Evening star., 1932-03-16
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

, the selection Of books, since there are
| such vast number in the world al
ready and more than 10000 new ones
are being added annually by the pub
fishers in this country alone.
The reader must select books whose
| life-likes are the same as ms own
This does not mean, necessarily tnaI
he must agree with the content, we
hope no reader will make mistake on
this point.
self off from the benefit to be gained
| from the opposition. All that is re-
| ollired is that the aim, or intent, OF
| tnat opposed mind must be the same
! that is. a genuine regard for the truth,
as one sees II.
| This is the greater likeness OF minds,
which far supersedes the petty alKe-
ness of those who shout AYE" together
at some meeting. =,
| II the aim is truthward, in a book, il
comedies with the aim OF an earnest
reader. Thus the man OF liberal ten
denotes in religion may read 81. Au-
gustine's Confessions" with the great
est of benefit.
The pure woman who knows the
vastness of life may read with un-
wrinkled brow ZolaS Mana, because,
.
stand the tragedy of it.
It will readily be understood tnat
there is a sort Of paradox mere. Like
ness of mind Is essential, and yet TINS
very likeness often manifestS itself In
apparent unlikenesS.
So it Is, and so it will always be.
X * X
In selecting books for personal read
ing, especially among the newer offer
| ings, one will find it expedient to take
advantage of advertisements, reviews,
the opinions of friends, ana especially
of authors and titles.
Let us consider each one Of these flve,
beginning with the last two, the au-
thor and the title. Often these para
mount aids to good selection are over
looked. We do not mean the so-calleo
popular" author, whose name IS SO
well known that a new book by him
Immediately sells like hot cakes are
supposed to sell on q frosty morning.
Often the name of a book. or OF an
author, will strike a sympathetic chord
in the mind, maybe in the heart, OF a
reader They may gnaw at him for
days before he succumbs and buys the
thing More often than not, he will
discover that he has made good
choice Never resist this temptation, If
! you are a real booklover Often 1t
leads to great finds.
| Advertisements of books are helpful.
because 1t is manifest on the face OF
it that no publisher is going to put
much money in advertising any book
which he regards as no good. No, the
fact that it is advertised shows that
some one, somewhere, thought 1t worth
while in some respect. The thing for
the individual reader to do Is to de-
! termine in his own mind whether 1t
will be good for him.
Book reviews often prove helpful in
the selection of the one book out of
| twenty, but only when the reader has
established well in his own mind a
bond Of sympathy with the reviewer
in the case. 1t is not always necessary
to have read previous reviews by the
same person. Often the very way the
review is handled is enough to show
mind akin.
The opinions Of friends, ones book
loving friends, constitute one of the
best ways to determine which books,
especially among the new ones, to read
/ and which to leave alone. The two of
you probably have held many review
between yourselves, so that each knows
what the other prefers, or what would
be well for him to read for other
reasons
Father Time, the old critic, must not
be forgotten. 1t is he, after all, who
puts the worlds bookshelves in final
order; upon him rests the last word
in all the pow-wow of writing and read
ing. Time, initiating the wise man,
says; Il Tilted a thousand books to
fix on one!'