Out of curiosity, how many people here actually read books other than their ascribed religious texts?

Question

How often? One a week? One a month? One a Year? An estimation is O.K. Any favorites?

Someone asked what I'm reading right now... Tropic of Capricorn, The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, De Profundis, Huis Clos,The History of the Ottoman Empire and Green Eggs and Ham. (I have kids, what can I say)

Answer 1

Me. I read alot. Usually at least 1 book a week, sometimes 2. Dean Koontz is my favorite author, and my favorite book by Koontz would have to be Odd Thomas.

Answer 2

If you mean books that have nothing to do with religion, maybe one every week or two. The frequency depends on the length of the book.

If you mean books that deal with others' beliefs, several times a year. Maybe 4-6.

Favorites:

Dispatches From the Edge, by Anderson Cooper

Night, by Eli Wiesel ( I read this at least once a year)

The Lord Of The Rings, Tolkein

A Cambodian Odyssey, Dr. Haing S. Ngor

The Wisdom Of Our Fathers, Tim Russert

An Hour Before Daylight, Jimmy Carter

Desperation,Stephen King

Briar Rose, Jane Yolen

Red Dragon, Thomas Harris

I could go on forever. I have shelves full of books, many authors whose works I love. I'll read anything.

Answer 3

I was reading history books and stories about the Old West this summer to write a comedic melodrama. Also I bought a children's joke book to read recently. Lately I'm reading about Hawaii, but it's not in book format - it's a Nancy Drew PC game that is way fun. I might read 10-20 books on the average - including children's books when I go browsing in bookstores - besides scriptures in any given year. When I was younger I read "10,000 Jokes, Toasts, and Stories" about 2 times a year on the average for several years in a row, which means I don't take life too seriously most of the time and like to write humor. In addition to the scriptures themselves, I am reading W. Cleon Skousen's "Thousand Year" commentaries on the Old Testament and his "Treasures from the Book of Mormon" series.

Answer 4

I am an avid reader and I love all genres of literature. My favorite things to read right now are books about forensic science. I am absolutely fascinated by how much they can find out from what seems to be so little. I also love to read redwall books, anything by Piers Anthony, Douglas Adams, Max Lucado, The chronicles of narnia, the 2 books by Christopher Paolini were good reads too-Eragon and Eldest. I probably read about 3-4 books a week if not more. I read to my children alot too.. Now my 7 yr old loves to read almost as much as I do.

Answer 5

I do! I love history and have shelves full of books.

At any given moment, I've got two or three books on my nightstand, and two or three books in my briefcase that I take down to my local coffeeshop.

I've found some religious books are a good read too, like "The Case for Christ" by Lee Strobel. The works of other scholars can help us understand the Bible better.

Answer 6

I am absolutely astonished at the hostility and prejudice of your question! And also at how many of us are actually taking time to respond to it! O.K. I've read some "fluff" in the last few days, partly to try to understand the mindset of one of my friends, partly because I'm putting off making some hard decisions and just stalling. (I'm a fast reader.) Outside of the "fluff," the "secular" books I've most enjoyed lately are historical novels by David Nevin, especially "Dream West," about John C. Fremont and his wife. I also liked Gore Vidal's "Aaron Burr." My neighborhood book club is reading "The Desire of Ages" by Ellen White. The chapters, "The Invitation" and "Peace, Be Still" are my absolute favorites, like poetry.

Answer 7

I read a lot of books about different things. I enjoy fiction, but I also enjoy reading about many non-fiction books that have nothing to do with my religion.
One book I read that I really enjoyed was about Tibetan Buddhism. It was so interesting, and I never understood anything about Buddhism before I read that.
I'm not sure how often I read books other than Christian books. I read a lot of different things all the time. I really like reading.
As far as fiction goes, my favourite novel is Crime and Punishment by Dostoyevsky.
My favourite Christian writer is C.S. Lewis. He was pretty awesome. He was a great "Christian thinker" as I've heard him described. He was a really intelligent man.

Answer 8

I read all kinds of material. I purposefully read material I know I won't agree with because:
1. It helps me be more well rounded
2. I do learn stuff almost every time I do.
3. I see firsthand what the other side thinks without having to rely on some misquote that someone has given me and says "this is what they believe."

It varies on how often. I try to cycle books so I don't get caught in one genre. Maybe once every 2-3 months.

Edit:
Oh, you meant in every category. Well, in that case, I try to read a book every week, most of them have nothing to do with my religious beliefs.

Answer 9

I have read from the koran and book of mormon. I haven't read either completely through but I do compare their teachings to the Bible and will continue to do so both for my personal learning and those in my Bible classes (when I teach).
I don't read either on a set schedule but rather consult and contrast the teachings on a subject by subject basis.

Answer 10

My husband and I have a whole library's worth of books....ranging in all subjects....we are Catholic. We read every day. I enjoy reading "faction" especially....that's factual events disquised as fiction. My favorite faction authors include Malachi Martin and Taylor Caldwell.