Recovering the Lost Art of Reading: A Quest for the True, the Good, and the Beautiful

by Leland Ryken, Glenda Mathes

Overview

A Christian Perspective on the Joys of Reading

Reading has become a lost art. With smartphones offering us endless information with the tap of a finger, it's hard to view reading as anything less than a tedious and outdated endeavor. This is particularly problematic for Christians, as many find it difficult to read even the Bible consistently and attentively. Reading is in desperate need of recovery.

Recovering the Lost Art of Reading addresses these issues by exploring the importance of reading in general as well as studying the Bible as literature, offering practical suggestions along the way. Leland Ryken and Glenda Faye Mathes inspire a new generation to overcome the notion that reading is a duty and instead discover it as a delight.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433564307
Publisher:	Crossway
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	304
File size:	694 KB

About the Author

Leland Ryken (PhD, University of Oregon) served as professor of English at Wheaton College for nearly fifty years. He served as literary stylist for the English Standard Version Bible and has authored or edited over sixty books, including The Word of God in English and A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the Bible.

Glenda Faye Mathes (BLS, University of Iowa) is a professional writer with a passion for literary excellence. She has authored over a thousand articles and several nonfiction books as well as the Matthew in the Middle fiction series. Glenda has been the featured speaker at women's conferences and at seminars for prison inmates.

Leland Ryken (PhD, University of Oregon) served as professor of English at Wheaton College for nearly fifty years. He served as literary stylist for the English Standard Version Bible and has authored or edited over sixty books, including The Word of God in English and A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the Bible.
Glenda Faye Mathes (BLS, University of Iowa) is a professional writer with a passion for literary excellence. She has authored over a thousand articles and several nonfiction books as well as the Matthew in the Middle fiction series. Glenda has been the featured speaker at women's conferences and at seminars for prison inmates.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Welcome to the Conversation 11

Part 1 Reading is a Lost Art

1 Is Reading Lost? 15

2 What Have We Lost? 27

3 Why Consider Reading an Art? 39

Part 2 Reading Literature

4 What Is Literature? 53

5 Why Does Literature Matter? 63

6 What Does Literature Offer? 71

7 Reading Stories: Tell Me a Story 79

8 Reading Poems: Songs of the Soul 89

9 Reading Novels: Come Away with Me 99

10 Reading Fantasy: A Far journey 111

11 Reading Children's Books: Once Upon a Time 121

12 Reading Creative Nonfiction: To Tell the Truth 135

13 Reading the Bible as Literature: Words of Delight 147

Part 3 Recovering the Lost Art of Reading

14 Recovery through Discovery 159

15 Truth in Literature 169

16 The Moral Vision in Literature 179

17 Beauty in Literature 189

18 Discovering Literary Excellence 201

19 Freedom to Read 213

20 Reading Good Books 225

21 Calling and Creativity 237

22 Literature and the Spiritual Life: Over and Above 251

Notes 263

General Index 287

Scripture Index 295

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“No one more than Christians should appreciate and cultivate the reading of well-written words. Yet, with so much else vying for our attention, many today have forgotten—or perhaps never really learned—how to read with care and skill the words that have shaped human history for thousands of years. Whether you are a student, teacher, parent, or pastor, Recovering the Lost Art of Reading will instruct and delight you in God’s wonderful gift of language and literature.”
—Karen Swallow Prior, author, The Evangelical Imagination: How Stories, Images, and Metaphors Created a Culture in Crisis

“In this literate but accessible book, Leland Ryken and Glenda Faye Mathes first rescue true literature from the trash heap of ‘text’ to which it has been confined for the last half century and then provide their readers with tools for engaging fully with the goodness, truth, and beauty of the imaginative poetry and prose of the past and present.”
—Louis Markos, Professor in English and Scholar in Residence, Houston Christian University; author, The Myth Made Fact

“Both practical and inspirational, Recovering the Lost Art of Reading deserves a wide audience. May it spur us, as ‘people of the book,’ to slow down and savor the riches of literature and the great gift of literacy.”
—Janie Cheaney, Senior Writer, WORLD magazine

“Thoughtful, challenging, and even harrowing, Recovering the Lost Art of Reading persuasively exhorts us to recover the serenity, joy, and wonder of serious reading. Those who seriously engage this book will find themselves blessedly refreshed, educated, and motivated to pursue the good, the true, and the beautiful.”
—David V. Urban, Professor of English, Calvin University; author, Milton and the Parables of Jesus