Book Girl: A Journey Through the Treasures & Transforming Power of a Reading Life by Sarah Clarkson.
Book Girl Discussion Question #3: In chapter 1, the author offers some guidelines about how to choose books and how to discern what constitutes good reading. How do you choose what book to read next? Are there people in your life whose recommendations you particularly resonate with?
Sarah Clarkson suggests we look at literary quality and worldview as we decide to which books we will give our time and attention. These are good criteria, but a bit slippery and subjective to apply. Many books that are supposed to be high in literary quality or that have a perfectly adequate Christian worldview are just not good for me. So, how do I choose what I will read? (Anne Bogel, aka Modern Mrs. Darcy, phrases the question, “What should I read next?,” and she has an entire podcast dedicated to answering that question for a diverse cast of guests on her podcast.)
I read a lot about books. I read other people’s recommendations. I listen to what other people are saying about what they are reading, and I consider the source. I don’t care for Christian romance novels or secular bodice-rippers, so if I know that your taste runs to those sorts of books, I probably will take your recommendations with a large grain of salt. On the other hand, if you love some of the same books that I love, I will listen to your recommendations with focused attention.
I try out books that I think I will like, and I’m willing to give up after 100 pages or so if a books is just not for me. I think both being willing to try new things and being willing to say that this book is just not worth my time are important skills to learn for a reader. I can’t read all of the books, and some of them are just not good—or not good for me at this time and place in my life. I don’t care for, and didn’t finish, several books that are favorites, even classics, for other people. I hated Lonesome Dove, even though I can read and enjoy other Western writers. I don’t plan to read any more Hemingway or Steinbeck in my lifetime, and I thought A Prayer for Owen Meany was both ridiculous and demeaning. But I did try all of those authors and books at least once, and if they are your favorites I do not impugn your literary taste. It’s probably something lacking in me that I cannot appreciate some books that many other people love.
I pick up whatever is handy or appealing. I make lists. I read whimsically and widely. I sometimes make a plan, and I sometimes throw out the plan. I read the latest, greatest that everyone else is reading, and I read obscure books that hardly anyone else has even heard of or read.
How do you choose your next read?