For any of you who tend to read while surrounded by strangers, i.e. on public transportation:
A) How often, if ever, do you get comments or questions from strangers about what you're reading?
B) Would most of your reading material generally be categorized as adult, or as children's and/or young adult? (Bonus question: Are you generally categorized as an adult, an adolescent, or a child?)
C) Do you have an e-reader?
I ask because it's been brought to my attention that A is more dependent on B than I thought. (I've added C because I'm sure it plays a role, though I personally find that seeing an e-reader makes me curious about what someone's reading.) In a bookstore and in many of the other book-centric environments where I've spent time, it's not terribly unusual to jump into someone's conversation about a book. So I didn't think it was that strange when the passenger next to me remarked, in an ostensibly friendly way, on how few words The One and Only Ivan had per page. Another non-cover-based conversation about the open copy of Jake and Lily on my lap ended nonsensically with, "At least it's not a bad Shakespeare novel" (huh?), but still, friendly. The guy who wondered if I thought the war-centered Dear Blue Sky was "too jejune" clearly had a chip on his shoulder, so I shrugged him off mine. There was also a Fourth of July encounter based more on the fact that I was reading, but even I'll admit that that was a little unusual amidst that evening's revelry. And The Diviners is noticeably huge.
But I mentioned one or two of these stories to a few friends--also very frequent readers, also women around my age--and the response was that they've never had a similar encounter, or that it's happened once in five years in Boston. The above list of my own encounters comes from about the past six months. The only first-glance difference between the friends I questioned and myself? They primarily read adult books, and I'd say about eighty percent of my reading is kids' and YA books.
I'm not sure what to take from this obviously anecdotal observation. Are people just reacting to the incongruity of an adult reading children's books? Does my reading material make me seem more approachable? "Too jejune" guy aside, it hasn't seemed like my fellow passengers were trying to make themselves feel superior, but were they?
In any case, I'd be curious to hear what others have experienced.
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Hm. When I ate/read my lunch outside the library at Princeton, I got interrupted mainly for people asking directions to the libary (Princeton has an aversion to signs that would actually let you know what building you're staring at). And sometimes library folks who saw me reading everyday would comment on the fact that I read everyday, but they never seemed particularly interested in the content.
ReplyDeleteAs long as you and your friends don't experience anything like this.
Delete@fuzzybluemonkey, I've noticed that outdoor reading seems to get comments, too. I think people are jealous.
ReplyDelete@Johanna, holy crap! I'll admit it's occurred to me that some of my "what are you reading?" encounters might be meant as advances, but I've never felt even a little unsafe. That story's really scary.
A) How often, if ever, do you get comments or questions from strangers about what you're reading? - Not often, though I did have a long conversation on a train once with a man who settled with a book beside me, and we ended up discussing the Booker Prize shortlist.
ReplyDeleteBut - I often try to get a glimpse of titles when I see other people reading, and itch to comment about what fun it is reading in public!
B) Would most of your reading material generally be categorized as adult, or as children's and/or young adult? (Bonus question: Are you generally categorized as an adult, an adolescent, or a child?)
Mostly adult. (And, as I'm retired, I've reached the 'invisible woman' stage).
C) Do you have an e-reader?
Yes, but I generally use that when I'm travelling outside the UK. On local buses and trains, and in cafes I read books - I use the ereader to take more reading materials away with me than I can comfortably carry.
Will be interesting to learn if there are different public reading experiences in different countries?
@JO Interesting - I don't think I've ever gotten into a conversation with a fellow passenger who was also reading.
ReplyDeleteI'm curious about different countries as well - it seems like each public transit system forms its own culture, even city to city.