Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1920-04-08
LIBRARY NOTES
Books In Brief Review

Mr.. Standfast; by John Buchan
Who doesn't like good story we'll
told, especially detective story. Such /
is Major Buchan's Mr. Standfast |
Dick Hannay, the hero of ''Greenman-
tie once more pursues the most dam
gerous man in the world This IN
wolves the necessity of a dozen dis
guises, quick action. mysterious jour
neys to Scotland, France, and Swift
erland and the rescue of a plucky Eng
lish girl from perilous plight. Tho
a war story the interest centers about
the capture of the arch-spy and it is
with sigh of relief that we find his
! plans frustrated and learn of his de
/ feat and punishment A thrilling tale
which you viii thoroly enjoy.
i A Childhood in Brittany Eighty Years
Age; by Anne Douglas Sedgwick
the middle Of the last century in which
old manners and customs and charm
ingly set down from the memories of
an aged French woman. In this day
of breathless haste and hurry it is de-
lightful and decidedly restful to read
of the easy quiet life of these simple
folk of Brittany. Unique illustra-
tons add much to the book.
French Ways and Their Meaning; by
Edith Wharton.
at seems a gigantic task for one
person to interpret the ways and
meanings of a people; but such is the
task that Edith Wharton has taken
upon herself in French Ways and
Their Meaning Mrs. Wharton her
self, warns us in the preface, that it
is essentially a desultory book, the
result of intermittent observation.
and often, no doubt, of rash assump-
tion,' SO that after the first shock of
the title, We get a bit off our high
horse because of the apology of the
preface, and prepare to see the French
thru the mdeium of the author.
ct is a book that is bound, by the
very nature of its contents, to arouse
controversy and one feels rather like
the small child who said she could
: not remain seated on her chair be-
cause she wanted to rush to the teach
: er and argue with her
Mrs. Wharton tells us, in the be-
: ginning of the book, that the differ
7 ence between the Americans and the
3 French is mostly on the surface and
5 that the feelings of Doth on the i'm
portant things is the same; yet she
goes on to prove that the French idea
OF love, marriage, art, and religion
l is totally different from the Ameri-
can. notwithstanding a few contra
! dictions such as this, she has brought
out a great many interesting points
and in many instances hit the nail on
the head in her judgments of France
! and America. She shows a delight
: fully frank side of the French and
: says, the French have never taken
/ the trouble to disguise their French
ness from the foreigners she gives
us also an amusing picture in show
ing how clever the Germans were in
dressing up their statues of Bismark
as Liberty Enlightening the World
< when democratic visitors were expect
5 ed.
"The last two chapters, The New
From obuoyo n, ay,J foo,,o1,,o;o,,, -. I
5 cidedly the best pieces of work in the
book, and for them alone, if for no
: other reason, French Ways and Their
: Meaning is quite well worth reading.
1t IS only in these two chapters that
Mrs. Wharton seems to write from her
soul, and that she dips her pen into
: the life blood of that country of which
she says that the whole world is full
| of her split glory"
: From The American Library Associa-
ton:
Why not follow this plan in Grand
| Rapids?
! Cupboards and shelves behind the
gllttering mahogany bars, which once
housed rows of variegated bottles,
! now shelter rows of books of all sorts.
The former saloon has become, in
many instances the corner library for
the service of the neighborhood.
In many places, former saloons have
been turned into stores in which have
been installed collections of the best
sort of reading matter as branches of
the main public library or, as in COM
munities which have lacked library
service adiI1Dctc to tho 1ihrarv Of +ba