I'll get around to some of these books, the reality is that it can be years or decades before I decide to crack one of these volumes open, and by then, I might have found more recent or relevant titles.

It's a tendency I hope to curb over time as I don't want to end up with piles of books that look good, but don't serve me or my faith. Rather than collecting books meant to impress, I'm trying to do the following, albeit imperfectly:

• Identify recent themes of books I've purchased but have not yet read to determine if it might be easier for me to find an audiobook that speaks to it without needing to accumulate more titles.
• Do some research to discover how rare the topic of the book might be. If there are a dozen or so books around a certain theme, I might go onto Goodreads to see which ones are rated better and only pick the ones that seem to be most recommended. On the other hand, some topics are so niche that I might be holding onto something that I won't be able to easily find elsewhere, making it more likely that I'll get the book if I think I'll actually read it.
• Consider whether I've read anything similar in recent years. Sometimes, a book will have a premise that grabs me, but upon further reflection, I'll realize that it sounds similar to something else I've read.
• Look into the author more. For instance, there have been times where I've seen a book that looks quite interesting, but upon conducting a bit more research, I might discover that the author is more progressive than I'm comfortable with or holds affiliations that I will struggle in reading about. This can be the case with publishers as well. On the other hand, sometimes an author's background will contribute a fresh perspective to topics based on their particular expertise or lived experience. I am especially partial to Asian Christian authors, knowing that I can relate to their voices while being eager to discover their slant on things.
• Gauge the level of the book. I've been more often than not disappointed with introductory books, and find myself in a happy place for books that are more dense than merely foundational. If it looks to be at around an intermediate level, where basic understanding is already covered and yet it's not quite a textbook, I'm fine with proceeding.
• Compare the year of publication versus the content. Is the information likely to be dated or will it still be as relevant if I pick it up a few years from today? Some titles look impressive, but when I flip through it, I realize that it may not be as timeless as I hoped (this applies to a lot of books around church practices or contemporary trends). I've put back many a book where the content seems too time-bound to be interesting to read later on.
• Picture whether I can actually see myself sitting down with the book and reading it cover to cover. Some books I do purchase for reference, but if I can't see myself reading beyond a chapter, I may find a different book instead. I probably have a lot of reference books on hand already and don't need to add more.

I really had to put these principles to use at a recent book sale for Christian non-fiction books. If left unchecked, I probably could have purchased a dozen or so books, especially some that looked great but would not necessarily be read. I'm still at the point where my TBR is pretty ridiculous, but I hope that I can move beyond being an aspirational reader to just being a reader 😊