Louis Markos, “Plunder the Egyptians: Read Pagan Classics” (The Gospel Coalition)

“Christians would do well to read the pagan classics of ancient Greece and Rome. These classics include the epics of Homer, Virgil, and Ovid; the tragedies of Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides; the histories of Herodotus, Thucydides, Livy, and Plutarch; and the philosophy of Plato, Aristotle, and Cicero.

“Though they certainly cannot replace Scripture, the epics, tragedies, histories, and philosophy from the ancient world provide glimpses into real human wisdom.”

Ian Harber, “Reading as Anxiety Management” (Back Again)

“In the spirit of trying to be a reflective and self-aware person, I’ve recently wondered why I’ve always been a reader. Beyond the enjoyment of it, the pragmatism, the vanity of wanting to appear smart, why do I read, really? What is perhaps my deepest motivation when I pick up a book? And the answer surprised me.

“Anxiety.”

Tim Challies, “Why We Love to Read” (Challies)

“Sometimes you need to do a lot of reading to come away with one really good idea. Some books yield nothing but nonsense; some yield nothing but ideas you have come across a thousands times before. But then, at last, you find that one that delivers. There is such joy in it. Such reward.”

Joel Miller, “Protecting Good Reading from Bad Schooling” (Miller’s Book Review)

“I ended up with an idiosyncratic education complete with gaping holes. I, for instance, read most of the Tarzan novels but missed The Catcher in the Rye and The Great Gatsby (an oversight I only remedied earlier this year). One purpose behind my classic novel goals the past couple of years has been to patch a few of those holes. But that’s just the point, isn’t it?

“Along with those holes, I also acquired a thirst for learning and reading. I can fill those holes anytime I choose. But what about the kids who ‘have got nothing out of school but a hatred of books,’ as Montaigne said, slugging their way through required reading and then rarely picking up a book once they’re done? They’ll choose Netflix. After all, back to Jerome, ‘a childish dislike often lasts longer than childhood.’”

Ivan Mesa and Patrick Miller, “On My Shelf: Life and Books with Patrick Miller” (The Gospel Coalition)

“I rarely reread entire books; instead, I return to key chapters and essays. So let me share one: the second chapter in N. T. Wright’s The New Testament and the People of God, ‘Knowledge: Problems and Varieties.’ From that titillating title, I’m sure your mental tastebuds are already watering. In my first semester at Covenant Theological Seminary, I can assure you mine were.”