Daily Yellowstone journal., 1889-08-13
POPULAR BOOKS.
n Il Impossible to Tell why Some Books
Fail and Others Succeed.


Fail and Others Succeed.
II would probably furnish the ma
terial for not a little amusement if the
readers Of the popular books of the
day were forced to tell exactly what
they thought of them, why they liked
or disliked them, and what they
regard as their strongest and their
weakest points. In the majority of
cases il would doubtless be found that
the readers of the class of literature
generally known as popular have
never taken the trouble of defining 10
themselves what they do think con.
corning what they read, and il is not
unlikely that in many cases the hu.
initiating discovery might be made
that they had no thoughts with which
to acquaint themselves or anybody
else.
Ii is a truth so trite that one las 10
apologize for mentioning it that the
people IN general do not think at all,
and il is at best into the class OF nor
tails who think they think that the
majority of mankind must be put.
This is, however, very much a matter
of education. The world over, il has
always been the dangerof educational
systems that they would substitute the
easier trick of teaching facts for the
legitimate end OF education than of
teaching pupils tothink. 1t is so easy
TO induce students 10 take up with
scraps and remnants of other peoples
wisdom. Herewith TO conglomerate
for themselves a shell after the man
ner of the caddis worm OF our brooks,
that everywhere we see this done, and
the real aim Of instruction entirely
neglected.
All this, however, is only indirectly
connected with the reasons why pop
ular novels are popular. The causes in
many cases really seem past all find
ing out. Of novels like "Assur Ii
gleth" it is easy 20 see that the
mingling Of sentiment and theology
was the fetching thing; of There il
is evident that the secret lay in its I'M
adulterated sensational. ism; 'Cupid's
Back Parlor' was evidently popular
simply because its uastinesS got il
talked about; and So on for Others.
There still remain many of the books
which sell most larg ~, in which one
sees no reason for a second glance,
which yet achieve g popularity that if
brief is most astonis uingly wide. They
seem 10 have all IL faults that "A book
can have, and eyrl not iufrequently
10 add that crOvuing, objectionable
sin OF being dull. and yet there is the
publishers account with the author
giving statements, backed up by the
irrefutablc testimony of a check
for royalties, showing that they sell in
muluiudcs.
Even the experts cannot tell why
such and such a book succeeds and
such and sucl Il book fails. OF many
a book they can with certainty predict
the fate, but the phenomenal works
are apt IN prove too much for their
sagar'ty. Il have been III the pub
fishing business twenty-five years"
a publisher said recently, land / can
not tell now what makes a book sell
and what makes it fail" The mystery
is hidden; and yet il would seem that
each individual should al least be able
TO tell how the book has affected him.
To collect these opinions and there
from deduce the principle underlying
popularity is not possible, but il will
at least tend to the improvement of
the Individual mind to studiously ex-
anime ones sensations over these pop
ular works with a view Of coming at
the truth; and who can tell how soon
one of the people who make popular
books popular may haply by self ex-
animation discover the secret, and be
able 10 disclose il To curious and
waiting world.-Boston Courier.