What is a reader? An anthology of texts put together because of a specific purpose, i.e., learning about a given topic (say “A reader on Sanskrit philosophy of language”) or gaining proficiency in a specific language (e.g., “A Vedic reader”). A reader is rarely a high scientific achievement, but it might be extremely useful for students and laypersons, hence I think it makes sense to give the genre some thoughts.

The last reader I used is Tamiḻ Matu, by Kausalya Hart, which is meant to be at the same time a historical anthology of Tamil literature and guide students in their learning of Tamil. It comprises a short text by K. Hart herself introducing a given period of Tamil literature and is followed by an excerpt of real Tamil literature of that time. After each text comes a glossary and a global glossary is repeated at the end of the book, together with some questions in Tamil about the content of each chapter. Apart from the short English equivalents given in the glossary, the book is entirely in Tamil. This has surely advantages, but if I were to write a reader, I would try to focus clearly on my readers. If my target readers are not proficient in the topic or in the language the reader is about, I will provide a TOC and all other auxiliary materials (e.g., index locorum) in English or in a language accessible to them (typically non-technical English). I would also:

• Provide a general glossary at the end of the book (not everyone would read the book in a short time and they might forget the words learnt in Unit 1 by the time they reach Unit 14). UPDATE: I would prepare both the general glossary and the glossaries of each chapter in alphabetic order and not in order of occurrence (I am grateful to Francesco for having pointed out this issue).

Next comes the nature of the reader. What does one exactly want to achieve through it? There might be multiple purposes, but one needs to be the main one. As much as you want to achieve them all, focus on one, or you will fail to achieve any.

1. If, for instance, one wants to primarily teach a language, one should be sure to start with the easiest texts and move towards the most complex ones. One might also decide to oversimplify concepts (say, just saying that Govinda, Kṛṣṇa and Nārāyaṇa are names of the same God).
2. If, by contrast, one wants to accompany intermediate students while they explore a given literature, one might prefer to go chronologically. (I really enjoy this type of readers, since they are an entertaining way to learn about the history of a given genre but can easily see why the first type is way more appealing to publishing houses).
3. Again, if one wants to primarily introduce students or laypersons to a fascinating field, one might want to proceed thematically (e.g. “devotional literature”, “commentaries”, “epic”) and explain as much as possible of the culture involved.

What about translations? They are extremely useful for self-study (including both working on one’s own or in a group where no one is ufficially the teacher) and can make a reader a useuful tool for the purposes 2 and 3 above. But where to put them? Again, if one’s purpose is 1, then translations should be found in a separate section of the book, otherwise one would be constantly tempted to check them too soon. If one wants to achieve primarily 2 or 3, then translations can be printed as parallel texts.

In sum: Choose one goal (e.g., teaching a language) and focus on it. You can have a subsidiary one (e.g., introducing readers to interesting topics within that language), but no more than one. Be straightforward about what you are doing in your introduction and tell your readers what they will find in your book and how you conceived it.

What do readers think? Which readers did you use and appreciate?