Books have power. And we will always need them.
Information is all around us as far as the eye can see.
Yes, we dwell in the “Information Age.” But, we are awash in disorganized content as never before.
And this deep immersion in chaotic content is costing us. It weakens the mind and shrinks the imagination.
Are we losing something?
Thinking skills like synthesis and analysis do not come to us automatically. They are cultivated over time by reading quality content: long-form, text-based content.
We’re talking about good books.
Joel Miller, a vice president at Thomas Nelson, blogs that books represent “sustained concepts, elaborate trains of thought that require attention and focus – attention and focus that are rewarded for their use.”
Good reading grows our brain as it enhances our thinking skills. And what about the imagination and creativity?
“The experience of reading requires mental attention and the investment of imagination. Creativity characterizes the reading mind, because reading brings a constant flow of ideas, thoughts, impressions, suggestions, and mental images” (Albert Mohler).
A quality reader cultivates a creative mind. Creative thinking is necessary to lead a creative life and to make creative contributions. So we need quality writing flowing into our lives.
Rethinking books
We can no longer think of books only as ink printed on paper, bound between two covers.
eBooks are shaking up the publishing world
Since Gutenberg’s printing press, the book as we know it has been widely used for the last 500 years or so. Technically known as a codex, the traditional book is one form of delivery. And this format will continue.
A massive shift in publishing is now upon us. Long-form, text-based content is now being delivered through digital books too. Amazon recently announced they are now selling more eBooks than physical books.
Book power
Books have power. They have transformed history. And we will always need them. The challenges and opportunities of our time require the transforming dynamism of books.
So shun the mistake of minimizing or abandoning long-form, text-based reading. Inspire others in your world to do the same. We now have the research: beyond articles, and certainly beyond skimming and scanning the web, reading quality books will elevate our thinking and imagination to the levels we need.
And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.” ~ Jesus in Mark 12:30 NASB
We seek to worship and love God with all of our mind, cultivating the mental skills of focused attention, creative imagination, and synthesis and analysis thinking.
Tablet… scroll… codex… eBooks… the staying power of written text is with us.
“What the world is today, good and bad, it owes to Gutenberg. Everything can be traced to this source, but we are bound to bring him homage, … for the bad that his colossal invention has brought about is overshadowed a thousand times by the good with which mankind has been favored.” ~ American writer Mark Twain
Also, see New Health Treatment: Reading and Is the Internet Making Us Stupid?
