A Review of Lit! by Tony Reinke

Product Link on Amazon

Highly recommended! There is a ton to gain here for the Christian, whether or not they love to read. Christians have been (and ought to be) people of words and people of books. Tony builds a sturdy, textured theology of reading. He then proceeds to outline practical advice regard reading.

A skillful, imaginative approach to reading is recommended. Rather than just giving trite platitudes or pat answers, Tony rolls up his sleeve and gets down to the hard work involved. His writing is rather exploratory and his material includes a good balance between abstract/concrete and personal/impersonal.

Tony shows how literature embodies worldviews. He shows the importance of reading non-Christian books. He recommends imaginative literature and shows how the imagination is central to all reading, including the Bible. He commends balance and discernment. He shows how reading is by nature selective, since there are so many millions of books out there. He shares advice about marking/highlighting and how many books to read at a time. I must also note that even the end-notes are quite a valuable repository of references,and there are certainly a few books references there that I’d love to check out also.

I would say that the ending of the book was a bit of a let-down. The ending is slightly weak and kind of abrupt, but other than that this is a real gem! Ultimately, Tony’s goal seems to be to encourage people to read for pleasure and for God’s glory. This book will do a fine job of encouraging you in that direction and is well worth what you pay to get it. I’m so glad I discovered Tony’s book via an interview.