He [Dr. Johnson] said, that for general improvement, a man should read
whatever his immediate inclination prompts him to; though, to be sure,
if a man has a science to learn, he must regularly and resolutely
advance. He added, 'what we read with inclination makes a much stronger
impression. If we read without inclination, half the mind is employed in
fixing the attention; so there is but one half to be employed on what
we read.' He told us, he read Fielding's _Amelia_ through without
stopping. He said, 'If a man begins to read in the middle of a book, and
feels an inclination to go on, let him not quit it, to go to the
beginning. He may perhaps not feel again the inclination.'
Dr. Johnson advised me to-day, to have as many books about me as I
could; that I might read upon any subject upon which I had a desire for
instruction at the time. 'What you read _then_ (said he) you will
remember; but if you have not a book immediately ready, and the subject
moulds in your mind, it is a chance if you again have a desire to study
it.' He added, 'If a man never has an eager desire for instruction, he
should prescribe a task for himself. But it is better when a man reads
from immediate inclination.'
Another admonition of his was, never to go out without some little book
or other in the pocket. 'Much time,' added he, 'is lost by waiting, by
travelling, &c., and this may be prevented, by making use of every
possible opportunity for improvement.'--J. BOSWELL. _Life of Johnson._