The many Dordt ties to "Deep Reading"

The way in which Christians read matters. This is a primary theme throughout Deep Reading: Practices to Subvert the Vices of our Distracted, Hostile, and Consumeristic Age.

This collaborative book, authored by Dordt alumni Dr. Julie Ooms (’08) and Dr. Rachel M. De Smith Roberts (’09), along with Dr. Rachel B. Griffis, is a timely exploration of deep reading as a counter-formation to today’s most imposing vices.

While Deep Reading was published over a decade after they graduated from Dordt University, for Ooms and Roberts, the impact of their time spent at Dordt contributed to many of the themes and ideas included in their book.

While at Dordt, Roberts majored in English literature. She remembers how, during her sophomore year, she first thought in depth about what it meant to be a “Christian reader.” And while her focus and framework have continued to develop, she says her time at Dordt, focused on Christian worldview, “has had a lasting impact.”

Today, Roberts serves as Associate Professor of English and Chair of the English Department at North Greenville University in Tigerville, South Carolina. She specializes in Early British Women’s Writing.

Ooms was also an English major, although her area of focus was writing. She still fondly recalls the significance of her time at Dordt.

“The more I teach and the more I interact with various ways in which Christians think about, not just the integration of faith and learning, but the posture Christians should take toward any text that isn’t explicitly Christian, the more grateful I am for the approach learned through my classes at Dordt.”

Today, Ooms is Professor of English and Director of MBU Honors at Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis, Missouri. Her research focus is on 20th century American literature, particularly on poet and author Sylvia Plath. She writes for popular publications such as Christianity Today and enjoys writing about less academic topics such as Augustine and social media, as well as the popular television show Severance.

Deep Reading spans across all professions and experiences, providing readers with practices rather than just ideas. “Deep Reading is about reading practices for character formation,” says Roberts. “Reading practices which,” Ooms continues, “are a significant way for readers to cultivate virtue and subvert vices.”

Roberts notes that vices, such as distraction, hostility, and consumerism, are even more prevalent now than when writing for the book began in 2019. She also believes it is the tangible antidotes provided—temperance, prudence, and hospitality—that can be credited for some of the success of Deep Reading. “People are looking for habits and practices that resist these troubling vices,” says Roberts.

Deep Reading’s broad appeal and its sound content have led it to be named as a Christianity Today 2025 Book Award finalist in the Culture, Poetry, and the Arts category.

It was also the recipient of the Arlin G. Meyer Book Award from the Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities. This prestigious award is given biennially to an original work that exemplifies themes of faith and learning in the Christian intellectual tradition. It is named in honor of Arlin G. Meyer, who served as Professor of English at Valparaiso University and was a former program director of the Lilly Network.

Meyer was also a member of the first class at Dordt in 1955, and among the first Dordt graduates in 1957—another way in which Deep Reading has found meaningful, unexpected ties to Dordt.

The reception of their work has been what Roberts calls, “humbling, rewarding, and exciting.” She continues, “…the award was not something we expected or dreamed of, but it’s been very affirming to know that our work is resonating with readers.”

Ooms agrees. “My personal hope,” she says, “was that this book would be a work of solid, scholarly integrity and that it would be appreciated by people and organizations we respect.…the fact that it has been well-received is so gratifying.”

In 2017, Griffis, Ooms, and Roberts, who all received their PhDs together at Baylor University, were reunited at a conference at Dordt. It was here that they decided to form a reading group, which eventually led Ooms to suggest that they should try writing something together.

In recognizing that a book on teaching reading directly addressed to Christians had not been published in almost 10 years, Ooms recalls, “We figured that we had the knowledge and experience to pick up the thread of conversation again.” And so, the collaboration began.

But collaborating didn’t come naturally, Ooms recalls. Academic writing is most often done alone for a small audience, adds Ooms, but “Deep Reading was written collaboratively for a broader audience, and because of that, the book forced us all to write in and for the community in a way that I hadn’t really done before.”

In the end, says Ooms, “the benefits of collaborating far outweighed any difficulties.”

Roberts felt similarly. “One major challenge was nailing down our process and figuring out how we could all three contribute in a way that felt equitable and created a unified voice.”

Despite this difficulty, they soon discovered that “putting all our strengths together made the book both conceptually and stylistically stronger than it would have been if any one of us had tried this project alone.”

Ooms and Roberts agree that while they have done notable work in their specialized fields, Deep Reading has certainly had the broadest impact.

Roberts concludes, “It is my personal hope that readers…will not only enjoy [Deep Reading] but will be moved to try some of the reading practices outlined in the text…to become more intentional readers equipped to contribute to the flourishing of their communities and cultivate their own spiritual and intellectual depth.”