THE BOOK FOUR

We were reluctant to expose ourselves to the hostile element of Calendar’s readership, but the courage of Ruth E. Stout and Leo Ay has heartened us (Calendar Letters, May 12).

Yes, we are the other two readers of the Book Review, and we salute our fellow laborers in the lonely field. In fact, until Richard W. Quinn let it be known there are four readers (Calendar Letters, May 5), we thought we were the only ones.

Since we are not alone any longer, but are still so few, we do have a suggestion. Why not take the money for the paper you would use to print the other 1,346,339 copies of the Book Review and put it toward improvement? Reviewers could have the space they deserve for more thoughtful and diverting reviews, and you could buy them books before the first edition is remaindered. And, you could have each of the four copies delivered by courier to Stout, Ay and us.

Ultimately, the Book Review could be as big as Calendar. . . . Nah, we can’t imagine plowing through 28 pages of ads for Crown Books before getting to the articles.

DAN & KATE HAWKINS

Redlands