Discrimination in Reading

Manawatu Times, Volume 62, Issue 26, 1 February 1937, Page 6

Discrimination in Reading

“ There are something like 3000 books in this loom, representing about onc-fiftli of the annual output of the country. That is a terrifying thought,” said Sir Hector Hetherington, principal of Glasgow University, in a speech in the Mitchell Library. “Taking five hours as a rather moderate estimate of the time required to read one book, the display represents 15,000 hours reading, and if we read for seven and a-half hours a day, it will take us 2000 days, or nearly six years, to read even one-fifth of the annual output. “ Some people deplore tJiut prodigious output. They seem to think that that vast quantity of books means a deteriortifion not only in the quality of the books themselves, but in the quality of the attention given by readers to the books. There is a certain amount of truth in that. Our grandfathers, who had fewer books, exercised greater discrimination in their choice of books. lam perfectly certain it is much better to read a few books slowly and really well than to fead a big number in a casual and slipshod fashion.”