I don’t know what it was that made me buy this old 1921 book at my local library’s dollar shelf, but I’m glad that I did. It was an easy read, taking just a short time but a few of the references went over my head…or should I say beyond my age! The book tells the story of how many “readers,” those old books used to teach students back in the day, were not very interesting to the student and that those old dime novels would have been a better choice. It is an old tale, of students not wanting to read their assignments but rather read those thrilling tales of characters like Old Cap Collier, Tombstone Dick, Kit Carson or Mustang Sam! I was the same way in my youth reading Spider-Man and Fantastic Four comics rather than A Light in the Forest! Although I do not know most of the characters mention in the book I got the idea and I could relate to it. If you were ever young and remember those days when a dime novel (or a comic book) could take you away, this may be a fun book to help you remember the past. One thing that I did find interesting was that although that this book is meant to be humorous I found that it could be very helpful for new and struggling authors, because it give a very good definition of how books can capture the readers attention and keep it! ( )