Summary

In Chapter I, “A Silly Business,” the narrator once took books with them to “the grass by the tree” (1). They took “tons of books,” bringing them down “one at a time” (1). They got in the habit of visiting the library and taking out books. No matter the books they had gotten, they were always curious about the words “inside the other books” (2).

If they only took out one book, people insisted they should take more. However, the narrator was good at sitting with books without opening them. This could be edifying, too (3).

When the narrator reads, their eyes gravitate towards the left page. The words on the left seem more compelling. They read the last “sentences on the right page hurriedly,” so as to get to the left page again (5). “Turning the page” is like turning “over a new leaf” (6). One...