The person just beginning to bring some discipline to his or her life as a reader need not be ashamed at reading non-masterpieces, or at only being able to focus on reading a few pages at a time. Let that person, then, begin with short stories or essays and work toward longer works that demand extensive attention. Indeed, it’s vital as a reader to move forward in an orderly way (ordinate procedere debet): “the man who moves along step by step is the man who moves along best, not like some who fall head over heels when they wish to make a great leap ahead.”
