Evening star., 1933-11-01
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

variably better than slowness. Yet 1t
must be believed that the naturally
swift reader has an advantage over
the slow reader, in that he comes
nearer to the reading ideal, that of
graSping the work as / single attack
upon some central theme. For him
the theme stands out more clearly
He manages to do, in time. what the
author was able to do over vastly
longer stretch, simply because he, as
writer. had an all-consuming urge
toward that single idea.
The first reading. therefore. IS In
many ways the best reading, and he
who permits this to go by without
way Is very likely to find out later
that he has deliberately cut himself
off from getting the ultimate good out
Of this first blooming.
A second good way to use a pencil
lies in the use Of underscoring or un-
derlining.
Such marking is the property Of the
sure reader He must be certain that
his judgments are good, else when he
comes back to this book again, per-
haps years later, he finds that he has
marked passages which now seem ir-
relevant
He must possess, then, a background
Of reading, II he wants to underline
good passages with certainty This
every mature reader ought to have, at
least in enough degree to satisfy him
sell.
Good sentences that strike him ther
become his property forever, simply by
taking down the book from the shell
and turning over its pages. He nc
longer finds himself faced by that
dilemma SO common among readers
usually put squarely in one question
Where did I see that?"
If underscoring is to be done at al
it should be done neatly. In fact, al
markings in books must be made with
care if the pages are not to be soiled
OF this more later.
There are three ways of doing un-
derlining. One, as the name suggests
by drawing straight line under the
words or sentences selected as mem
orable. Such lines should be as straight
as ones ability as an artist permits
and so placed as to miss entirely con-
nection with type above or below. This
commonly is forgotten, so that the
words themselves become crossed out.
A second method is to make wavy
line. If this is we'll done 1t enhance:
the appearance of the work. 1t L
possible for the reader to evolve hi:
own system of lines. in which he viii
permit straight line to indicate hi:
highest appreciation. perhaps, with 9
wavy line showing second choice.
4 \
The third method is a very popular
one 1t consists of putting a checE
mark at the beginning and at the
end of some sentence or paragraph.
A variation Of this Is that Of draw
ing a straight line down the page il
the margin to take in the sentence
or sentences selected.
As for marginalia, or notes in thu
margins, these constitute an entirely
separate branch of good book mark
ing. Their main drawback. If honestl,
entered, is that they indicate too
plainly the entire mind of the readel
to possible other readers. Their merl
is that they do just that.
For all such work pencil must b.
sharp pointed and preferably rathel
hard than soft. since the latter smear!
too easily All book additions must b
done carefully, to avoid high crim'
Of bookdom
If ones handwriting Is naturally
large. one must cultivate a smaller pen
manship especially for this purpose
The sharp-pointed instrument naturally
leads to this. And no matter how
much one prefers a soft, heavy lead
it has no place on the page OF
printed book.