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The New Attitude blog has a posting up entitled Recommending books without ruining souls. The problem that it attempts to deal with:

A few weeks ago there was some discussion about a book we recommended. The book was by an author we love and respect but someone pointed out that he holds a position we don’t think is scriptural. Can we still recommend the book if we don’t believe everything the author believes?

Of course, this is a bigger issue than just one book or one author. How much and what kind of error can a book contain before we just can’t recommend it to anyone anymore? What does practicing a humble orthodoxy look here?

In short: How can we recommend books to our friends without turning them into heretics and ruining their souls?

For more, you'll have to read the rest of the posting.

Justin Taylor on books:

I have had the six-volume Works of John Newton sitting on my shelves for years. They've hardly been cracked. But the other night I decided to pull one day. (Incidentally, this is why I'm not bothered by owning a lot more books than I've read, nor am I moved by people saying that they're not going to buy any more books till they've read the ones already on their shelves. Years ago Iain Murray drew a connection between God's providence and the timing of reading books. He pointed out that if he had read Jonathan Edwards's Religious Affections as a younger man it would have meant little to him at that stage in his life, but years later--in God's timing--it was revolutionary. I've also been helped by my friend Rick Gamache's comparison of books to "tools in a toolbox." Years may go by without using a certain tool, but when a project comes along where you need it, you're very glad it's in the toolbox. [My wife has heard that illustration on more than one occasion to justify buying more books!]

Charles Spurgeon on books:

The man who never reads will never be read; he who never quotes will never be quoted. He who will not use the thoughts of other men's brains, proves that he has no brains of his own.