Eclectic reading materials for CTA riders
It's time for another installment of "Who's Reading What on the CTA." These observations were made over the last two weeks. And what's real interesting to me is that I haven't seen two people reading the same book. The ages listed are approximate. Women outnumbered men again. The guys were too busy completing their NCAA brackets.
Black and White and Jewish, by Rebecca Walker, by a 35-year-old woman.
The Marx Brothers Encyclopedia, Glenn Mitchell, 55-year-old man.
Living History, Hillary Rodham Clinton, woman, 45.
The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, 30-year-old guy.
The Pilot's Wife, Anite Shreve, 30-year-old gal.
Angels and Demons, Dan Brown, 50-year-old man.
We, the Alien: An Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, Paul Bohannon, 22-year-old woman, reading the chapter titled "Man and Woman, Sex and Babies."
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Ron Jenkins, read by a 55-year-old woman who was the first double-fisted reader I encountered in my journeys. Before the end of her ride she pulled out Sondheim Enlarged and Updated.
An Ox-Bow Incident, Walter Van Tilburg Clark, read by a 40-ish man. This also is the newest selection for Chicago's “One Book, One Chicago” program.
Cold Mountain, Charles Frazier, 30-year-old man.
Blowout, Catherine Coulter, 30-ish woman.
House of Mirth, Edith Wharton, 25-year-old woman.
The Columnist, Jeffrey Frank, 35-year-old woman.
And finally, just to show there really are some sensitive guys out there: Baby Signs, Linda Acredolo, read by a 30-ish guy.
the other day I noticed that the woman sitting next to me was reading Devil In The White City. The woman sitting across from me was reading The Devil Wears Prada.
I, however, was not reading anything with "Devil" in the title.
Posted by: skot | March 18, 2005 at 09:04 AM
At least it looks like the masses are beyond the DaVinci Code and Devil in White City. Yikes, for about a year that seem to be the only book being read. In fact I still refer to the 77 Belmont Bus as "The DaVinci Crowd" because when it would pull up in front of the Belmont L stop more than half of the yups would be clutching their copy. I've never read it as I'm sure it's awful if that many people read it. Probably like "Friends" with text. Yuk. I read Devil (it was a gift) and it was pretty mediocre.
Posted by: patrick | March 18, 2005 at 04:29 PM
I read The Devil and the White City and I thought it was naff as well. I still see a fair number of people reading both The Da Vinci Code and The Devil on the red line.
Posted by: Jennifer | March 18, 2005 at 05:26 PM
I've been reading "The Brother's Karamazov" for the past few weeks and I was hoping I'd make the list. I wish I'd catch more people reading stuff like that. I always talk trash to friends who read books like Da Vinci code. But then I pretend to be glad they are just reading anything. Viva los autores Rusos. I'm a 23 year old guy, for the record.
Posted by: Ricardo | March 20, 2005 at 06:28 AM
Am I the only one here who has ever pulled a book out just to try to get their mack on? I've done it, and it pseudo-worked -- about six years ago on a weekend daytime Red Line there was a nice little new wave gal standing near me, so I pulled out my beat-to-shit copy of Owen Meany (I was rereading it, yo) and she beamed at me and was all "I love that book!" I was too inept to turn our shared love of John Irving into anything beyond a "yeah, he's great," (because I had to get off to catch a Metra train) but it was nice to know the book possessed the power of semi-introduction....
And I'm glad to see someone else reading The Columnist. It's Tim Russert's life story!
Posted by: Steve | March 21, 2005 at 04:17 PM
I think I may have been the one reading The House of Mirth! Wow, I feel like a celebrity. It's a great book if anyone is interested.
Posted by: Kimberli | May 09, 2005 at 11:36 AM
Hate to admit it, if I see someone reading a great book that I'm attracted to, I do compliment her as a way to start a conversation. CTA is not the greatest place to be using as a meat market.
Posted by: Bill Quigley | May 09, 2005 at 12:01 PM
Am I the only one tired of seeing so many people reading either "Chicken Soup" books, or books by Zane? I have a dislike for fads...
Posted by: rexblade | July 28, 2005 at 04:06 PM
Noticed a young woman reading the "Marx/Engels Reader" on the Blue Line from Forest Park on Saturday.
Posted by: Sredni Vashtar | September 19, 2005 at 11:50 AM