In 1957 H. L. Mencken coined a new word to describe a group of people that he called the bibliobibuli, which means “people who read too much.” (From the Greek “biblio,” meaning books, and the Latin “bibulous,” from “bibere,” to drink.)
But how much is too much? And who decides that? I happen to believe that there is always room for more. I was once asked what I did for a living. I answered, “I read.” They followed up with the question, “What do you do for fun?” I smiled and said, “I read.” It is both a privilege and a blessing to work with so many gifted authors and be immersed in their ideas daily.
But there are tons of books I read outside of work. Thinking about the variety of books I read these past few months became a fun exercise, so I decided to describe a few of them below. I have intentionally avoided books by clients or other prospective authors.
Nonfiction
I teach the Bible in our church every Sunday morning. Last week, we completed our 12th session on Ephesians. (We still have a number of weeks to go!) As part of my research, I have been working through:
- Ephesians by James Montgomery Boice
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I also scan dozens of others for info.
I also try to keep on top of the new books coming out in theology, history, cultural issues, business, writing or publishing, and biography. (At the beginning of the year, I read Luther by Eric Metaxas.)
- Banana Ball by Jess Cole
- The Untold Story of Books: A Writer’s History of Book Publishing by Michael Castleman
Fiction
Fiction is my “mind candy.” I lose myself in stories of wide variety and scope. I cannot list all the novels I have read these past few months, but this should give a taste.
- Cobra – Timothy Zahn
- The Sand Wars – Charles Ingrid
- Death Day – William Dietz
- The First Billion – Christopher Reich
- Eruption – Michael Crichton and James Patterson
- Centers of Gravity – Marko Kloos
Feel free to tell us what you read these past few months in the comments below.
