It’s no secret I love to read. (I also have a compulsion to buy books from our local library’s “quarter” shelves, but that’s another issue for another time.)
Once in a while, I get questions about the books I read—titles that cause others to raise an eyebrow or pull back in surprise. Because assumption does not always tell a true tale, I thought it might be helpful (or at least clarifying) to share my approach to what I read and why I do it, because it all comes back to belonging.
My mindset toward reading is much like my mindset toward peopling: I recognize that I am one person, with one pair of eyes and one set of experiences. I have opinions, but I want them to remain pliable. Compassion depends on maintaining tenderness, but that is often difficult to do if I remain within my limited lens on the world.
Reading is one of the ways I see through others’ experiences, even if only for a moment. As professor Karen Swallow Prior once noted,
“Literature wasn’t just expanding my imagination; it was expanding my moral imagination.”
Reading stretches us, not only intellectually but interpersonally. Books hold the potential to expand how we view the human experience, to give us a door to encounter people and perspectives that (as KSP pointed out in this same chat) we might never cross in our normal, everyday lives. People become much more complex up close, when we know the intricacies of their stories and discover the ways our values, joys, and sorrows overlap.
For that reason, I often pick up books (fiction and nonfiction alike) that stretch me, either in thought or content or character, so that I do not fall into the trap of my built-in bias. Because like it or not, it’s there, tempting us into comfort and complacency.
In the words of author and Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel,
“The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.”
And reading can help us actively push back against bias and the urge to turn away. Because even if we do not agree, at least we can seek to understand. We can invite the larger story to keep us tender.
It is not easy, nor I do not do it perfectly. Some books sit on my shelves longer than others. Some topics and titles I fly through and others I finish as an act of love. But in the last three years, reading outside the lines of my ethnicity, my ethos, and my worldview has helped me widen my lens, increase my compassion, and soften me toward the experiences of others. It is not the only way, but it is helping.
There is a wide world beyond our two eyes, and books give us the opportunity to catch a glimpse and grow in compassion, one page at a time. And in the words of Henry David Thoreau,
“Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant?”
grace + peace,
Sarah
Good Things to Pick Up
a short list to narrow the space between us
A Book
My friend Sara Billups recently released her first book Orphaned Believers into the world. Sara and I did not realize until just over a year ago that we grew up less than 20 minutes apart, and while our lives did not overlap at the time, some of our experiences within the church did.
In Orphaned Believers, Sara tenderly weaves together stories from her spiritual journey with a journalistic inquiry into how cultural Christianity of the ‘90s impacted a subset of kids growing up in the U.S. church. Parts of her book might be hard for some readers (especially if we have allegiances to certain political or denominational views), but what I hope we all can sense in Sara’s words is her sincere love for God and his people and her hope for the church. Because as Sara writes:
“The church remains our best hope. She’s what Christ left us with.”
You can check out Orphaned Believers here (including ways to buy), or go say hello to Sara over at Bitter Scroll.
A Friend to Follow
Drew Jackson is a poet, author, and pastor out of New York City, and in a season when poetry seems to be such a salve to my soul, his words have been a gift. If you’re on Instagram, I encourage you to check him out.
A Gathering
On Friday, February 17, I am gathering online with the paid members of Human Together for a “grown-up show and tell” to talk about the books that have impacted us. If you’d like to join us, you can upgrade your subscription to get access to our online gatherings as well as additional updates and essays from time to time.
Yes! This is why I read. Thank you Sarah for putting it together in words!!!
Currently reading: Reading Black Books: How African American Literature can Make our Faith More Whole and Just by Claude Atcho. Each chapter discusses a different book from the cannon of African American literature. Definitely leading me to pick up books I wouldn't normally gravitate toward and the author's faith discussion has been rich. Would recommend.