why so many books?

Having just read through a book I began to type in a blog review of it here, only to find that 1) I had little to say about the contents of the book, (which in turn led to); 2) I had little good to say about the book.

And the problem?

It was a good book.

How can this be? My paradoxical statement certainly runs deeper than my feeble attempts to write something of my own which is witty and eye-catching. This is my actual reaction to what I have read. The difficulty I am having today is that I have come to the realization that there are many books being published, many authors and church leaders being touted as having something vital to say, and very little crossing my desk worth my investment of time.

Perhaps this is why I don't read so many of the Christianized book market, and why these types of 'leadership' books and 'how-to-be-Christian' tomes are so worthless. I would rather grapple with something hard for weeks that to skim through a read which attempts to hand the kingdom of God to me in salad-bar fashion. Thus my perception of the Christian book industry still holds true. In fact, the situation is not stagnant . . . it has become worse! I must therefore make greater efforts to avoid theologically-oriented drivel and make sure that my faith is challenged and my mind renewed by God's truth.

I am convinced that so many small paperbacks being published contain such little meat on the bone because our written communication abilities have deteriorated to the point where we can take a series of chapters to say what should have been articulated in an essay (or even a blog). We're so impressed with our words. While the book which sparked this brief outrage was indeed a good book in its overall message, it was long and drawn-out and ultimately a waste of many moments. (And before you ask, I was requested to read this book and said that I would - thus my ethics demand that I will indeed finish it.)