Joseph F. Radosevich

I first read Mortimer Adler and Charles Van Doren's How to Read a Book  25 years ago. I was finishing high school, and I returned to it occasionally for the book list in the back or to revisit some section. I thought I understood it and even used the reading principles. I hadn't reread the whole thing though. I reread most of it this spring and realized how much I misunderstood. I was seventeen the first time I read the book; I actually read it twice that year and took extensive notes in the front and back pages-my attempt to practice their method. I just hadn't read it enough. I didn't know enough. I also missed the section on the aims of reading. Adler and Van Doren are known for their levels of reading. Their aims for reading are the critical part, but it's a short section that is easy to miss.  Levels Elementary-simple reading straight through. Inspectional-15 minutes of systematic skimming to get the gist of the book. Analytical -careful reading with analysis a...

Some of my kids and I are doing a challenge in the month of June to only read books that we are already own. The rules is that we have to read or reread books that are in our house or that are in my office--no buying of books or reading library books. I don't remember who came up with the idea, but something like it had been bouncing around in my head for the past several months.  We have the blessing of a good library near us that can do interlibrary loan, so we get just about any book that we need. We also budget money so that we can buy books each month. I often buy books for $4 to $6 off of eBay. I'm also given stacks of books as a pastor--from conferences or from other pastors that are clearing out their libraries.  This is a chance for us to just read and reread the things that we have. Since I may only read two or three books this month, I might extend the challenge a while longer. I'm reading Undaunted Courage by Stephen Ambrose because the Lewis and Clark expedit...

I preach a historic sermon for our sunrise service every Easter. This year I preached a sermon based on a Charles Spurgeon's sermon on Philippians 3:10 on knowing the power of Christ's resurrection. When I was reading/studying to prepare, I wondered what made Spurgeon's mind work the way that it did. What did he read and think about that allowed him to see with such uniqueness, power, and clarity? I understand that he was unique. I don't seek to match Spurgeon's gifts. He was a prodigy as a young man, and God did something special in his life. I don't want to match Martyn Lloyd-Jones' gifts or J.C. Ryle's gifts. But I think it is worth seeking to see the way that they saw. When I was in seminary, I took at class on C.S. Lewis and Francis Schaeffer. We read most of what each of them wrote. I've said before that the biggest value was in learning to think like they think. I can read Spurgeon, Newton, Ryle, Lloyd-Jones, etc., and I do. I now want to go f...

Being in my forties has changed my reading priorities. I read 50-70 books per year. That means I will likely read only 2800 more books in my lifetime. I will only read 1500 more books before I reach retirement age.  My approach was pretty haphazard from my 20's to my 40's. Unless it was required for school, I read whatever caught my eye and often was just the latest books that came out. That made my reading really random. If I heard a great interview with an author, I added it my list of books to read. I enjoyed that randomness, but I decided recently that I didn't want to be quite so random. One of the ways that I have reprioritized my reading is that I want to read the classics in my fields. What I mean by fields is my areas of responsibility and interest--often career and hobbies but probably family as well. My fields are career-related (pastoring, biblical studies, and preaching), Christian-related (theology and devotion) and writing (literature and writing). I've s...

 

Our local library has tables with recommended books on all sorts of topics. One of my dreams in life is to curate one of those tables.  A good book is worth so much because it can change your life. I'm starting this series as a digital version of those tables. I'm going to take pictures and share a few words about books in different categories.  My first in this series is on fiction worth rereading. This is literary fiction. All of these are books that I first read in college. I've reread all of them in the last three or four years, except O'Conner. We only read some of the stories of Flannery O'Connor in college, but I have read the whole book recently. These are not necessarily uplifting books or beach reads, but I've enjoyed all of them at least twice.  Cry the Beloved Country is probably my favorite from these right now. It's a beautiful book. Very hopeful too.  The Plague and All the King's Men  are the most cynical and jaded. I still think of the...

Emma recommended A Place to Hang the Moon by Kate Albus after she read it to the kids as part of their school. I wrote down the recommendation, but thought I would read it on vacation this spring. Then, I noticed that my little ones listened to it three straight times after my wife finished it for school. I thought something must be up that they love it so much and decided to read it. It is a sweet, beautifully told, meaningful story set in World War II England about three orphans trying to gain a family in the evacuation of children from London. I thought about it for days. It even inspired some conversation around the dinner table tonight. I can't believe it didn't win the Newbury Award in its year.  It would be a great book for bed time, family read-aloud, or vacation. How to Learn Any Language by Barry Farber describes a system and several methods to learn a language. It's not about one language but about the skills involved in any language. I sounds too good to be tru...

