Metro Reads: Books spotted on local buses

Photo by Chasten FulbrightWe’re always interested in what people are reading: We’re the ones on buses craning our necks to get a look at book titles and authors. Perhaps you’re the one maneuvering the book cover at the perfect covert angle to make us really work for our noseyness. Or perhaps, like us, you also notice what others are reading. No judgments; no assumptions. Just curiosity.

Here are a few titles we spotted on Metro and Sound Transit buses around Seattle earlier this week:

What have you seen people reading on Metro buses recently?

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10 responses to “Metro Reads: Books spotted on local buses”

  1. bingo

    Five of these 23 books were on South End buses. There’s the nub of everything – the need for education, literacy, public libraries – right there.

    Half the black and latino kids still drop out of high school down there, and when they do they’re far enough behind that they might have a junior high level education by then.

    So where’s the list of books they’re reading in jail?

    Reply
  2. Paige

    I, too, am always interested to see what people are reading on the bus! What I’m really curious about, and alas can’t see, is what people are LISTENING to. Are they listening to music or, like me, are they listening to audio books? When I ride Metro I love to listen to historical fiction which really “transports” me to a different place. Recently I enjoyed “Course of Honor” by Lindsey Davis, which is set in ancient Rome. It is narrated by Caenis, a freed slave who is mistress to the Emperor Vespasian. (Davis is also the author of a number of mysteries set in ancient Rome.)

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  3. anon

    Love the idea of tracking books anonymously on the bus! I read my books on the Amazon Kindle e-book reader, so I usually have about 50 books with me. It’s a great conversation starter: first, what the device is, and second, what I’m reading on it now.

    Reply
  4. iride

    Reading is for me the best thing about time spent on the bus. These days i mostly commute by bike, and I’ve noticed that the fewer bus trips, the bigger the pile of books at home… if I ride the 66, I even have time for Sudoku or a crossowrd puzzle, but if I ride the 41, it’s gotta be something quick like magazines.

    Reply
  5. David

    Uh-oh. This spying on busses could get addictive. Last night on the 39 going home, I saw people reading ‘The Man in the High Castle,’ by Phillip K Dick, a tiny Bible (which may or may not have been in Spanish), some kind of test-prep or text book, a big coffee-table book about Tupac Shakur which looked really cool as it had all sorts of little notes and fold-ins you to look at, and something that looked like ’50 Things You Can Do (…to save the planet?’ …to save humanity?’ …to save yourself?’ Along those lines, anyway). Plus a couple of newspapers. In fact, one of the only people not reading was ME: I was too busy looking over other people’s shoulders!

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  6. Tina

    It is definitely interesting to see what others are reading. For six years I rode the 48 bus after school from UW to the Rainier area. I was always fascinated by how people were able to read their text books on the bus. I tried this myself and it takes major concentration!

    Yesterday I was on the 106 route going home and the woman sitting next to me was reading a work related document (total concentration). I tend to read light weight books on the bus. It’s already hard enough to concentrate with the bus bouncing around.

    Reply
  7. John

    Hey, I saw that Tupac book at the library the other day. It’s called
    Tupac Shakur legacy by Jamal Joseph. It is really cool!

    I also find myself looking at the titles people are reading, and if it is something I have read, I might let them know I enjoyed it too. Yes, I’m one of those nosey people on the bus!

    Reply
  8. rabbit

    I realized as a result of this post that I had very little idea of what people tend to read on my South End bus, so I started looking on purpose and realized why that is: Some people put home-made paper jackets on their books so you can’t see the cover, a lot read in languages I don’t know, and one the other day was reading a Kindle! That was the first time I’d seen one of those in person. (Maybe it was you, anon!)

    Reply
  9. Susan

    My northend bus is going peacefully zen. I’ve seen a lot of the various Eckhart Tolle titles lately. I’m always happy to have a good book on my digital player to listen to when I don’t get lucky enough to grab a seat. Keeps me peaceful, too! Though when I do get a seat, I’m most likely to be devouring the latest Entertainment Weekly. And I’m always scouring the ad banners for the bus poetry. I’m just not really enlightened enough to just stare into space during the ride as about half my fellow passengers seem to do. And don’t get me started about the cell phone users..

    Reply
  10. More bus reading | Bus Chick

    […] of ’07, I posted a random list of books I’d seen people reading on buses. These days, the librarians are keeping track (thanks for the link, Laurie and David). Here’s a taste of what they spotted: Chocolate […]

    Reply

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