Do you ever want to read a book but don’t understand any of the ones you pick up? Do you quickly become disinterested in what you read, or you can’t relate to the story? Or maybe you just get bored?
We all struggle to read at times. We have identified three reasons you may be struggling to read. We want to encourage you to overcome these obstacles, so that you can engage with and enjoy the many wonderful books that have been written. So here are three ways to better enjoy reading.
Three Ways to Better Enjoy Reading
1. Come Ready to Learn
You may struggle to read because of your mindset. A simple change in your mindset may be the way to start enjoying reading.
Oftentimes, we begin a new book expecting it to answer a specific question, speak into a unique situation, or tell a story a certain way.
Because of this, it’s easy to become frustrated when a book doesn’t turn out how we expect it to. This isn’t what I wanted, we think as we finish the first or second chapter of a book. We may set aside the book we just began too quickly, concluding that it’s not worth our time, simply because it didn’t meet our initial expectations.
Have you had this experience before?
If so, we challenge you to keep reading! Keep reading even when the book in your hands doesn’t meet your initial expectations.
Why would you want to keep reading?
You still may learn from a book, even if what you take away from it is not what you anticipated or intended to learn from it.
Pastor John Piper insightfully points out that “books don’t change people; paragraphs do. Sometimes even sentences.” In other words, an entire book likely did not change you. Rather, specific parts of that book will affect you. One sentence or paragraph will probably strike you with its insight or implications. Even though a book may not meet your expectations, you may encounter sentences and paragraphs within it that could change and teach you.
Keep reading for the sake of that paragraph, that sentence, which could change you. God may be planning to teach you something through a book that didn’t meet your initial expectations.
When you’re tempted to stop reading, ask God to help you learn what he wants you to learn from the book, and keep reading.
If you set aside your expectations and, instead of coming to books always looking for answers, approach reading with a teachable heart, you may find reading more enjoyable as God teaches you many wonderful things you did not set out to learn.
2. Read Great Books
Although being ready, willing, and open to learn will help you enjoy reading more, this does not mean you should keep reading every book you happen to open.
In fact, you may struggle to read because you are simply reading bad books. Our world is full of millions of books. In fact, about 2.2 million books are published each year alone. And yet, many books are not worth reading.
But which ones are worth your time? What makes a book worth your persistence?
Here are three key characteristics of good books to ensure you never again waste your time reading poor literature.
Good books are relatable.
First, good books cause you to think, I know what that feels like! I’ve thought that before! I can relate!
You want to keep reading because you identify with a character. As you follow the story, you become a part of it. The character’s emotions become your emotions. You rejoice with them when they succeed and mourn with them when they fail.
Think of a book that made you cry. The author did a masterful job of getting you invested in the characters, carefully pulling on your heart strings. So when a battle was lost or a loved one died, you couldn’t help but grieve with the characters.
Choosing relatable books doesn’t mean every book you read has to be about someone like you, who has a similar personality or experience.
For example, Corrie Ten Boom wrote a phenomenal book called The Hiding Place. She grew up in Germany, in a Jewish family in the 1930s. You may not be able to relate to Corrie in these ways, but as you read Corrie’s story, you will find that she places you in her shoes. You ride the train with Corrie and her father, shudder with her at the horrors of the Nazi concentration camps and wonder with Corrie at her sister’s optimism in such awful circumstances.
So, read books where the author skillfully puts you in the shoes of the characters and enables you to walk with them through life. You will learn a lot from the characters you travel with. Choosing books by skillful authors who write stories or content that you relate to may help you enjoy reading more.
Good books motivate and inspire.
Second, good books are motivating. They stir something inside of you that makes you want to do something brave, grow in your character, or change the world.
We know this to be true as we observe little kids. Their make-believe often mimics the books they’ve been reading. They pretend to blow houses down after reading The Three Little Pigs, to have tea parties after reading Alice in Wonderland, and to jump off couches as though they can fly after reading Peter Pan. They’ve been inspired!
As we grow older, we may no longer try to fly like Peter Pan, but we will learn from the people we read about. We may find ourselves imitating them in some way or another, adopting their ideologies, and taking their thoughts and ideas to heart.
But we must make sure the characters we read about are worth imitating. The Bible teaches us that “bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33 NIV). We become like the people we spend time with. If you spend time with good company, they can influence you to become a better person, while if you spend time with bad company, they can corrupt you.
When we read books, we spend significant time with the characters, reading about their thoughts, actions, and motivations. Just like our friends, the characters in the books we read can influence us for better or for worse.
So read books that include characters who inspire you toward the kind of character God wants you to have, and who are worthy of your admiration.
Good books tell the truth.
Third, good books tell the truth about the world. This characteristic is more important than the first two.
Many books are engaging, well written, easy to relate to, and have dynamic characters, but they promote false ideas. They may even lead their readers to develop character flaws, because the characters in the books are winsome, but not wise, kind, or good. They may motivate and inspire you, but towards witchcraft, disrespecting your parents, or a lack of integrity.
Good books call good, good, and evil, evil. They tell the truth about the world, and about right and wrong. In other words, what we know to be true about God, people, the world, and human experience from God’s authoritative Word, the Bible, agrees with the worldview put forth in the book.
Whenever you are choosing a book to read, consider this direction from Philippians.
Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Philippians 4:8 NIV)
Paul, who wrote Philippians, tells believers that they must value what God values, letting him determine what they find desirable. They must not spend time pursuing, or even thinking about, what is sinful or untrue. In obedience to God, we also must also pursue things that are pure and true, even when it comes to seemingly small matters like what books we read.
Good books celebrate and value what is truly good, reflect on the world truthfully, and tell the truth.
As you’re reading your next book, think about these three characteristics of a good book. Ask yourself these questions: Is it relatable? Is it inspiring? And, most importantly, does it tell the truth?
Choosing a good book may deliver you from a chronic distaste for reading, as you begin to enjoy excellent literature!
3. Read, Read, Read
Maybe you come to books ready to read and you choose to read great literature, but you still don’t enjoy reading. Could it be that you struggle to read because you don’t read very much or very often?
The simple way to mend this and start enjoying reading more is very simple—read more! Just like you must practice so that you can enjoy a sport, you must practice reading to enjoy it.
You don’t have to spend hours reading. You don’t even have to do it every day. You could read for a few minutes before bed, or when you first get up. Try leaving a book on your counter and read a page whenever you have a spare minute.
You will notice progress towards reading well, even if it may be slow. And, as you continue to read good books, you will develop a taste for good literature.
Enjoy Reading by Developing a Taste for Good Books
Let’s end with an analogy—I think you may find it helpful.
Consider a person who tries coffee for the first time. They like it, but it’s poor-quality coffee. Because they don’t know anything else, they are satisfied. Then they are given high-quality coffee. They notice the difference, and quickly become used to the high-quality coffee. Now, if you gave them the poor type, which they liked at first, they may no longer enjoy it.
It is the same with reading.
You may be satisfied at first with poor literature when you don’t know anything else. But once you begin reading good literature, and become accustomed to it, you will easily be able to identify the poor type, and you may lose your desire for it. You will grow to be satisfied with only the best.
Set aside your expectations so that God may work in you through literature. Choose good books that are worth your time, so that you develop a taste for the best books. And commit to spend time reading. You will grow to be a better reader and to engage with and enjoy more literature.
Why We Want You to Enjoy Reading
We want you to love reading. We don’t want you to miss out on the joy of it. And although there are millions of good books, there is one most worthy of your attention—the Bible. As you grow as a reader, we pray you would grow to love God’s Word more as you see all the wonders within it.