Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Keep on pushing my love....

When: Monday, 1/25/10, 8:30 AM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Ashmont, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Male, 50s
What: Borderlines by Archer Mayor

Recording this book immediately put Madonna's "Borderline" into my head. Now I want it out.

Posthumous movie rights

When: Saturday, 1/23/10, 7:30 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Alewife, between Braintree and Harvard
Who: Female, 20s
What: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

This author is popping up everywhere; now two different film versions of his other book (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) are coming out. I just noticed in his authority record that he died in 2004. The books seem new; they must just have been translated into English recently.

Tilting at windmills

When: Saturday, 1/23/10, 3:00 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Braintree, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Female, 30s
What: Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes

I believe this is the second Spanish-language book sighting for the blog.

Monday, March 1, 2010

First Kindle sighting

When: Wednesday, 1/20/10, 6:00 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Alewife, between Park St. and Harvard
Who: Female, 20s
What: The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe (Kindle version)

I didn't think I'd ever post an e-reader sighting, because you can't tell what people are reading on them, but I caught a glimpse over this woman's shoulder. I am very ambivalent about e-readers, and especially about the Kindle, which doesn't actually allow you to "own" any of its books.

Omnivores!

When: Wednesday, 1/20/10, 6:00 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Alewife, between Park St. and Harvard
Who: Female, early 40s
What: The Omnivore's Dilemma by Michael Pollan

This book is both omnivorous and omnipresent. I'm surprised I haven't recorded a sighting of it before.

Junior slump

When: Wednesday, 1/20/10, 6:00 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Alewife, between Park St. and Harvard
Who: Female, 20s
What: The Hour I First Believed by Wally Lamb

The WorldCat reviewers on this one are largely disappointed with this book as compared to Lamb's other novels. That's too bad - She's Come Undone had a big impact on me when I first read it. I must have been about thirteen.

Queens, not senators

When: Tuesday, 1/19/10, 4:15 PM
Where: MBTA 73 bus, inbound from Waverley Square
Who: Female, early 50s
What: Time and Chance by Sharon Kay Penman

Apparently this is the sequel to a book I really liked in high school, The Queen's Man. They're both about Eleanor of Aquitaine, a woman in power. Unfortunately, I spotted this on my way to vote in the Massachusetts special election, which did not result in a woman in power, but instead Scott Brown.