Jonas looked at the books, but they were not interesting to read.

One was a dictionary.

He read the newspaper for some time, and then he took the lamp up, and began to look at some pictures of the prodigal son, which were hung up upon the wall over the mantel-piece.
Beyond the pictures were some advertisements.

One was for a farm for sale.

Jonas read the description, and he wished that he was old enough to buy a farm, and then he would go and look at that.
The next advertisement was about some machinery, which a man had invented; and the next was headed, in large letters, _Dog Lost._ This caught Jonas's attention immediately.