I grew up not being that fond of reading. My mother was an avid reader and always encouraged my siblings and me to do it. I read only when it was necessary for school (and not always carefully or completely at that). During my doctoral program at the University of Illinois we were routinely assigned 100+ pages to read for some of our seminars. It was daunting. Ironically, to give myself a break, I started reading books that I wanted to read. I think having the ability to choose what I read made it more enjoyable.

I continued reading books after I finished my Ph.D program. My goal was to read a book a month. A good goal setter tracks their progress and sometimes makes it public. I started listing the books I read on a web page. By the time I started teaching at Ohio University, I decided that one book a month was no longer challenging, so I stepped up my goal to two books per month (and continued tracking progress). Somewhere along the way, my reading began to wane until I stopped altogether. I continued to buy books that were interesting. Every time I picked up one to read, I could only seem to get through a chapter or two before I stopped.

Truth be told, I suspected why my desire to read went away -- electronic devices. I realized addiction to electronic devices, with their constant stimulation of quick-hit, meaningless factoids, was more interesting than prolonged reading. I began to check out my suspicions. I bought a book -- which I have yet to read -- with detailed research on how the brain is being rewired by repeated use of electronic devices. I decided to fight back. In June 2019, I came off a two-week trip determined to make the most of a six-week break before school resumed. I started reading again. At first, it was difficult. I had to force myself to read, but eventually it got easier and easier. I read 12 books during those six weeks.

I typically read two or three books at a time. I like the variety. The Holy Bible will always appear on my current reading list because I try diligently to read it every day. In August 2019, challenged by my pastor friend Steve Gaines and my son (who did it during his freshmen year in college and is now reading through in Greek), I decided to read the Bible through in a year again. I have done it before, but I believe it is a good practice to do regularly (in addition to other Bible study).

So, I present my reading list. Maybe you will find something that piques your interest. If you want to discuss any of these books, let me know.