Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-07-25
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

man beings, 1t Is impossible for any one
to tell another one what to read
What difference does II make 10 you
that great critics have united to declare
Dantes Divine Comedy" q great work,
II the thing tires you beyond appeal?
You pass no Judgment on Dante. let
Dante pass no Judgment on you.
Some OF the greatest readers in the
world not only do not like THE Divine
Comedy" but refuse to read 1t in any
translation. There are 80 many books
In the world, to suit so many moods,
THAT no one can read them all or like
them all.
\ Some Of the finest intellects have
greatly cared for detective fiction, while
other men and women, quite as intel
lectual, never had read q piece Of &c
ton Of this type in their lives.
The mood is the thing What one
cares TO read is what one should read.
Let no one suppose that this line Of
or trashy stuff in general.
The mood depends upon the reader
In the last analysis, and Is based not
only on the whims Of the moment, and
especially upon the preva ling en-
thusiaSms, but even more is built on
the fundamental tastes of the reader
And these tastes must have some
foundation In Justice, sure knowledge
OF good and bad, or they are not the
sort OF tastes which we believe DR.. john
son referred to when ne said that good
book Is one you can take In the hand
and carry to the fire.
~ *
Perhaps some reader here will think
we nave been reading too much into
what the great old man Of English
literature land so American Iiterature)
SAID. II so. let US take the last clause,
and carry TO the fire." One does not
have to read anything into that except
what the words say
NO one would carry q book to the
nre, or to any other place. il 1t were
not convenient book to handle. Great
neavy, unpleasant volumes, which tire
one out physically, can never be good
books. They may be necessary books
important books. even great books, but
tney Will not be good books in the true
The temptation to make large. fat.
hefty books. imposing to buyers and
pleasing TO authors, must be large one
10 book publisher. The bigger a
book. the more pages 1t has land hence
the heavier 1t Is, in most cases., the
larger the price the publisher may
charge.
IL Is pleasing to the vanity Of the
average reader to purchase and to be
seen reading such weighty volumes, Blu,
every reader knows that the thing is
not comfortable. And what does one
want more than comfort in reading?
We will say that DR.. johnson meant
comfort In speaking Of what a good
book should be. A good book should
furnish reader not only mental com
fort but, above ALL physical comfort
Abraham Lincoln read stretched out,
face down, on hard board floor. but
any one who has tried that way OF
reading knows that one must be 4
Lincoln to do it.
More effete readers demand that
their books be easy TO handle, light In
weight, pleasant to the touch. English
publishers hitherto have excelled in
this regard. but recent American publ
cations indicate that publishers on this
side Of the Atlantic are needing the
lesson. With q comfortable book, the
selection OF ones own personal taste
and mood, any reader with average
ability may know, from himself, that q
good book is one you can take in the
hand and carry TO the fire. That is
as far as any one should 60 in attempt
ing to define a good book, and it is
enough.