The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-08-01
''CRAzEo BOOKS PASS
Summer Readers Aren't Devoting
Their Attention to Any Par
ticular Book.
The Library Demand Is for Some.
thing Easy Regardless Of
S. Fads.

Minneapolis is reading more than one book
now. The town is reading three or four
books, perhaps six, tho it's painful to con-
Tess that critics could be SO confused, and
haven't you read that? It's the Very best
thing there Is, you know p
the brunette may be found immersed in
"The Ward OF King Canute" and the blonde
wholly ignorant of Lillian Krantz's art. will
plunge with scholarly zeal into the final
Of readers swears by Gordon Keith" an
other neighborhood declares the book OF
books is Lady Roses Daughter There are
cliques not, sociological now examining The
Woman Who Tolls, - because no doubt its
a q snggests herself "The lady with the
more toilettes than texts at church are now
comparing Varieties Of Religious Expert
enceS. -
Abnormal Conditions.
But this condition is far from normal In
the silly season" even popular taste be-
comes fallible 1--WE a suspicion Ssaid an
attendant at the public library to-day, that
most people after books don't know what
shelves over there and take the first thing
that strikes their fancy; it's much the same
fun as shopping. And a good many other
logs but simply ask US. SO beseechingy,
thing worth reading p"
there was something worth reading besides
those stupid old things that everybody's
parents or grandparents have read for her
not paw over" the free shelves. She asked,
with confidence Have you got The PITT .
Yet Norris book was generally 'out" The
fifty extra ''hve-cent" copies, that is, copies
for the use of which patrons paid Ave cents
week; and still the list Of people on the
oaa day By
divine sway thru Mrs Wigs Of the Cab
bage Patch Last year the reading classes,
ee OF Rer 9aY e Of all their hs and
gest spectacles upon. ''Tacitus for LADIES'"
or "The Crisis"
"Follow the crowd'
Yes" argued the attendant ..the average
man or. woman selects books at the library
as he or she would select clothes at a
tailors. What is best in general or best for
her is Of no consequence Follow the crowd
that's the rule Read what everybody else is
reading. Might as well say you don't adore
'bubblng' as to admit that you never read
| the Onion Bed mean the Cabbage Patch
| But after the end Of summer larger
| fraction of the public will read to some ad-
then and there always follows Considerable
demand for books upon. the subjects of an
important lecture, as we'll as for books writ
The clubs will get to work and begin t.
study up special subjects as exhaustively as
II the club members were all going to be-
or Of Bulgarian folklore, or Of whateve,
| the one idea may be- All the members will
make rush on Portugal, perhaps. Their
we'll have to buy extra copies of Portuges,
| history, extra manuals of Portuguese art
Well not only have to get variorum edition.
| Of the Lusiad, suppose, but we'll b,
obliged to supply materials so that any mem
Der may prepare offhand necessary review
OF the Portuguese Dominion in West Africa,
and Of Roman Influences Upon the socia
Life, of Portugal
too much, that's much better, I'm sure, thai
taking recent fiction by the pound and hllin
ones mind with. nobody's, opinions abou
"The school children. too, when autumn i
here, will begin once more to read the man
good books recommended by their teachers
wonder how the little Athenians ever under
stood their Homer, who hadn't any biograph
at all Still our own authors are so differ
snt. II Homer had half a dozen birthplaces
he may have had dreadful number q
wives-who knows? But Emerson was al
ways so quiet and respectable, and you neve
have to blush for Irving, tina used to &c
carried away over his exciting career.
, Student Destroyers Of Books.
B "The university students will want to rea
up after the football season; and l don
imagine that many of them will realize no,
much they might gain from Lady Rose
DduSuCeI. = ney reaQ the same old book
: that their professors used to read, and til
!, young folks from the campus are SO apprecia
tive. If they like certain passage in an
volume they often cut that passage of tn;
page out and keep it. And they make az
mirable collections in this way. They seel
: to- prefer solid information. Last year, Il
g example, one of the students retained a who
+ chapter from an edition of Cicero with Gel
: man notes, and searcher after science toe
: away half the G's, beginning at GAS in Il
!: Century Dictionary -
THE girls at the ~ don't presume to a
equal extent upon a students privilege
They usually cut out illustrations whic
OF course, aren't part Of the text and aren
that borrowed, last spring, one Of Gener
Davis works. mean General Richard Har
Ing Davis She brought back the story. b
she cut out for her den ali the i've
3 sneers and shoulders; in. Mr.. Gibson's pi