Reading, a relaxing pastime.
I've been mostly under the radar since publishing Strong & Steadfast . Taking an indefinite break from publishing novels and keeping social media to a minimum. What better way to spend my time away than to read?
This past summer, I decluttered my house, including my bookshelves. One of the books I hadn't read but kept was C. S. Lewis: A Life.
In reading other biographies about authors, I've learned to read as many of their books as possible. In that way, any details about those works will make more sense. Some of Lewis's books I'd read were The Problem of Pain, Mere Christianity, and The Lion, The Witch, & the Wardrobe. I decided to not wait, to read the book.
Before I did that, I'd learned he and The Lord of the Rings author J. R. R. Tolkien were close friends. They were both in a writing group called the Inklings while they tutored or taught at Oxford University. What I read in this biography is they gave each other feedback on some of the titles of the books they're now well known for.
Even in the early half of the twentieth century, authors had community. Community--what everyone needs, including--especially--creatives.
I believe I'm in a different season with reading. While I prefer to read one book at a time, I've read at least two, all in a more or less unorderly, unstructured way. I'm also reading How to Read the Bible for all its Worth. (Toward the end of the Preface to the Third Edition, they wrote "Scripture is God's Word, and we want people to read it because of its great value to them. And if they do it 'for all it's worth,' hopefully they will also find its worth.")
I plan to re-read and study further the texts I've highlighted in this worthwhile book and share some things in at least one post how they have impacted me as an author.
