I just completed reading How to Read A Book: Advice for Christian Readers by Andrew Naselli.

It is much smaller than the more popular book about reading by Mortimer J. Adler, How to Read A Book: The Classic Guide to Intelligent Reading. 

One of the first things Naselli mentions in his book is that you can’t copyright book titles just for those who might find the titles similar.

This is a modern book that reflects the peculiarities of our age but with adequate references to the past.

He also took time to highlight the authors who have influenced him from his youth to his current status as husband, father, pastor, and seminary professor.

One of the things that encouraged me to read the book was how the table of contents was spread out. It had a concise and blown-out version that allowed me to “scan” and determine what I wanted to follow up on. 

Naselli spoke about his appreciation to the publishers for producing the book with the feature.

So, it is a book with four chapters, four appendices, and, in general, a short read. The four chapters are named Why Should You Read?, How Should You Read?, What Should You Read?, and When Should You Read? For the appendices, the titles are Forty of My Favorite Books, Twenty-Two Tips for Cultivating a Culture of Reading for Your Children, Why and How I Use Social Media, and Why and How I Organize My Personal Library.

In the book, Professor Naselli shows his credentials as a Seminary Professor with his citations and multiple footnotes in each chapter. The depth of resources contributed to the text’s outcome. The flow of the text and its comprehension are also impressive. The text is easy to read and almost impossible to put down if you find the subject fascinating. 

He referred to several books throughout the book, which still appear in Appendix A. These excellent books can help the Christian on his or her pilgrimage. I have read some of them, and this book highlighted a few more to me about new ones, like some of Doug Wilson’s novels.

I found the book interesting and informative. It is not exhaustive, but it is an opportunity to give reading a chance and be intentional about it, especially in our current culture, where social media can take up all of our time if we allow it.

I recommend this book.