Finding the Good in Your Reading

This week I continue in the same vein of looking at the importance of building a habit of reading. In doing so I would like to share some thoughts on an excellent book for Bookheads. The title is, On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life Through Great Books. The author is Karen Swallow Prior. She is Professor of English at Liberty University as well as a Research Fellow with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, and a Senior Fellow with Liberty University’s Center for Apologetics and Cultural Engagement. She has written for magazines such as: Christianity Today, The Atlantic, Think Christian, and many other publications.

Some of her thoughts in the beginning reminded me of C.S. Lewis’ thoughts on stories. Professor Prior encourages readers to find pleasure in reading. A quote relating to this is “Read books you enjoy, develop your ability to enjoy challenging reading, read deeply and slowly, and increase your enjoyment of a book by writing words of your own in it.” (page18). The reminder is to not rush through a book but take time to allow the book to soak into your mind and soul.

One of the many important aspects of her book I gleaned from her writing was the good we can gain for our lives by understanding the virtues and character qualities, we can learn from fiction books as we read with a reflective spirit. She provides perspective on this point through the ages of literature. Even going back to the great Greek philosophers she points out, “Aristotle introduces the notion of literature’s cathartic effect, an idea that has had widespread influence, referring to the way literature trains emotions by arousing them and resolving them through the structure of a well-crafted plot” (page 20). She goes on to share how Aristotle’s thinking on understanding of characters in stories can possibly be considered as a learning tool for improving the inner character qualities in readers.

That thought of how readers can improve their lives by deep immersion into the fiction they read, was an important personal take-away from this book. Professor Prior takes the reader of Reading Well, through a journey of various virtues that are emphasized in various classic novels. By reading her examples one can learn how to look for the good for themselves in other works of literature.

Some of the virtues that she covers in the book are: Courage, Justice, Hope, Love, Diligence, Kindness and others. Some of the books she critiques to show how the various virtues are found in them are: A Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens; The Road by Cormac McCarthy; The Death of Ivan Ilych by Leo Tolstoy; Ethan Frome by Edith Wharton and Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyun.

I don’t list all the virtues nor all the books titles to entice you to check out the book for yourself at Amazon or Barnes & Noble (Click on either to link to the book). Or as I often suggest check at your local library to see if their reference department can find a copy for you.

Some of the books listed by her, I had read before, but the insights she brought to bear made me want to re-read them. Re-reading a book is a habit that C.S. Lewis promoted in the book I mentioned in last week’s blogpost. There were also authors I had not read before and she piqued my interest in their writings. More importantly Professor Prior showcases the personal good and benefit a reader can gain by deeply reading a work of literature and gleaning lessons for one’s life from the books we read.

Reflection: Think over the fiction books you have read. Has there been any standout lessons you have learned from the books? Think through the main characters of a favorite book. Are there any virtues you learn from the character’s life and actions in the book?