Tuesday 26th of September 1922

"We agreed (VW and T S Eliot) that people are now afraid of the English language. He said it came of being bookish, but not reading books enough. One should read all styles thoroughly."

Two great points here: (which merely means that I agree with them!!)

1. There is a tendency in some academic circles to read books about a book instead of reading the book itself. The book should always be the primary source.

2. Reading eclectically through literary genres exposes us to a wide swathe of the English language. It also allows us to consider why we like some works and not others. The analysis of the question, "Why don't I like this book? (painting, film etc) can be very fruitful.