Being a Mature Reader

Before I get into it today, I wanted to confess something and get it out of my brain: I think I spend more time browsing book blogs and bookstsgram than I do actually reading books. At least lately, I mean. I don’t like it and I want to change it, but it’s been a little hard… (Any tips on how to overcome this bad habit?) I love reading, and I’m enjoying the book I’m on, but I just keep looking for more books to read… Even though I have plenty in my TBR.

Anyway, that’s not my main focus for today’s post. Instead, I want to share some thoughts on discernment and perspective when it comes to reading books!

When looking for books to read, I generally try to search for books in the Christian genre or by Christian authors. I like to read books that come from a Christian perspective and that I can assume won’t have things like foul language in them. I don’t want to read things that will make me feel uncomfortable or will promote things I disagree with. Unfortunately, however, I still have to be discerning when deciding on what to read even within the Christian category. And sometimes the discerning can’t really happen until I start reading a book.

When reading a Christian book, I feel as though I should be able to pick it up and not worry about foul language being used (the actual words being visible on the paper; it’s different when it says something like “he cursed,” for example) or scenes being sexual and things like that. But sometimes I do come upon things I’m uncomfortable reading. In this case, I typically just don’t finish the book, which I would do with a secular book too. It’s not such a big deal to me if I come across inappropriate things in a secular book; it wasn’t written by a Christian author, so I wouldn’t expect it to hold to virtues and values of Christians. But it’s a problem -to me, anyway- when authors under the “Christian” label write the same way as secular authors, especially when their characters are supposed to be Christians or the mention of God is somehow weaved into the story. It’s not a good representation of what Christians are supposed to be or of God. I don’t want to intentionally fill my mind with sinful things being condoned within the Christian genre.

There’s a difference, though, between sin being condoned in a “Christian” story, and sin being in a Christian story. Everyone sins, so of course book characters would! When I start a book and the character is living in sin or struggling with a sin, I have hope that they’re not yet a Christian but will become one during the story and change their sinful ways, they’re a new Christian who will learn what they’re doing is a sin and turn away from it, or they’re a Christian about to learn a lesson and stop committing whatever sin it is they’re struggling with. If the sin is addressed in the story and handled in an appropriate way, that will satisfy me. But if I get to the end and the sin wasn’t talked about at all, that’s where I have a problem.

When reading a secular book, I won’t expect the characters to -for example- learn that telling a lie to get out of trouble is a sin or anything like that. I know lying is wrong, and I know the book isn’t a Christian book, so I might continue reading if there are no other major issues for me. I may lose interest if there are multiple, “bigger,” or repetitive things in it that I don’t agree with or make me uncomfortable, though, such as taking the Lord’s name in vain or an unmarried main character living with their significant other. (And when I come across something like the first example in a book, I can expect it to continue happening, so it saves time to just stop where I’m at instead of keeping going to see if it will get better, because that usually doesn’t happen.) So I can and do read secular books sometimes, but I try to let my convictions preside over my decision-making when choosing entertainment in book form.

Something that bothers me is when people complain about certain things in books that were written in another time period that aren’t “culturally acceptable” now. For example, someone might complain about racism in a book written by someone who lived during/around the Civil War era about that time period. I don’t condone racism, but I’m not going to not read a book that depicts what slavery truly looked like in its story. A story with slavery, mistreatment of slaves, or slaves’ culture or dialect included in it written by someone who actually lived back in the 1800s is educational and I feel is a more accurate and valuable piece of work than someone from now writing a book with that setting and elements solely based on research. The authors of the 1800s are the ones who lived it, and they shouldn’t try to cover up or embellish the truth of what that lifestyle and culture was really like, and I don’t think they necessarily would even have thought to; they weren’t writing a book for 21st century readers; they were writing for an audience who lived back then, and I’m guessing who wouldn’t have thought so much of it than some people do now. So when reading a historical book, written back then or more recent, I look at it as educational, giving me insight into what life and culture was like “back then” even if I don’t agree with what was apparently culturally acceptable at that time. Learning is important and I don’t believe trying to erase the past is right.

I am a big fan of Anne of Green Gables and Little House on the Prairie. I didn’t grow up loving either of them, though; I didn’t read all the way through either series until I was a teenager. Although neither series is exactly made for children, they can be thought of by some as childrens’ stories. I’m glad I didn’t read them until I was older, though; I understood them better than I would have as an elementary or quite possibly even middle school student; I had more appreciation for them than I would have as a kid. I knew more words, more history, more about feelings, more about the world, etc. as a teenager than I did as a kid, and I think it made reading them as an older person more enjoyable since I could better understand them and soak in knowledge from them. I thought both were pretty educational, specifically as they were historical. And as C.S. Lewis said, “A children’s story that can only be enjoyed by children is not a good children’s story in the slightest.” (Found quote I was looking for on Goodreads.) I guess this is why they’re classics; because they can be enjoyed by both children and adults. I do think, though, I wouldn’t have thought them so amusing when I was a younger reader than I did as an almost-adult.

Also, before I go, I want to encourage you to not always go by the age recommendations on book sites or personal book reviews! For example, there are Christian books marketed for teenagers that I liked after high school graduation, but wouldn’t have liked as well or been as comfortable with as a younger teen. In this case it’s more about personal preference, but I do think there are a lot of books out there aimed at certain age groups that aren’t really appropriate for the targeted age. Some people may suggest middle-grade readers read Little House or Anne of Green Gables, but like I said above, I loved and appreciated them more after I was older than that. Same with the Elsie Dinsmore books; they’re considered children’s literature, but I personally wouldn’t recommend them for children; they wouldn’t understand the culture and writing as well as an educated teen or adult would. However, I believe one size doesn’t fit all; I might recommend a book to one person of the age sixteen and not recommend another 16-year-old the same book. Or I might recommend a certain book to a girl but not a guy of the same age. It really depends on maturity level rather than age. Not all 7-year-olds are at the same level of maturity; not all 20-year-olds are at the same level of maturity. Age really is kind of just a number. Age recommendations certainly are a general guideline and can help you learn more about a book, but I suggest not making decisions solely based on the numbers shown.

One last thing: Not all the books I talk about on my blog or include in reading lists are ones I would recommend to just anyone, or are books that I agree with everything that’s in them. I like to share what I’ve read, but I don’t want to give the impression that they’re perfect books or that I completely condone everything in them. I may read and mention books here where a main character is part of a religion I don’t agree with, or books that have more “adult-ish” topics I wouldn’t encourage younger readers to read, or other such things, so that’s why I try not to do too many “book recs.” I share ideas on what to read, but it’s up to you whether or not to read them! You don’t have to agree with everything in a book to enjoy it or learn something useful from it. If you start a book and aren’t liking it, you can put it down and walk away. I want to continue to share what I’ve read, but it’s up to you to be a mature reader!