The old Greek testament and Eton Latin Grammar are both old writing, which suggests that Talboys has an affinity for just that, old literature. Lord Byron is a satirical poet, was known mainly for long narrative poems. He was also a pioneer to the Romantic movement. In one of his most well-known poems, Don Juan, Byron satirizes The Legend of Don Juan. In the original story, the main character is known as, for lack of better words, a womanizer. Byron reverses this role in his epic poem, creating the main character to be very susceptible to the seduction of women. Tom Jones, by Henry Fields, is an old comic novel. It begins with a very generous, wealthy man finding the main character on his property and taking him in. When he falls in love with the daughter of his neighbors, social classes create problems and conflict in their love, serving as satire of societal standards.
These particular reading selections indicate clearly Talboys is a reader who enjoys humor, but the fact that he reads satire suggests that he enjoys complex humor. Further, the degree to which romance played such a large role in Tom Jones especially is possibly indicative that is a romantic reader. His reading choices also seems to characterize him as very intellectual, especially in his possession of the old Greek testament and the Eton Latin Grammar. The Eton Latin Grammar is quite literally a book written for the purpose of education in the discipline of grammar, and the old Greek testament, a religious text. I believe it is quite unlikely for anyone who chooses to read about grammar to not be intellectual. The fact that he includes the old Greek testament in his reading choices also may suggest that he enjoys religious readings.