James K.A. Smith on Reading
I really enjoyed this e-interview that Smith recently posted on his blog. ?The whole thing is worth reading and thinking on, but my favorite exchange came at the end of the interview:
What would you tell a college student about approaching their required reading lists?
Look, you won’t listen to this, but I’ve got to say it so you feel guilty later: Your required reading lists are a gift. What I wouldn’t give to repeat high school and actually take advantage of being “required” to read Shakespeare or Hemmingway. I know it won’t feel like that. So just promise me this: you’ll read?one book from every required reading list as if you wanted to.
I’m not sure what kind of “required list” Calvin College uses, but I do try to treat the books I read with my students as gifts, so the answer resonated with me.
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