In January, I sorted through my pile (piles, really) of books to find books that I wanted to read but hadn't found the time. I organized them from shortest to longest, and then I started a book sprint so that I could make a dent in that pile before moving on to books that I wanted to read more slowly because they are important. Some of the books in my book sprint were there for 3 years. Life is too short to read everything. Most of the time I prioritize important authors and subjects to me like J.C. Ryle, biblical studies, Robert Caro, John Piper, history, Newbury Award winners, D.A. Carson, etc. There are other books and topics that I like to dip into from time to time or books that people give me that I want to give a chance. My January book sprint helped me read 9 books from my list that were getting buried beneath other books. I spent about 3 days per book. It was well-worth doing, but I was ready by the end of January to slow down. I like to read several books at a time and di...

These are the entries in my reading journal from the last year. As I finish a book, I write down a few thoughts. I've found that I read a lot of four star books because I choose carefully and because I put down books that I'm not enjoying.

Here are my favorite books that I read this year. Some of them, I've read before. I went through my reading log and found all of the books I rated a five on a one to five scale. I'm planning on posting my whole reading log for the year later this week. One thing you may notice is that none of the books on this list are new to 2025. I've written before on my guideline to read books 5 years old or older. I think if a book can't last and be worth reading for 5 years, then it's probably not worth my time. I've only got time to read around 65 books a year, so I have to be careful with what I choose to read. I don't know how many books I read this year that were published this year, but it is very few. 1057. Holiness , J.C. Ryle. 1/8/25 * * * * * (This book is dynamite. The last chapter alone is one of the best sermons I’ve ever read--I think most chapters are sermons. The book title sounds like code for “legalism.” It is not, and it is well-worth your reading.) 1...

When I was in seminary, I took a class on Francis Schaeffer and C.S Lewis. We read everything that each of them wrote. The only thing that I didn't finish was Lewis' Space Trilogy . I only read the first of that series. I included my kids in what I was learning at school so I read The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe to them that semester. The morning that I read them the chapter where *spoiler* Aslan dies, I read that chapter and then left my wife with crying kids to go to work. My wife was not happy. I let the kids stay up before bed that night to finish the book. I think they cried again. That was an amazing semester because I read and discussed so many great books and ideas. One lesson from that class was the value of reading everything that an author has written. That is a great goal for your reading. You don't have to read them all in a year. Read them all in 5 years. I've done that with favorite authors in fiction or history. I read everything I can by Daniel S...

Pat Flynn's book Strong On is the best book I've read on fitness. I picked it up and have been using the workouts this winter and spring. What I love: It's fast. Warm-up. Workout for 20 minutes. Stretch. Move on. It's simple. The book explains just enough, but not too much. It's flexible. Even though it is simple, the workouts and the schedules combine for enormous variety and cover most goals. It's got one tool. Part of being simple is the fact that these workouts use just some kettlebells (and occasionally push-ups). I have a lot of equipment, but that can make it hard because I have to choose which equipment, which exercise, which rep range,etc.  It's comprehensive. This covers all the bases. In my workouts this week, I will cover strength, endurance, mobility, and fat loss. I've read a lot of fitness books. This is the most user-friendly.  I'm not recommending it because I get money for it. I'm not a referral website (even though I'm not...

When I have a choice of several things to read, I often choose the shortest book first. I adapted this idea from Dave Ramsey's debt snowball. The reading snowball means that you choose the shortest book in your list first and then move on to the next shortest book until you go through the whole stack, shelf, or list. This is a psychological trick that I use to help me feel like I'm making good progress through a list or shelf of books. This keeps me from feeling overwhelmed which the books that I plan to read.  I read a 700 page commentary and realized that I had neglected a lot of other reading while I was going through that one. I had a list of three commentaries that I wanted to read next, and started with the short one. I don't always use this approach. Sometimes, you should read the most relevant or important book. For example, I'm starting a 700 page biography of Abraham Lincoln tonight. I'm also reading The Lord of the Rings right now. Those books are import...

I keep lists of books that I want to read. I have lists on my phone, an album of pictures of books that I want to read, and pages in my pocket notebook for books to read. I constantly look forward to what I get to read next.  Here are screen shots of the lists that I keep on my phone. Maybe this will give up ideas for what to read next.

