I make resolutions throughout the year, and their typical lifespan ranges from about 30 minutes to, in a good year, 45 minutes. Whatever, I like making resolutions, and I think this will be a good one to try out.
Basically, I am going to read more old books (100 years old or older). Here’s where I got the idea:
In the early 300s, St. Athanasius wrote a short book called On the Incarnation. A little over 1600 years later, C.S. Lewis wrote an introduction to an english translation of that book. About 50-60 years after that (i.e., this morning), I read his introduction and was inspired. Here’s the introduction, in case you’re interested. He makes a good case for reading old books to keep from being blinded to contemporary assumptions that might be easily overlooked otherwise.
Another pro: Old books are in the public domain, so many of them are free online (for example, after reading the introduction I just linked to, scroll down and start reading On the Incarnation!). But I also resolve to finally get a library card soon.
Lewis suggests: “It is a good rule, after reading a new book, never to allow yourself another new one till you have read an old one in between. If that is too much for you, you should at least read one old one to every three new ones.” I will probably fall more on the “one old one to every three new ones” side, but we’ll see. I’m starting with On the Incarnation, which, like my attention span, is pretty short.