There are too many good books to read (and study) and not enough time. Just this week I received the final drop from an order I placed with Peter Lang at SBL (two books). And then I see the latest Review of Biblical Literature (thanks to NT Gateway Weblog). One of the books I've been waiting for has been reviewed, and this only makes me want to read it more.

The book is Dr. Charles E. Hill's The Johannine Corpus in the Early Church. Dr. Hill was a professor at Northwestern College when I was there, and I had the pleasure of taking a few classes that he taught. The most enjoyable (and frustrating) was of course first-year Greek. We studied Attic Greek using the ATHENAZE books. I also took a class on the Johannine literature that he taught.

Anyway, this latest book looks to be well worth reading. Only it's from Oxford, and it's $150.00 — more than I like to spend on a single title. I guess this one is going on the 'buy at SBL' list (assuming I'm able to go to Philadelphia for the 2005 meeting) unless someone else can suggest a method for getting Oxford titles on the cheap. Again, please realize I'm a bibliomaniac and while I may be able to get the title via interlibrary loan, the problem is returning it — I wouldn't want to let it go.

This brings me to a general question: How do folks attack reading lists? Obviously you're reading some stuff and you're doing well at working your way through it. How does one go about selecting and then diligently working through them in light of all the other responsibilities of your daily routine?

I have my own ways of doing this, but I've got too many books and too little time. Apart from “read faster” (which means I'd end up understanding less of what I'm reading) or perhaps “remove distractions” (which goes without saying and is easy for a single guy like me) I'm looking for some hints on how to be a bit more efficient with my time.