Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1888-06-02
A NOVEL EVERY DAY.
THAT'S the Average Of Some Confirmed
DevOurcrs Of Light Literature.

That's the Average Of Some Confirmed
Deveurcrs Of Light Literature.
MONSTER WHO GOT AWAY WITH TWO on rHRKK
pAILY-EFFEcTs ON SOME PEOPLE OF THE CON-
TINUED CONSUMPTION OF TRASHY SERIAL STORIES
THE TRADE IN THE CHEAP LIBRARIES
Persons very fond OF reading but with little
spare time to indulge their taste who visit mar
row shop near one OF the departments are apt TO
come away with a severe attack OF the blues The
shelves, counters and even the door OF tbs shop
are chockfull OF pretty nearly all the wisdom OF
the ancients and wit OF the moderns, done up In
inelegant but handily pocketable paper-bound
packages which sell at from 10 TO 90 cents each.
The shop, In fact is sort OF headquarters for the
cheap libraries now 50 numerous, ana which are
said TO be doing great damage TO the more preten-
tous branches OF the book t-ade Here for g care
ful person can purchase q library more extensive
and better than was evey owned by many a man
whom the world calls great and wise. History,
biography. poetry, philosophy, science, literature
and romance are mingled In bewiderng confusion
anu proluslon. glance at the titles OF the
famous works piled on shelf and counter, Nils one
with despair OF every being able 10 read them all.
SO numerous are they; and yet again they are so
cheap that person with the reading habit tees
ashamed not TO buy An armful and rush OF TO his
den TO devour them at once.
I'VE have several customers who read two and
three books day." the proprietor said TO an In
Quistlve STAR reporter. zone man In particular
used, used TO come In regularly every other or every
tnird DAY and carry on each time from six TO eight
volumes He didn't appear particular about what
he read, but took them just as they came. He
kept It up week after week, too. He had a place
In the Interior Department, but was discharged
not long ago."
The proprietor didn't intimate that there was
any connection between the mans reading habits
and the loss OF his position, but it struck the re-
porter that there might be.
NOVEL READERS
"There are plenty OF people who average a book
q day, month in and month out" the proprietor
continued. "These people are mostly novel
fse ike Of S0u M gets to be passion With
spare time TO II. II they can't get hold OF a new
story as soon as they have finished the old one
they don't know what to do with themselves and
are mlserable-nke uppler whose rations have
pee 6een cut on, or morphine eater who can't get
.Do you notice much difference in the class of
stories preferred by men and women?" the reporter
asked.
mo, can't say that /! do. The women don't
seem TO be especially fond OF love stories In fact,
some women who come here won't read love sto-
rles or novels written by women. They prefer the
detective stories and mysteries OF Du Boisgobey
and Gaboriau and Zola's highly-navored stun G.
w. M. Reynolds sensational romances used To
have big sale, but they aren't In as much de-
Haven't The cheap libraries hurt the sensational
story papers great oeal?" the reporter inquired.
"Well, not as much as i thought they were
going TO at nrst," the gentleman said 81 expected
the story papers would he driven entirely out OF
the held by the cheap libraries, but hardly think
their sales have fallen as much as % per cent.
Inc papers have to keep booming themselves all
the time, though, or they lose ground badly. They
aren't the DonanZaS they used TO be. The news
dealers wouldn't be very sorry IL the story papers
were driven out of the neld altogether. The mar.
gin OF pront on them Is very SMALL and the worst
OF IL is, the people who buy them are OF the
'charge-it-and-Ill-pay-y ou-next-tlme' class Now,
II they fail to pay once 1t knocks the pront OF OF
good many papers"
1.-THE people who read the story papers, then.
are or a Inherent class from those who buy the
cheap library novelist"
WOMEN WHO READ STORY PAPERS.
''Yes, as rule, they are. The people who read
these inferior novels and serial stories get false
and foolish IDEAS Of life This is especially true OF
the confirmed story paper readers They are the
worst or all / can tell one OF them almost as
quickly as set eyes on her-for the story-paper
readers are generally women. They have would
be grand ana romantic air about them, use big
words and theatrical expressions, and try TO imi-
tate generally IN their manner the hghy-wrought
Characters they read about In the serials. Girls
brought up from the time they are fifteen or six
teen on this sort OF reading aren't satisfied with a
man unless he Is like the heroes OF their stories,
and so they are apt TO wait good while before
what they call their ideal And then II they DO
get married. In ninety-nine cases out or hundred
they soon discover that the promises were all
false; that they haven't MARI ed their hero at all
put only an ordinary, commonplace man, with not
enough OF the story -paper ideal to him to supply
paragraph 10 one OF the sloppy serials.
"TheSe people with the stOry-paper habit" the
speaker continued, '-seem hardly able 70 control
their Impotence from week to week for the sue
ceeding installments OF the romances Many OF
them make practice OF coming here about the
time they know the papers arrive and waiting
until they can get them; and II they should hap
pen TO be late, and all the papers are sold out when
they get here, then there Is q row."
CHEAP LIBRARIES
SHOW many OF the cheap Libraries are there In
existence now" the reporter asked.
son. probably nifty, all told" the dealer an.
swered; "and new ones are starting up every
week The trade has got to be something i'm
mense. Many OF the libraries are published irregu-
larry, sending out volume once or twice mont h.
There are about a dozen which come out regularly
from once TO three times a week. A couple OF the
leading ones for while published a number every
day, but they seem to have exhausted the supply
OF uncopyrlghted and foreign novels and other
available books, and now send out three numbers
q week.
1--WE have an arrangement which makes the
cheap libraries cheaper still" the speaker con-
Guided ave buy back books which are not dam
aged in readlng at halfprice, SO that even people
who read eight or ten books week are in no dam
ger OF bankrupting themselves by INDUCING In
this form or dissipation. II isn't an expensive
vice nowadays, at least In Its immediate conse-
OuenceSn