Evening star., 1923-01-05

N NoftM the reaul1lS nap no mat
T ter how busy you are. There
is no one too busy, except in
rare cases, to give to general
reading at least half an hour each
day. To have a definite system for
reading is very important in order
to get the most for ones time. There
is vast amount of good reading ma
terial, but it would take more than
one lifetime to read it all. so that,
no matter how rapid a reader person
may be, he must choose carefully to
get the best from his reading.
The accumulation of books for the
family library should be slow and
careful. Cheap reprints, with poor
type and binding, should be avoided
unless economy forces you TO take
them or nothing. No list of best
sion of individual opinion. The books.
however good, will not be the best
for every family. The natural and
acquired tastes of the members of a
family. their education and their
mental caliber all help to determine
what their library should contain. It
should fit them as their home fits
them.
Every book on the shelves of the
family library ought to suggest ia
miliar and pleasant associations. like
the face of an old friend New VOL
umes should be chosen according TO
high literary standards and should
promise special benefits and pleasures
Complete sets of standard novels
by Scott, Dickens or Thackeray, for
instance. are by no means necessary.
Their greatest novels would serve the
actual needs of most homes.
AS in fiction. so in history, the
needs of the family should be the
incentive to choice. An inexpensive
text book of Roman history. for in
stance. may be more valuable in the
home library than the many volumes
of Gibbons history. The same thing
is true in regard to Dickens "Child's
History Of England" 1t is better in
the nome library than the same his
tory contained in many volumes.
! Green's short History of England"
is also valuable addition and should
follow the reading OF Dickens his
! tory.
For the boy of the family biography
Is inspiring reading if it is sele cted
with his tastes in view and consists
OF lives of men of action. To him
also popular science is often more
fascinating than fiction.
How to Read.
The person who is able to enjoy
the best books Of all kinds comes
The nearest to being perfect reader.
ration for creditable contemporary
work should be allowed to displace
our enjoyment of the masterpieces
; which have been bequeathed us by
the centuries. The great peril is not
! III reading new books, but in CeaSing
; TO read old ones. What keeps a book
alive is not the judgment of critics.
: not the label Of classic" attached to
II. but it is the unaffected delight that
! 1t continues TO give TO the hearts of
people.
A common excuse given by those
who read little is that they have no
time for reading. However, it is
good will. concentration and quick
tunity, which have always performed
the greatest wonders in this useful
pursuit. AS rule. the widely read
ing person is not an indolent person
To be we'll read one should read a
| little of everything and a great deal
, on some subjects.
! If YOU do not have the faculty Of
rapid reading by nature you should
acquire IT by practice. There are
: some readers who do not seem to be
able to acquire the art. but there are
others who can take in the impress
! sion of paragraphs or pages almost
! at glance, the eye running along
the line with great rapidity and leap
ing to the more important phrases
as if by instinct. The eye soon gains
| the power of taking in words in
groups instead Of separately. How
! large group ones glance can man
| age varies With the seriousness OF
the subject. &nc of the main distinc-
| tions of clever reader is that with
out varying as TO intensity he varies
! almost indefinitely as to pace. By
! regulating the pace ono may cover
an astonishing amount of ground in
reading. Skimming and rapid read
I ing are different processes, but even
: Skimming is at times a good thing to
DO. Jrdicious skipping is also some
. times necessary.
i If a book. magazine or newspaper con-
! tans matter that YOU want especially
! TO remember, you should follow Macau-
! lay. the English historians, method.
! which was to read a page and then
turn away from the book and write
from memory the substance Of the
! but it fixes 1t in the mind more thor
| oughly than any other way will do.
! 1t is also good plan to jot down in
the back Of every book that you read
| book has of special interest for you.
| This may seem mechanical but the
| process will justify itself by the far
from mechanical mastery to which it
| leads.
| Care of Your Books.
! Many persons give little or no atten-
| tion to the proper treatment Of books.
! You should show the same consideration
: for your own books that you would
| expect of any one to whom you might
| lend them. If the contents of a book
are valueless, the book ought not to be
real value its body, no less than its
soul deserves your affectionate con-
sideration.