How to Use This Book

When I was in grade school, I don’t think a year went by that our teacher didn’t show us how to handle our new books. Open the book once in the center and then open the first quarter and the last quarter, each time gently creasing the spine. Never fold the pages or roll them so that they won’t lie flat. And be sure to read the words from the beginning to end, just as the author meant them to be read. A book, after all, is a Special Thing to Be Treasured. Here are a couple of thoughts:

• Break the spine first thing out. The pages lie flatter that way.

• When you have a question, look it up in the index. Feel free to shut the book and get on with your life when you’re done (though I do my best to snag you and make you read longer).

• If you’re just curious about what the book has to offer, skim the Table of Contents and read a few pages about a topic that interests you.

• If you want to learn everything the book has to offer in what I consider the optimum order, turn the page and start reading at your own pace.

• If you come across something important, don’t hesitate to fold the page, slap a sticky note on it, circle the text with a highlighter pen, or rip out the page and tack it to the wall.

• And when you’ve gleaned everything there is to glean, house-train your new puppy with the pages or use them for kindling. Or keep the book handy as a reference as questions arise.