THE READING PUBLIC.

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 72, 18 December 1920, Page 11

THE READING PUBLIC.

■ INCREASING DEMAND FOR THE NOVEL "LESS ONE HAS TO THINK THE BETTER", Judging.!)}- tho class of literatni'o that found, favour during the year with patiqns of .(he.Wellington Lending Library, latxlerii .reading .palates favour' tho novel as tlie-luost.accejitable form, of literature. This observation was made to a Dominion interviewer, yesterday by an officer of tho lending .scction of the Public Library, whose worki.is/'directly-, with the bookloving pul>lic---nr, lather, that .'portion of tho ipiiblio who;, wisely support a municipali.c'nterprise that will provide them t with aesthetic ienjoyment. The average , femlerr It would appear, prefers to have blight nlid' bcet'Z.v fiction: of the modern , school >rnther . than tho books that were belovod of a generation long past. - .. •' '' Books of the Open..•'■."ltj'surp'r)s«s me," said v the official .in ' question,/.."t1i0 .increased \lemand there •is.. liovdls toiling, of .the open air, of 1 life ill the: north, or borderwars in the Western .States ,of ; America, arid of themes ago tho demand, for .instance, for books by Hex Beach—'The Spoilers,''' The Iron Trail,' "fhe Ne'erstlo-wcH'—and others; was not what it;was'-a month ago.: Beach at the present'time is one of the publicVmost popular' writers, and our empty shelres apd w'ell-thumbed books boar .mute .testimony; to this. His. tales of the Yukon are-.even, more .popular than ltis charac-ter-studies, such ,as ./The Auction Bloik.' People—n l . least so it seems to not want.to.be told q(~. the gloom in their midsf;" They, don't.mind gliom; but they wonlfl: rather rhavo it out on the: prairie, or on the snow-field?. . . . Another extrcmply'noimlar wriVv is 7,nne Gr»v. It ls : not long .since his books of Western life came to Now. Zealand, but the bid for popularity'has ;bd6n successful, .and the Grey sheif is rarely -inhabited."

" Adventure and Detectives. ' Do the', readers,, like the -adventure of the older" school P 'asked tlicHutcrviewerr : "For' example. "Winston CJhiirchill inV"The 'Crossing." and books d&alinir .with century-old subjects?" -','Wel.l: . fid,'' was-' ('he' answer. "The public lilce.'red-blooded books, telling of refi.l men- and 'women of tile present day. It is I' too ..for To hark back. However, Churchill' still enjoys 'a' certain popularity, altlioug!i ItU'only reolly sought after work - is. - ,'The , Crisis,' the ■ remarkable itory of the,' American Civil War. . EHiel ■ Dell.'.in her prolific novels, fill? the place of many of the writers who wore popular during ; the-first decade' of the century— Jfary Johiiston,-.i.for. instance, whose ■ 'Lewisj.ißand' is about the only..asked-f<!r--one.,-wo. have.".. •'llojv about, mystery .and detective itoriesf- inquired- the" rcportf-r. Do the old .friends still .prove the good friends?' - "to a. greah' extenti" was 'the reply. "Our\Conan Doyle shelves are always empty,' and we -are. always putting new Icod-crs .on his. wprks. At : present the demand-is. .-naturally greater than 'at ordinary , times. •' Of course, 'Sherlock Holmes' is : the most popular series. However, the ultra-modern novel has replaced the older detective .melodrama.

• Love Stories Popular. writer.-)' are Stephen MTvwina, whose'Sonia' -is still being eagerly' asked for."; :'' „. • -.' "William Locke* .who.achievea greater success with each book) nndiJeffery .Earno!. -whose 'Amateur Gentleman,'i 'Beltane the Smith,' and 'Tho Broad' Highway' -suit, the popular taste/' added jour informant! : - i,' . . But - they are- lovestoriM ? ' asked .'the inverviewer..,

"Oh, .yes,* the ' public is as keen: on lovo..stories'as ever/. And in, this .the', American; writers; seem "to fit the bill: "Hergeshimer,' the' well-knownCalifornian; Mary Roberts Rinehardt,' all are' 'best-readers.' 'The Common Law,' by Robert W. Chambers, and Edith Wharton's rather'sensational are never at rest.. .'I ..would almost say that the American writer of fiction,; from nvhnitwe' notice.here,; is- gaining a firm : hold on .the.' book-loving public." Far from being unpopular, Charles Garvice, the well-known writer of sentimental love svorie.-i, was a great fav- : ouritp;.-, And : not only wi(jh women! Ofteri-'ihen have -coiiie -into' the-.library and have', asked for certain stories of Garvice," on the ground that tlrey-wish .the .copy for their wives, .to read; butfrom ,'my own observations..!' know iliat tho'Same men come back each time ami get' another by the same author. . .

Popple-like humour, and American humour'seems to'appeal'to. them. Booth Tarfcington, with his inimitable Penrod .stories,: is. popular.;.' ''Even Mark Twain,'with his 'Yankee at the ; Coun of King.Arthur," old thongh the story is, attracts the'' attention of a. very large number'of''readers. '

'The Critical and Mystical. plays are fairly widely road." added the speaker, "ike Doll's House,' 'Ghosts,' and 'The. J,amc Duck' are Bii.jurally. ; the ones . most sought after. Bernard Shaw—especially with his later workg—is a great attraction, but his earlier ivories are left severely alone. Vincent Blasco Ibnnez, : the talented Vnlenciim.jwriter, attracts the reading public by his, ,'i'our Horsemen ,of Apocalypse/ but-- .'Sonnica' ■ nnd 'The Cabin' leave tihem cold. Strimlbcrg is not read- at all, iiior is Gerhard ■■ ICauptmann, and Jokapißojer, the Norwegian, is receiving scant, indention. '. . Books on spiritualism at, tlie present time nre .in. great demand, . a'Jil ■, Sir. Conau Doyle's .. 'Vital much, asked for. But' as ■far as jl-can see,, the. novel is the thing —an<l (the less: it-makes oiio think, the •better .tho public like it." •