February 6, 2011

Books in Motion #8

I usually watch readers on the subway from afar, taking note of appearances, accessories. I didn’t get a chance this time, because she was sitting right beside me on the Danforth Line and the first thing I noticed was that she was reading The Lacuna (by Barbara Kingsolver, who should have been on the cover of Time last year, remember? My best book of 2010?). Without even thinking, I said to her, “I love that book.” “I know,” she said, “isn’t it wonderful?” and I could hardly start staring then, taking notes on the cut of her trousers. She was reading it for her book club. I found the first 150 pages hard-going, I told her, but she said she was experiencing no such thing. I had to get off at the next stop, and by then we were friends, and wished her the best for the rest of her reading.