The sun., 1918-12-15
BOOK REVIEWING"


TONER and having no convictions the Of it.
For We point with pride to the fact that though
many times indicted conviction has never been
secured against However it isn't considered
good form whatever that isl to talk about your
own crimes. For instance, after exhausting the
weather you should say pleasantly to your neigh
Dor: What an interesting burglary you COM
mitted last night We were al! quite stirred up!'
1t is almost improper (much worse than merely
immOral) TO exhibit your natural cgosm by re-
marking: IF do say it, that murder did on
Tuesday was particularly good job!'
For this reason if for no other, we would refrain,
ordinarily from talking about book g reviewing;
but since ROBERT CoRTIs HOLIDAY has mentioned
the subject in his Walking Stick Papers and thus
introduced the indicate topic once and for ALL
there really course open but to pick up the
theme and treat it in serious, thoughtful way.
How to Review a Book.
Book reviewing is called because the books
are not reviewed, or viewed (some say not even
read). They are described with more less
curacy and at a variable length They are praised,
condemned weighed and solved by the use of
lOgarithms. They read, digested, quoted and
tested for butter fat. They are examined evalued,
enjoyed and assessed: criticised and frequently
found fault with mot the same thing, of course)
chronicled and even orcLcstrated by the few who
never write words without writing both words and
music JAMES HUNEKER could make IRWIN COBB
sound like performance by the Boston Symphony.
Others, like BENJAMIN DE- CAssEREs, have a dra-
matte gift Mr. DE CAssEREs writes book revues.
Any one can review book and every one should
be encouraged 10 do it. 1t is unskilled labor Good
book reviewers earn from $50 to $3.50 week,
working only in their spare time, like the good
looking young men and women who sell the Sat
Hrddu Evening Post the Ladies' Home Journal
and the Country Gentleman, but who seldom earn
over 800 week. Book reviewing is one of the
very few subjects not taught by the correspond
ence schools, simply because there is nothing to
teach 1t is 50 simple child can operate it with
perfect safety Write for circular giving full par
ticuars and our handy phrasebook listing 1857
standard phrases indispensable to any reviewer
FREE.
In reviewing a book there is no method to be fol-
lowed Like of the player pianos, you shut the
doors ii. e.. close the cOvcrs) and play Tor write)
By instinct! Although directions are necessary
we will suggest few things to overcome the begin
ners utterly irrational sense of helplessness.
One of the most useful comments in dealing with
very scholarly volumes. such as A History of the
Statistical Process ~ Modern PhidnthrOpicdl En-
terprSscS. by JACOB JONES, is as follows: Mr.
JoNEs's work shows signs of haste. y The peculiar
advantage of this is that you do not libel Mr..
JONES; the haste may have been the printers or
the publishers almost anybody but the post
Office S. In the case of piece of light fiction the
best way to start your review is by saying: "a
new book from the pen of ALICE APosTROPE is al,
Il1rt {ha l,on 6VSf
bOok?. One of the finest opening sentences for the
= review of first book runs: For a first novel
GEORGE LAMPIIT's Good Gracious! is tale of dis
tinct promise. BE careful to say distinct it
is adjective that fits perfectly the shoulders
of any average chcSted noun 1t gives the noun
that upright, Swagger carriage careful writer
likes his nouns TO have.
The Anatomy of a Book Review.
But clothes do moi make the man. and words dc
not make the book review. A book review must
have Structure, Skeleton, if il be than
the skeleton in the book closet 1t must have a back
bone and bite. 1t must be able TO stand erect and