Photo by Flickr user Heather
The New York Times had a great story yesterday on the joy of reading in the subway. The story details the reading habits of New Yorkers on the subway, from students studying the Talmud to an aspiring actor reading Arthur Miller. The Times also took a poll of what people are reading on the subway – so far the most popular magazines are The New Yorker, New York Magazine, and The Economist; the top novels are The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Infinite Jest, and The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (See more poll results here).
A few weeks ago we ran a photo gallery of people reading on Muni and got some pretty interesting responses — Twilight, How To Be Useful, and the Examiner were some items we spotted in the mix. What are YOU reading on the bus?
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Reading the Ninth Circuit’s opinion on Al-Kidd vs. Ashcroft. It’s not Stephen King, but it’s just as scary.
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I’m still on last week’s Economist and The Windup Bird Chronicle (almost done!!!). The Last of Her Kind by Sigrid Nunez is next, but Vintage Joan Didion is a contender.
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If I happen to have a newspaper, it’ll be the Chronicle or the NYTimes. Otherwise, I’m swapping back and forth between B&N’s Sherlock collection (vol. ii) and the Complete Idiot’s Guide to Learning Latin. :]
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i usually read the sf examiner or the graffiti ha ha
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I get dizzy when I read while in motion.
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eugenia Reply:
September 8th, 2009 at 9:59 am
I used to get dizzy too but somehow cured myself of it by reading on the bus consistently – I’m not sure I recommend my rogue method, though!
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Ebooks are the way to go. You can read whatever embarassing, awful crap you want (I’m not telling) and not be judged by your fellow riders.
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I don’t read very often on muni. I don’t like it when fellow riders try to turn the bus into a little book club. I usually crochet, which makes people ask me what I’m knitting, but I’m not knitting, I’m crocheting. Last week I crocheted a amigurumi Cthuthlu.
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eugenia Reply:
September 8th, 2009 at 10:02 am
I just looked up “amigurumi cthulhu” – that’s pretty cool, Andrea! I like the idea of turning the bus into a little bookclub, though. Much more peaceful than anything else…
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I still get motion sick on the bus, after all these years. I was the nerd who used to vomit in the bus aisle before we got to the drive through of the grammar school. I still can’t read so I listen to podcasts. My favorite are The New Yorker fiction, This American Life and PRI: Selected Shorts.
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back when i had reading-worthy commutes, i became fond of audible. i listened to all of “A Short History of Nearly Everything” by Bill Bryson, to this day one of my favorite books. the last book-book i read was “Cloud Atlas” by David Mitchell. where you read/listen to books is totally a part of your experience of them. i will always remember Muni and BART when i think about these books.
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I’m currently not reading anything on the bus, although I think I should. =\ Haven’t been in the mood to read lately! But, in the recent past I’ve been able to fly through a book per week with my 40-minute bus rides.
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