Surpassing Worth

Proud Non-Reader Kanye West Turns Author

Didn’t realize this came out until today, but Kanye West apparently wrote a book!? He’s a self-designated “non-reader”, who thinks books take a back seat to real life. He contends he’d never waste time to read a book and would rather live life. But this self-designated “non-reader” has now done what? He’s written a whole book?! Well, let’s not carried away. The book is about 52 pages of Kanye-isms, or one-liner nuggets of wisdom coming from the very mouth of the Wise One, Kanye West. This non-reader thought it was a daunting task to write all 52 pages by himself, so he’s signed on this project with his co-author J. Sakiya Sandifer. And together they’ve produced genius like the page below…

Ok. I shouldn’t be so cynical. I apologize. But this just embodies the self-absorbed ethic of our age. We aren’t willing to listen to anyone, yet we feel entitled to have everyone listen to us. Kanye won’t pick up a novel for the life of him to hear another voice, but he wants everyone to go out and hear his for $8. Trouble lurks around the minds of those that have shut themselves out of hearing a different voice than their own.

That is why God speaks into the lives of His people. We have His Word given to us to speak into our lives; to be the other voice that we hear. The Word is a reality outside of ourselves that speaks objectively into our lives. And when we begin to shut that Word out, watch out…

We read a lot of garbage these days. Judging from the New York Times Best-Seller List, America consumes romance, fictional thrillers, & self-betterment books like it’s going out of style. In my short years of reading and learning from the hard work of the authors that write the books, I’ve come across both garbage and precious stones. I’d like to say that every book is life-shaping in one way or another, but I thought I’d compile a short list of books that have changed my perspective on life and most importantly, shaped my thoughts about God. I don’t want to bore you with my thoughts on each and every book, but I hope at least the list can serve you well in exploring a bit further those books that I’ve found to be diamonds in the rough.

these are in no particular order

1. Desiring God by John Piper

2. The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer

3. The Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer

4. Weight of Glory by C.S. Lewis

5. Kingdom Prologue by Meredith Kline

6. Simply Christian by N.T. Wright

7. Revolution in World Mission by K.P. Yohannan

8. A Hunger for God by John Piper

9. The Next Evangelicalism by Soong-Chan Rah

10. The Confessions by Augustine

I love reading and I wish I had more time to do it. In my ideal life, I’d be sitting in my own personal library, reading books until the sun goes down. But that’s all a dream…hardly realistic.

Anyway, I’m in search of some new reads on my break. So, I was at Borders the other day and spent nearly an hour trying to find a good book to buy. I couldn’t decide! There were just too many choices, but I finally came upon one. But it made me really think about what I like to read and why…

First of all, I dislike fiction very much. I’m pretty sure it has something to do with the fact that it’s fake. If it ain’t real, it ain’t for me. That’s been my take on fiction, but in recent months, I’ve been rethinking that. Maybe I should learn from fictional writers, because after all, they are telling a story with a shadow of truth.

Secondly, I really like fancy covers. The art of the book really catches my eye. But buyer beware, because sometimes the cover makes up for the lack in between. But nonetheless, it’s always nice to hold a book that looks like a good read.

Thirdly, I always go for the big name authors. People I’ve heard of. People other people respect and read. People that have written multiple works or have received awards for their writing. It makes me think, should I venture out and read some obscure authors? or will I just be reminded of the reason why no one talks about them or recognizes them?

Fourthly, I always read the reviews or commendations on the back cover. If there’s someone of noteworthiness on the back that says it’s good. I’ll consider it. But if I don’t recognize anyone on the back… then no luck. It’s not even about what they say, it’s really about who’s listed on the back. I would be completely content with just a list of people who have enjoyed the book – that way we can cut through the crap of what they actually said about the book.

Fifthly, really long books scare me (but short books are easily discarded). The longer the book, the more hesitant I am to start it. The shorter the book, the more I’m likely to disregard it. A book has to be of medium length (200 or so pages).

Sixthly, I always read the introduction/prologue/forward to a book. It just gives me a taste of what’s to come, but enough so that it won’t give away the whole book. Sometimes the prologue isn’t even about what the books about, but it will introduce me to the writing style of the author and either whet my appetite or leave a foul taste in my mouth.

Lastly, I am a loyalist. If I like an author I will be more inclined to buy everything else that author has written. But what you’ll find is that authors often have one central theme to their life and they’re really good at writing about that thing over and over again just from a different angle. So it can get repetitive, but I enjoy it nonetheless. The really good authors can write about anything in all different styles.

This is the last week of Fall Semester classes. Papers and Finals are all due next week. Knowing that the end is near gives me the excitement that it’s almost over, but the energy is lost on my mental exhaustion. No matter how excited I am, my brain’s not going to move any faster. Being back in school is great!

For the next two weeks, these* will be my friends.

*books for my papers.

I have a thing for libraries. Don’t ask me why or where it ever originated from, but I dream about how my future library will look like. I make up blueprints in my head and I’m always on the lookout for examples of other people’s libraries. So while reading the TED blog, I came across this amazing library that resides in Jay Walker’s (inventor and collector) home.