Evening star., 1935-04-18
THIS AND THAT
BY CHARLES E. TRACEWELL.

still he knows more or less what he
likes and, surprising enough, his
opinion has O very good chance Of
coinciding with that Of artists.
+
Much reading Is q necessity, If one
is to feel thoroughly at home in q
book or other piece Of writing.
It Is here as In o garden; the new
conner to plants finds q thousand un-
knowns ahead of him, so many that
he forgets at times to enjoy himself.
The little-read person Is dumfounded
at so many words in his books. He Is
not at home, hence Is unable to dis
criminate. It Is only when one Is at
ease that one can do that.
Books only open Of themselves a.
places where q reader has been happy
He should see to it that they do not
do this physically. Let him choose to
believe that the old Scotch essayist
did not mean that quite literally.
There Is no reason for bending q book
so strenuously at particularly ad-
mired section that 1t suffers any
harm. It is not necessary at all, and,
indeed, shows an indifference to the
physical side of a book which good
volume ought not to face, nor q good
reader inflict.
The best way to mark where one
has been happy is with pencil, not
too black lead, with which one can
check, underline or otherwise distin-
quish words, sentences or paragraphs
of particular appeal.
Then q book may not open Of It
self, literally, but the selected por-
tions will fairly Jump at the reader
when he takes it up again.
This means that he has made the
blossoms Of thought stand out. as real
flowers of thought ought to do.
Attempts have been made. from
time to time, to do this work for Q
reader by setting in red ink what
the publisher, or even general con-
sensus. regards as flowers Of thought:
but while this has its merits, in well
known and long discussed writings. 1t
also has the drawback that 1t does
not leave the reader free to choose
for himself.
What strikes one will not strike an
other; what makes special appeal to
one will slide of the mind of the next
reader. No one can tell what is going
to make an appeal. 1t is best. there
fore, to buy editions only in which no
such pre-digestion has been attempted.
Then the reader may mark for him
self as suits him. Passages will gleam
from the pages, the veritable flowers,
while the remainder of the words will
serve for him as the essential boughs
and branches of thought. without
them, of course, the flowers could
never some into being.
The amazing blankness of a printed
page is rather disconcerting at times,
especially when one is attempting to
locate a passage.
Why, I know right where 1t is"
one says. turning the pages briskly
Just a few more pages. and then
and then a few more, and few more
Pretty soon one becomes diScon-
certed, sometimes even angry, but it
could have been averted by a simple
underlining. It Is not necessary TO
run the pencil entirely under every
word, but just under some key word,
so that 1t marks a spot where the
reader was happy. Often 1t is utterly
impossible to locate some desired
sentence without such an aid With
it. the thing is easy. and pleasant at
all times. This Is much better way.
after all. than opening q book so
harshly that it stays open Of its own
accord, even If one has been happy
there.