If you are looking for a study bible, here are my thoughts on the ones that I have and use. I ranked them in order of preference. NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible (formerly the NIV Zondervan Study Bible) This is the best study bible that I have. It is so big, though, that you wouldn't want to carry it. The design is really good and the notes are excellent. It focuses on the themes of the bible and the articles are supposed to be a big feature. I haven't read any of them, though. ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible This is a different kind of study bible. I heard it described on the Room for Nuance podcast interview with Jonathan Carswell as the Jesus Storybook Bible for adults. That fits. It has just a few notes per chapter, but it shows how every passage in the Bible points to Jesus. This is great for teachers and for those who struggle to understand the full storyline of the Bible. CSB Study Bible This was my favorite study bible before I bought the NIV Biblical Theology S...

 Right now, I have two books on my nightstand. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. This is short, so I'll finish it this week. It is so good, though. It uses simple scenes to show what war is like for one soldier. I've read so many books on war and soldiering that do not capture it as simply and powerfully as this. I picked this up on the giveaway stand at the library two years ago. I'm just now getting around to reading the books that I own but haven't read. 21 Days to Childlike Prayer by Jed Coppenger. This is the best book on prayer that I've ever read. What are you reading?

In my first post, I wrote about books that I read for the first time in 2024 that were my favorites. In this post, I will highlight my favorite rereads of 2024. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I read this 20 years ago or so. When I reread it this year, I was blown away at how great it still is. I've watched movie versions many times with my wife, and this is still fresh and interesting. It's so wonderful. It's not just for women. All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren. I read this in college in Southern Literature class. I was curious what I would think having read 800 or so books since I first read this. If you like Southern culture and literary fiction, then this is really good. If you don't, then you'll hate this.  The Wilderking Trilogy by Jonathan Rogers. I loved this the first time I read it (in 2023). It is still so wonderful. It's about a 12-18 year old boy, so you have to like young adult fiction. Going forward, I would probably reread the sec...

Close to half of the books that I read this year were rereads. Several of the rereads were my favorite books this year, so I thought I would write two lists: best books that I read for the first time and best rereads. I'm pretty selective about what books to read, so I loved 75-85% of the books that I read. These are just the ones that I scanned on a list and immediately called these my favorites of the year. I'm thinking a new standard for best books is the books that you read again. These are books that I read for the first time. Fiction Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson. I like to read juvenile fiction and young adult fiction when I go on vacation. I read this while we were in Williamsburg, VA for vacation. It's wonderful. Everything about it is great. The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin. This is a really fun, but bizarre mystery. If you like quirky humor and mystery with a little absurdity thrown in, then this is great. This is another young adult novel. Non-Fiction In...

My goal is to read 50 pages every day from a variety of books. I read some in the early morning, some at work, some for fun before bed. Here's what I'm reading right now (how many pages I read each day is listed in parentheses): Devotional Reading: Letters of John Newton , John Newton (1 letter per day). These are so golden and encouraging. They also encourage me to slow down and think through the letters and cards that I write to make them a blessing to the recipient. Work: Norton Anthology of English Literature, Vol. 1 (1 poem per day). I gain a lot by slowing down to read and notice poetry. Make Disciples of All Nations , (5). This is a history of the IMB. Each chapter is by a different author. Some are better than others. I've found a few helpful models and ideas. Deuteronomy in the NIV Application Commentary Series, Daniel Block (5). Holiness , J.C. Ryle (5). I was scared of this book but shouldn't have been. It's so good to read it slowly. Nighttime: The Wilde...

I went in a bookstore last week with my daughter. It was pretty magical in the way the shelves were overflowing with books. There were old rugs on the floor, and the back hallway had even more books. There was a problem though. There was nothing to read. Well, there was nothing I would read. I have a list on my phone of 50ish books that I want to read next. I keep a list in a notebook of other books that I want to read. I have an album in Google Photos of books that I want to read. I'm not hard to convince to get more books. I went there looking to find something to buy. In that bookstore, though, there were only gimmick books or argumentative books. There were books with viewpoints and philosophies. Nothing just for fun and beauty and the joy of reading a good book. Nothing to draw you in, hook you, and make you come back for more. It's not just that store. It's libraries. It's publishers. They all do it. They offer their perspective first. Take our view.  The bookstor...