The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-11-12

which form a river and their amount after awhile will be sufficient to add something new to the clubs lending library.
 The books may not too soon lose their freshness. they should be cov- cred and no home reader should take upon herself to remove the cover while the book is In her possession. Nor should such books be exposed to the needless handling of children or other irresponsible people who, not be- ing book lovers. fail to give the printed page the deference it deserves. 1t is enough to make a book lover shudder to watch the ruin that comes too soon upon books that are shabbily treated, left lying face downward and open, or with leaves turned down to keep a place, or are racked by having the bin dings carelessly ioosened and erty of club, every club member has something at stake in their preserva- tion.
 At the end of six or of twelve months, as the club may elect, there may be an auction, at which the books, having beer read by every one. may be bought in by those who wish to possess them. The money obtained in this way, and annual membership fees, will enable any little coterie of friends in a place where there is no library. or any group of families who wish some thing more personal than the library affords 10 have in a comparatively short tiune an excellent opportunity for becoming familiar with all that Is fall- ing iron; the press. AL that is, which seems worth while. When new books are almost as numerous as autumn leaves or spring blossoms, nobody can hope in short lifetime to keep in touch with everything. There must be selection and in some cases renuncia- ton.
 Tn choosing volumes for a book club. fiction probably will claim the first place. and be the most popular Our fiction at present ranges over an im- mense field. The social problems of the day, the varying phases of lise in what we call. for want of better name, the smart set, the antagonisms betweer. labor and capital. the shifting aspects of modern life are presented in our novels.
 Thens too. we have novels of romance, of hair-breadth escapes and thrilling adventures; we have historical pictures in a medieval sett .g. or, as in the work of Mrs. Humphrey Ward, we have reincarnations in fiction of well-known characters who occupied the stage a century ago. No one esn afford to neg feet current fiction and in reading fic- tion no che need be afraid that she is wasting precious time. The tima spent on a good novei is time we'll invested
 But one cannot always choose to ad- vantage by depending on the criticisms furnished to the newspapers by pro- fessIonal book tasters. Sometimes the people whose business it is to read professionally for the press grow blase and weary and seem united to render fair Judgments. We all wish to read whatever book is for the moment on the top wave. It cannot be an alto- gether unworthy book which wins It's way into the homes of thousands. We also all want to read the latest work of whatever author is popular in Eu- rope or America at the present exact" ing and exciting period.
 A committee from the club itself sho i'd personally examine the books that are purchased and youch for their fitness for general reading. Merely goody-goody books should be excluded.
 Books of trt vel, particularly those which describe countries where great