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Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Reading

Reading

Be a Re-Reader

By Bob Hostetleron July 18, 2023
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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. Till then, it is like wasting great wine on a ravenous natural thirst which merely wants cold wetness” (from On Stories: And Other Essays on Literature).

I love C. S. Lewis. I love to read. And, because I’m a writer, I don’t want to be “unliterary.” But here comes a confession: I don’t often re-read books. Percentage-wise, at least. There are so many books I’ve yet to experience for the first time, ya know? Most years, I read 70-100 books, yet my to-be-read list keeps getting longer and longer—Oh, wretched man that I am!

However, over the years, there have been more than 70 books I’ve read more than once—some more than twice (indicated with an asterisk in the list below). That’s not counting picture books, which I’ve read numerous times to my children and grandchildren; those are too numerous to list. And also not counting the Bible, which I’ve read through many times, in numerous versions. So, while I’m sure I’ve forgotten some, the following are books I know I have read at least twice:

A Diary of Private Prayer (Baillie)*
A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Shakespeare)*
All’s Well That Ends Well (Shakespeare)
Ancient Prophets and Modern Problems (Brengle)*
Bird by Bird (Lamott)
Celebration of Discipline (Foster)
Guest of the Soul (Brengle)*
Hamlet (Shakespeare)*
Hand Me Another Brick (Swindoll)
Heart Talks on Holiness (Brengle)*
Helps to Holiness (Brengle)*
Henry V (Shakespeare)*
Hinds’ Feet on High Places (Hurnard)
How Green Was My Valley (Llewellyn)
In Shady Groves (Lehman)
Julius Caesar (Shakespeare)*
King Lear (Shakespeare)
Knowing God (Packer)*
Leadership Prayers (Kriegbaum)
Leap Over a Wall (Peterson)
Love’s Labours Lost (Shakespeare)*
Love Slaves (Brengle)*
Macbeth (Shakespeare)*
Mere Christianity (Lewis)*
Much Ado About Nothing (Shakespeare)*
My Side of the Mountain (George)*
My Utmost for His Highest (Chambers)*
On Writing Well (Zinsser)*
Othello (Shakespeare)*
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek (Dillard)
Prayer: The Heart’s True Home (Foster)
Ragman and Other Cries of Faith (Wangerin)
Resurrection Life and Power (Brengle)*
Riders of the Purple Sage (Grey)
Robinson Crusoe (Defoe)*
Romeo and Juliet (Shakespeare)*
Sit Walk Stand (Nee)*
Spiritual Leadership (Sanders)
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Doyle)
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Twain)
The Call of the Wild (London)
The Christian’s Secret of a Happy Life (Smith)
The Chronicles of Narnia, 7 vol. (Lewis)
The Complete Tales of Winnie the Pooh (Milne)*
The Contemplative Pastor (Peterson)
The Daughter of Time (Tey)
The Divine Hours, 3 vol. (Tickle)*
The Elements of Style (Strunk/White)*
The Merchant of Venice (Shakespeare)*
The Mouse and the Motorcycle (Cleary)*
The Pilgrim’s Progress (Bunyan)
The Pursuit of God (Tozer)*
The Screwtape Letters (Lewis)
The Soul-Winner’s Secret (Brengle)*
The Taming of the Shrew (Shakespeare)*
The Tempest (Shakespeare)*
The Way of Holiness (Brengle)*
The Way of the Heart (Nouwen)
The Way to Power and Poise (Jones)
The Writing Life (Dillard)*
Twelfth Night (Shakespeare)*
Walden (Thoreau)
When the Holy Ghost Is Come (Brengle)*
With Christ in the School of Prayer (Murray)*

So, how about you? Are you a re-reader? If so, what books have you read more than once? More than twice?

 

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Category: Encouragement, Inspiration, Personal, Reading, The Writing Life

Just the Facts

By Dan Balowon August 17, 2022
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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 …

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Category: Reading, The Writing Life, Trends

21 Influential Books

By Steve Laubeon July 18, 2022
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There is a shelf in our living room where I have placed the books that had the most influence on my spiritual growth. I call them my “Punctuation Marks” because in a metaphoric way some books were a comma, some an exclamation point, and some a period or full stop. The beauty of having them all in one place is the visual reminder of those moments when God reached out through the pages of creative …

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Category: Personal, Reading, TheologyTag: Books, Reading

What Do You Read to Stay Informed?

By Steve Laubeon June 20, 2022
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I am occasionally asked to list the magazines, newsletters, and blogs I read to stay informed about our industry. It is a good question. But when I started compiling the list, I realized how ridiculously long it is. Therefore, I can only list selected highlights by type of media. Lest you get the wrong impression, realize I’m an eclectic reader who skims the surface of the waters gleaning …

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Category: Book Business, Reading, TrendsTag: Informed, Reading

Today Is a Good Day to (re)Read

By Steve Laubeon March 28, 2022
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by Steve Laube

What was the favorite book you read, cover to cover, in the last year or so? Why is it your favorite? (It can be fiction or non-fiction. Faith-based or not.) Feel free to tell us in the comments about yours.

Read it Again

Now that you’ve identified the book. Read it again. As Vladimir Nabakov wrote:

“Curiously enough, one cannot read a book: one can only reread it. A …

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Category: Art, Craft, Reading, Writing CraftTag: Reading, Writing Craft

Why I Bought the Book: Consumer Edition

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon October 6, 2021
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I’m a literary agent, but I’m also a reader. As a reader, I have reasons for buying a book. Nonfiction Topics: The topic must address a need or want I’m feeling at that time. For example, if I’m cooking for someone who’s a vegan, I’ll search for books with ideas for vegan dishes. Fiction Topics: Some topics simply don’t appeal to me as a reader. Authors may note that some readers have triggers and …

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Category: Book Sales, Marketing, Reading

Words I Can Spell but Mispronounce

By Bob Hostetleron December 16, 2020
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A couple years ago I was enjoying a small family reunion with my two older brothers. We were playing a card game, and for some reason I used the word chimera in the conversation. Unfortunately, I failed to take into consideration three things: I had (to my recollection) never heard the word spoken but had only read it. My brothers are both smarter than me. My brothers would never hesitate to …

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Category: Humor, Reading

Do Writers Read Differently?

By Bob Hostetleron November 18, 2020
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Writers are readers. Right? Of course, right. In fact, I’d say that if you’re not a devoted, even voracious reader, you might not want to pursue writing for publication, as reading and writing tend to go hand-in-hand. But do writers read differently than other people? And if so, how? I asked that question of some of my friends and clients, and here’s what they said: Yes, I think writers read …

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Category: Creativity, Reading, The Writing Life

How Are You Reading?

By Steve Laubeon April 27, 2020
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by Steve Laube

I collect books. I graze through them like I'm at an all-you-can-eat buffet. I sample this tidbit and that. Eventually I get enough to eat or have found the right morsel to consume until it is finished.

It helps make me an eclectic sort. But there are days, even weeks, where I must discipline myself to become immersed in extraordinary writing. It is there where the soul …

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Category: Reading, TheologyTag: Reading, Theology

What Will You Read Today?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 30, 2020
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Reading at least a few chapters of a book is a worthy goal for each day. One app I have recommends a half hour of reading. Seems doable to me! Since I have at least a thousand books in my collection begging to be read, I’m attempting to be discerning as to where I spend my reading time. To wit, I went to a public library book sale over the weekend and confess I was tempted by Kitty Kelley’s old …

Read moreWhat Will You Read Today?
Category: Personal, Reading
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