Matt, great point. Each person’s life situation is different, and you may not have time for much in the way of extra reading. When I was in the PhD program, I read fiction sparingly, but when I did it was a good break from the technical work i was doing in philosophy and theology. For example, for a while I read one or two of Flannery O’Connor’s short stories each evening. It took 15 minutes per story. Also, when I found an extra few hours, I read shorter books like G. K. Chesterton’s “The Man Who Was Thursday” and C. S. Lewis’ “Til We Have Faces.”

You make a good point, and it is one that i probably should have addressed in the series. Not everybody will should 6-7 books per month. Sometimes one or two is the appropriate number, considering the responsibilities you have. Choose one or two books, and read them slowly and thoughtfully, as you can find time, over the course of the month. As for amount of time in Scripture vs. amount of time in other books, I would say that your rule of thumb is not a bad rule of thumb, although I probably do not spend equal time. Thank you for reading the blog, and for your comments.

What do you make of all the hype of blogging about reading lists and how many books people are reading? For the average pastor in a local church, where does one find the time to read through 6-7 categories of reading each month (not even touching the numerous journals that should be read), prepare 2 sermons each week, tend to the sheep, and spend time with his family? Also, should a good rule of thumb be to spend equal amounts of time reading Scripture as reading other books?

I look forward to your thoughts!

Second, most likely your daughter will love to read and will get married. Unfortunately she will probably read about an extravagent wedding and cost you more because of the huge expenditures in flying in exotic flowers, food from remote islands, etc.

Third, another primary benefit of reading is that it allows students to pass their seminary classes.