書籍到了我的手里,我的習慣是先看序文,次看目錄。頁數不多的往往立刻通讀,篇幅大的,只把正文任擇一二章節略加翻閱,就插在書架上。除小說外,我少有全體讀完的大部的書,只憑了購入當時的記憶,知道某冊書是何種性質,其中大概有些什么可取的材料而已,什么書在什么時候再去讀再去翻,連我自己也無把握,完全要看一個時期一個時期的興趣。
As soon as a new book comes to my hand. I always read the preface first and then the table of contents. If it happens to be a thin one, I often finish reading it at one sitting. Otherwise. I often browse through one or two chapters or sections before putting it onto my bookshelf. I seldom read a thick book from cover to cover unless it is a novel. By dint of the first impression it made on me at the time of buying. I have a rough idea of what the book is about and what useful materials in it are available to me. But I have little idea which book is to be read or looked over again at what time. It is completely subject to the whims of the moment.