Update on Inspired Reads and some deep thoughts... ;)

So the website with all the Christian freebies... inspiredreads.com... ?

When I first started using it, it had three free books every day, then about two "hot deals" offerings.

A few weeks ago, it started having two free books, and a few hot deals.

Today there is one free book. The rest are hot deals.

I don't know if it's going to keep having only one, but in some ways, I'm okay with that. I was kind of getting tired of the hit and miss of free Christian literature. Even if the book was enjoyable, there is still only so much "fluff" that I can read. I still have tons of those freebies on my Kindle, waiting to be read. So... it's okay that there's only one free book. Lately, I haven't really been downloading too many of them, anyway. I'm trying to be selective so that my time spent reading is worthwhile.

I'm reminded of a talk by Dallin H. Oaks. He says there are often choices we make between "good, better, and best." When it comes to books, I see it like this:

Good - It was fine, not damaging, light reading, no real impact on my life other than the time invested in reading. Books in this category often aren't really well-written.

Better - Still entertaining and enjoyable, but adds a benefit to my life. Brings a satisfying feeling of gratitude that the time spent reading it enriched my life in some way. It may be in a simple way - like it gave me a genuine chuckle, helped me learn a bit about history, etc. Books in this category are generally well-written, and often have a moral in addition to the entertainment factor.

Best - Stretches me, opens my eyes to the world around me. Improves me in some way, as in making me more grateful, more aware, more compassionate, etc. This type of reading is often the most difficult, but it is worth the effort.

I am probably going to go through the freebies I've downloaded (that haven't been read yet) and decide which probably will fit into the "good" category and delete them. I know it's hard to say in advance if they are "good" or "better", but I'm going to give it a good shot. There are so many books to read in this world... I'd rather spend my time in the "better" and "best" categories.