The Dominion SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1929. YOUTH AND THE READING HABIT

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 75, 21 December 1929, Page 10

The Dominion SATURDAY, DECEMBER 21, 1929. YOUTH AND THE READING HABIT

The end of the year brings a crisis in the li Y es , of New Zealand youth—those who are leaving school and breaking with formal education. To the “born readers” he rr disciplined study may not matter greatly.. They will 1 Rurally to books to fill a goodly part of their leisure These many who, in their youth, have no great ove of ready g. connect it with irksome study and derive little P le^ su J. a form of recreation. Thus they miss, a source o [J; ment and the greatest force in broadening the mind while helpin,, towards a true education. LnLit and An endeavour is worth making to form the read g , , to develop a taste for good literature among those leav s «i°o . The City Librarian is trying to assist by bringing the Public Lib j under their notice. Parents can help also, by introduc g children to the right sort of books. In the choosing of presents and prizes much can be done to stimulate interest. So often the reverse happens. From the highest motives the classics are frequently presented to the youn b —Scott, Dickens, Thackeray, and so on. These are connected, in the average juvenile mind, with Fourth Form English literature. They know the works of such authors are among the gems ot the 'language, they may even have derived a certain amount o pleasure from reading some of their works in class, but th‘Y not want them as recreation. No wonder Bernard Shaw the dav when his works will be read in schools! The question is what to recommend. Anything that smacks of school should be avoided except with the “born reader. Secon - raters in literature lead either up or down, but there aie scores o books which will eventually lead to a desire for the classics. 1 here are numerous modern writers of good English who make an instant appeal to the youthful as well as to the adult mind. , ( , . Most people have an inborn love of romance and adventure. English literature has a wealth of historical fiction which mai.es an almost universal appeal. ?imong present-day writers .ot this class of novel a few may be mentioned. Rafael Sabatini is the author of a long list of intriguing romances; D. K. Broster has written two excellent Jacobite tales in The Flight of the Heron ano The Gleam of the North, and a charming early nineteenth century romance in Mr. Rotvl; John Buchan, a master of vigorous English, is the writer of many stirring narratives; and Baroness Orczy s Scarlet Pimpernel books appeal as strongly as ever to the youthful mind. Stanley Weyman, Jefferv Farnol, and Agnes and Tigerton Castle have written some fine tales of eighteenth century and Regency England, in which adventure and comedy are pleasantly blended, while Mary Johnston, Winston Churchill, and Robert Chambers have given excellent pieftires of early American life. There are many such as these from whom to graduate to books like 7 he Three Musketeers and the other novels of Dumas. This will set inquiries going as to the other treasures of foreign languages and a background and a desire for deeper historical studies will be created. Most boys love a funny story, and there will be few who cannot appreciate the humour of Mark Twain in Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn. They would doubtless find equal amusement in the sea yarns of W. W. Jacobs. Stalky and Co. and Kim would serve to introduce them to the delights of Rudyard Kipling, whose work would awake in many a dormant love of poetry. John Masefield’s novels of adventure, Sard Harker and Odtaa— as thrilling as any “movie”—might bring the desire to read his verse also, so that a gradual introduction to all fields of literature would take place. Never has the reader been catered for better than to-day. There are volumes for all tastes. The fascinating accounts of little-known places for the would-be traveller who has to stay at home would make a strong appeal to the average boy with his love of adventure and exploration. There are studies of nature by such charming writers as W. H. Hudson and J. Henri Fabre —tales which fascinate while they inform. Books such as. these not only beguile the hours for the reader: they add to his store of knowledge of the world and its inhabitants, and allow him to continue his education throughout his life. The habit of reading is well worth cultivating.