The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

Home » Reading

Reading

A Summer of Reading Dangerously

By
Share
Tweet
8

Be careful what you read. It may change your life!

Franz Kafka wrote that books can “wound and stab us … wake us up with a blow on the head … affect us like a disaster … grieve us deeply.”

As we slide further into Summer, think about the books you plan to read the rest of this year.

What is on your to-read list? Is there a book with which you know you will disagree? Is there one that could rattle your cage a bit more than usual? Could we spend this year reading dangerously?

Tell us your book plans below. It will be “fun” to see what you come up with.

We readers like recommendations!

Leave a Comment
Category: Tag:

How to Read More in Less Time

By
Share
Tweet39
8

I have the privilege of reading for a living. Someone once asked, “What do you do for a living?” I replied, “I read.” Then they asked what I did for fun. And I replied with a huge smile, “I read.” But not all reading is alike. There is immersive reading of a technical nature. There is escapist reading of a great thriller. And there is cursory reading where you …

Read moreHow to Read More in Less Time
Category: , , , Tag:

Binge Watching versus Binge Reading

By
Share
Tweet
22

A lot of people take advantage of their entertainment streaming services to binge-watch multiple episodes of a particular TV show in one sitting. How long would it take to spend the same amount of time reading … the Bible? A few years ago, Crossway.org published an article titled “You Have More Time for Bible Reading Than You Think.” The results are rather interesting. (The chart …

Read moreBinge Watching versus Binge Reading
Category:

My Best Reading Advice

By
Share
Tweet
11

My wife and I, newly married and preparing to enter training for ministry, hosted a seasoned pastor in our home for one of our entrance interviews. He asked what sorts of books we’d been reading, and we answered. I expected him to be impressed with my answer. After all … well, never mind. But he smiled kindly. “May I offer a piece of advice?” What were we going to say? “No”? So we gave the …

Read moreMy Best Reading Advice
Category: , , , ,

What Did You Read This Summer?

By
Share
Tweet
20

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 …

Read moreWhat Did You Read This Summer?
Category: , Tag: ,

What Is the Oldest Book in Your Library?

By
Share
Tweet
34

I love books, especially old or rare ones. Back in college I spent a couple months working in the back room of the university library repairing their rare book collection. I’ll never forget the awe of holding a copy of a book by Theodore Beza, a student of John Calvin, dated in the 1600s. I also recall one summer in Washington D.C. around the now-defunct CBA booksellers convention when a …

Read moreWhat Is the Oldest Book in Your Library?
Category: , Tag:

April Tool’s Day

By
Share
Tweet
20

I decided not to try and trick you on April Fool’s Day with something like “Steve Laube buys yet another shiny industry business. This time he bought the entire out-of-print catalogs from Nomas Telson, Zyndale, and Tondervan. Included in the purchase was the New International Christian Standard Living Message Bible (NICSLMB).” Instead, I thought about which reference book I use …

Read moreApril Tool’s Day
Category: , , , , , , Tag: , ,

Thematic Reading Brings Dramatic Results

By
Share
Tweet
13

Years ago, I stumbled on an idea that has greatly enriched my reading: thematic reading. That is, each year I’ll choose a handful of books to read that are related in some way (topic, character, setting, etc.). One year, I read two classic novels back-to-back, which were fascinating to compare and contrast: Jane Eyre (Bronte) and Rebecca (du Maurier). Another time, I re-read a personal …

Read moreThematic Reading Brings Dramatic Results
Category:

Be a Re-Reader

By
Share
Tweet
14

Maybe you’ve heard of C. S. Lewis. Some people consider him to have been a fairly smart man. A literary superhero, even, who once wrote, “An unliterary man may be defined as one who reads books once only. . . . We do not enjoy a story fully at the first reading. Not till the curiosity, the sheer narrative lust, has been given its sop and laid asleep, are we at leisure to savour the real beauties. …

Read moreBe a Re-Reader
Category: , , , ,

Just the Facts

By
Share
Tweet
16

With the omnipresence of social media and other ways for people to directly express opinions, Christian writers should take extra care to be aware of the facts when it comes to both theology and society. Since Christians actually believe there is truth and it is knowable, Christian writers should be a lot more like classic journalists, researching, studying, and reporting truth, rather than simply …

Read moreJust the Facts
Category: , ,