The CaPC Summer of Pop-Culture-Type Reading!

Last updated on: June 4, 2009 at 7:11 am by Ben Bartlett

The CaPC Summer of Pop-Culture-Type Reading! 2009-06-04T07:11:45-06:00 Ben Bartlett

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Woo! Movies, video games, music! It’s a pop culture extravaganza! Summer is here!

Um, no thanks.

The fact is, I’m not a wildly excitable person. In fact, I’m downright grumpy about buying into cultural events. So, perhaps not surprisingly, it falls to me to examine the somewhat unusual concept of, “summer reading.”

This immediately presents a problem, because our interaction with books is far different from movies. A book lasts longer, rarely gets as much initial fanfare, and does not really improve as technology improves (giving it a lot more competition from older books). Thus, when we talk about summer reading, we have to focus on HOW people read because it is not relevant to merely examine the most recent books.

This examination may seem unhelpful, because as Rich mentioned in a recent podcast, for most of us the summertime should not seem much different. We do the same jobs, keep similar schedules, pay the same bills, and manage to appreciate or complain about the weather.

But for some reason, we DO read differently. I spent a good amount of time asking friends and acquaintances whether summer reading is inherently different, and the answer was usually yes. I followed this up by asking how it is different, and the responses were revealing:

“Well, I usually read easier stuff during summer.”

“I don’t want to read depressing books when it’s so pretty outside.”

“I need the chapters to be short so I can read in-between activities.”

“It can’t be too long or I’ll lose interest.”

In other words, people specifically choose summer reading materials to fit a faster-paced, less serious, more activity driven lifestyle.

Now, I have no particular problem with that. I love that my wife and I can play tennis, or go for walks, or take my son to the park. It’s great that friends can have get-togethers where people don’t have to jam into a small apartment but can have a barbecue outside and play Frisbee. Taking advantage of wonderful weather is a good thing!

But it does not excuse us from being wise about what we read and how that reading shapes our understanding of God’s world. We are not allowed to check out of thoughtfulness, and we are not being good stewards of God’s gifts if we waste a quarter to a third of our year on reading material that has little value or whose effects we do not consider.

So with that in mind, I begin my own CAPC Summer of Pop-Culture-Type Reading (I’m not good with names, so sue me). My goal is simple; to read and enjoy the sorts of books other people read in the summer time, and to attempt to model how that can be done in a way that suits the summer months but still makes room for thoughtful interaction and insight. Or, put more simply;

1. To enjoy
2. To consider carefully
3. To compare to the Christian worldview

I look forward to sharing this summer of reading with you.

Featured

Headline

Literature

Previous Post

June 3, 2009

#552

Next Post

June 4, 2009 We Just Don't Understand One Another?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Asides Elsewhere Featured Film Games General Culture Headline Literature Music Of the Moment Podcast Politics RetroPost Sports Technology Television Uncategorized Viral

Select a Month February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz