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Show Present Reading Trend Influenced By War the world toward creation of a better society and the preservation of the spiritual quality in life, fiction fic-tion must take cognizance of these things or lose its public." According to reports from public pub-lic libraries of twenty-six cities, among which is Salt Lake City, the following are current library favorites: Fiction "The Keys of the Kingdom," King-dom," A. J. Cronin; "Saratoga Trunk," Edna Ferber; "Windswept," "Wind-swept," Mary Ellen Chase; "This Above All," Eric Knight; "How Green Was My Valley," Richard Llewellyn; "Marriage Is a Private Affair," Judith Kelly. Non-fiction "Berlin Diary," William L. Shirer; "Inside Latin America," John Gunther; "That Day Alone," Pierre Van Paassen; "Reville In Washington," Margaret Margar-et Leech; "Young Man of Caracas," Cara-cas," T. R. Ybarra; "Soap Behind the Ears," Cornelia O. Skinner. A four-engine bomber flying at 250 miles an hour consumes 350 gallons of gas every hour. i Changing Situations In World Today Have Marked Effect On Literature And The Reading Public By LOUISA ROWLAND Springville Librarian As life with its many phases responds to changing chang-ing situations, reading interests are sensitive to various var-ious influences and develop new channels. The influence influ-ence of war has had a decided effect upon the present demand in almost all libraries canvassed. can-vassed. This bears out the observation observa-tion of many librarians that a noticeable no-ticeable number of readers find special satisfaction in novels with a spiritual theme, in times of world depression or crisis." In a discussion on "Changing Moral Standards in Fiction," Margaret Mar-garet Culkin Banning makes this observation: "If realistic fiction is to hold its readers today, it must have as much of a moral pattern as has sound contemporary biography. bio-graphy. This implies' an adherence to no single rule of conduct nor to a definite set of morals. Fiction is not propaganda. But it does mean that in so far as there is effort in reading trends of the nation. A4 recent survey of the American Library Li-brary association reveals changes ' in the types of books being read. Altered conditions in employ- ment have increased an interest in books dealing with practical problems and information. Many , calls are made for material on de-: de-: fense industries. Books on tech-1 ;- nical subjects are also in demand. Particular interest is being shown in radio and aviation. Not only are j S there requests for aviation adven- i ture stories, but also for books on : the technique of flying, and con-1 1 struction and makes of flying ! craft. A great interest in career j s books has developed among the - younger readers, particularly in , stories about doctors and nurses. Serious thinking about world i conditions has created a desire for j something that will solve personal problems. People have been led to - wonder what will happen to them I as the war progresses, and are choosing books that give them an i insight into the schemes and plans j of the war lords. For this reason, ! perhaps, Shirer's "Berlin Diary" ; has been voted the most popular book of the year. There is no change in the desire of library readers for books that have been publicized through book clubs and movie adaptations. Books by local authors and of local interest in-terest have great popularity. Mau-rine Mau-rine Whipple's "Giant Joshua" has been of particular interest in this locality, as also are the western stories by Frank C. Robertson. Mysteries and westerns have always al-ways been popular, and the war has increased rather than decreased decreas-ed the interest in them. Before America's entry into the war fiction with war background was very popular, but since then the readers say: "If we are going to read about war we want facts; if we read fiction we want something some-thing cheerful and uplifting. Libraries Lib-raries in all parts agree that some best-sellers will not now move off the shelves because the plots hinge on espionage or conflict. Naturally, America's entry into the war has brought interest in the Negro soldiers and the help that they are giving and will give to the cause of freedom. This is drawing attention to certain writings writ-ings and folk culture of the Negro as evidenced by interest in Langs-1 Langs-1 .. ton Hughes' book of poems, "Shakespeare In Harlem." Books on Latin America and Mexico are coming to the front. Librarians were asked what trends of fiction tastes are conspicuous con-spicuous when compared with those of the last ten years. Most libraries reported that historical fiction was by far the most popular. popu-lar. Novels with American history background were particularly in demand in every region of the nation. na-tion. Sophisticated sex novels treating of triangles, vicious circles cir-cles and smart decadence are not the sure-fire successes they were ten years ago. Americans also seem to have lost their taste for proletarian fiction. There is a tendency toward spiritual spir-itual themes in literature. No current cur-rent novel has touched the record established by Cronin's "Keys of the Kingdom," which is in steady |