Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested. (Francis Bacon, 16th-17th century English philosopher)

James Emery White, a current preacher and author says it another way: “Read each book to the degree that it deserves, and no more.” Comic books and light fiction, for example, may be enjoyable, but biographies and history require a little more attention if they are to be profitable. Then, there are a few—like the Bible—that demand serious contemplation.

“Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll” (God’s Word). . . . So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat. . . . So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth. (Ezekiel 3:1-3)