Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-01-13
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

Within this tremendous latitude the
books of the entire world are the nat
ural readers field Of action. Nothing
| is strange to him. He Is a roamer
when it comes to his books, just as
Emerson roved through the literature
of the East.
| The natural reader (natural in the
same way that John Henry was "nachal
man. finds something to interest him
In the holy books of the Hindus. Dis
! carded books of his own religion he
reads, to see why they were discarded
He turns naturally to a catalogue, II
one happens to be at hand, without
! feeling the slightest trace of embarrass-
ment at the sudden transition. He is a
natural reader, and nothing that Is hon.
eStly printed is strange to him.
| X
The natural reader differs from the
artificial in another large particular
He wants his own books. The natural
born fisherman would not be content
| to use another fisherman's tackle all the
time He wants his own.
The natural reader finds genuine
| satisfaction in purchasing, in handling
and in possessing books which he is
happy to call his own.
! He is not content forever to read
books belonging to other people. While
he recognizes the place OF the lending
library and is happy to see 1t fulfilling
its mission, he realizes that this mis-
sion Is not for him except at rare inter-
| walls.
He thanks Fate that life has placed
| in his hands enough means to satisfy
his taste for good books, if not to the
extent which he would like, at least tC
| 10 ,r hi fn ttre
books of his own from time to time.
| His selections thus are tempered by
| discretion, always an excellent thing
Not being able to squander money on
his books, he Is forced to select as
wisely and as well as he is able.
This makes practically sure that he
will read the best books.
X X X X
| What a pother there is made about
| the best books, in some quarters, when
all the time they really are very SIM
pie matter, after ALI
There is no mystery about good
book to a natural reader-the man who
| likes to read because he likes to read
1t is all as simple as the A B c.
| A good book is a book which a suffi-
Gent number of natural readers have
declared to be a good book.
| If any one wants to know just now
many of these readers constitute "a
sufficient number" We reply that nc
one in the world knows.
1t Is not so much matter of sheer
numbers as of the implication of those
numbers, as of the weight which intelli-
gence gives to itself in the mass.
This may be interpreted as meaning
! that a natural reader will know a good
book upon reading it, often merely
by looking at it, and that ether natural
readers, in their turn, will realize the
sanction of his Judgment.
| Natural readers everywhere, in time
and space constitute club or order
of their own. There are no dues, nc
formal limitations no silly ritual which
attempts to disguise its essential buff
foonery by calling itself solemn"
Reading is a gay, happy activity. II
one does not find it SO, he is not a
natural reader. That is test Arti-
fetal readers are bored because they
make poor selections, then find them
tiresome. Natural readers naturally
make good selections and find their
books treasures.