on Books and Reading - encountering Andrew Peterson's thoughts

  I have really been refreshed and gladdened by Andrew Peterson's book, Adorning the Dark (with the inexplicable exception of chapter 6). There is much to appreciate in this memoir-philosophy of life and art. For now though, I just want to comment on two statements he makes about reading and books.

“Too often we retreat into the pages of our longing only to return disconsolate to the kitchen or the classroom—we’re escaping from and not to.” (66)

  This first comment (and the chapter that precedes it) hints at my reality as a teenager; it describes when books were my refuge in a sense that was nearly ultimate. One of the most significant spiritual battles in my life was quitting a particular book - and series - because of the way it was dominating my time one summer. Books are a beautiful escape unless they become Ultimate; then they can become a prison so lovely that we may not even recognize our cage. 

“[These novels] strike me as a way to pass the time rather than to enrich it.” (66)

  When I was a child, we had a category of books called "Purple Door" books because of a particular book that my sister and I loved so much that we convinced my mom to read it in her rare and valuable reading time. She didn't love it so much. She explained to us that it would never be a classic even though it was a nice read. That categorization has stuck with me ever since. Here Peterson defines that category exactly: