Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-08-19
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

High prices and the lack Of home
causes of the lack of buying Of new
fiction, according to Simon & Schus-
ter, New York publishers.
In the front Of their new Inner
Sanctum novels, in paper covers at
81 each, they put it this way Ito the
buyer of this book"
TT is the thought of the publishers
that the buying of new fiction has
been seriously handicapped in recent
years by two chief causes:
Il. The Price-Whereas many nom
fiction books are bought not only TO
read, but to reread and refer to, most
fiction is bought for one reading only.
The price of fiction has remained rela-
lively high because it has not been
bought in quantities SUFFICIENT to enable
q publisher to make use of the savings
concomitant with large production.
Meanwhile, unless the reader were GER
tain he wanted to retain q book in his
library. he has been content to borrow
the book from library or from a
friend whenever that occasion might
arise) or else he has decided not to
read the book at all.
2. Library Space-This has in re-
cent years become a serious problem.
More and more people live in rela-
lively small apartments in which the
area of library shelves Is limited.
Where 70 put the books once they are
read has become a real question. The
book has been bought, but who wants
to throw away a bound book?
ITO meet these two factors, the pub
fishers Of this series of books have
brought the price of all fiction with
the exception Of extremely long novels)
down to a dollar. You have now
bought this book If you do not wish
to keep it, lend it to a friend, or send
it to hospital Or, If you are clearing
your shelves, throw it out with maya
zines If, on the other hand, this is
a book that you wish to keep bound
in permanent form, take it to any book
binder or send it back to the pub
fishers with a remittance of ST., and
1t will be bound in cloth and re-
turned to you postpaid"
This is all very well, but it Is not
the half of 1t.
The simple truth Is that there are
too many books being published.
There are too many mediumly good
writer's.
OF course, there is little that can be
done about It, But it puts the real
lover OF books in quandary. There
are so many things he would like to
read that he faces the impossible.
Even If he had the money, the task
ahead Of him presuppoSes that he has
nothing to do in life except read novels.
This is the real reason many per-
sons had given up buying them. 1t
wasn't so much the high price. Those
who love books will buy them at any
price.
But the publishers had, in a sense,
gone back on them.
They had put out hordes of novels,
good, bad and Indifferent, for the mob,
on the assumption (Which seems to
be proving false) that the mob would
buy anything which looked like book.
Well, the mob did, for a time; but,
not being genuine booklovers, its COM
ponent parts soon grew tired of the
game Of trying to appear cultured.
The novelty Of books wore of with
them, just as other fads and fancies
have way Of becoming tiresome to
all except the genuine devotees.
Soon no buyers were left except the
booklovers, those to whom books are
things, to be loved in themselves and
for themselves.
y
The joke about his new" venture
OF paper books (Which is as old as the