Let it be known that if you live in New York, then we’re spying on what you read during your commute — and no, that free issue of AM NEW YORK doesn’t count. This morning quick reads, mysteries, and best sellers conspicuously dominated the picks of those on the 1 train that shuttles us down the west side to Flavorpill each day.
JOHN GRISHAM’s THE FIRM and ELIZABETH GILBERT’s EAT, PRAY, LOVE weren’t too much of a surprise. And, of course, STEPHANIE MEYER’s TWILIGHT — if you watch for it you’ll see one of Meyer’s novels around every corner.
Apparently, everyone is waiting with bated breath to find out if the mortal and the vampire will ever get it on. We got off the train, walked a block to work, walked toward the elevator, pressed the button and looked up only to see the same Twilight fan standing ahead of us, with thick paperback still in hand.
PAULO COELHO’s VERONIKA DECIDES TO DIE and SOMEDAY THIS PAIN WILL BE USEFUL rounded out fiction for the week.
The best recommendation was MICHAEL CHABON’s THE YIDDISH POLICEMEN’S UNION, which was devoured by the man sitting beside me all the way from 168th Street to Christopher St-Sheridan Square.
JAMES HOLLIS’s WHY GOOD PEOPLE DO BAD THINGS:UNDERSTANDING OUR DARKER SELVES threw a little self-help in the mix.
And finally, the soul of the nostalgic English major was brightened by the one classic…huge, hardcover, dust-jacketed…CAMBRIDGE’S COMPLETE WORKS OF SHAKESPEARE, read by a black-haired, brooding undergraduate flipping back and forth between the drama and the endnotes.
– Angelina Venezia