Blast from the academic past

When: Sunday 5/16/10, 12:30 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going toward Ashmont , between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Male, early 30s
What: The Bisexual Option by Fred Klein

I wrote a paper on this book in college! I went looking for a "primary source" on bisexuality and this was really all I could find in my college library. It was first published in 1978, and you can tell.

From the French

When: Sunday 5/16/10, 12:30 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going toward Ashmont , between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Female, 30s
What: The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

I didn't realize, until I looked this book up in WorldCat, that it had been translated from French. I always assumed it was British for some reason.

Going to catch up on posting...really

When: Saturday 5/15/10, 3:00 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going toward Braintree, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Female, 20s
What: Shadow of the Giant by Orson Scott Card

This woman took her book out of a Brookline Booksmith bag, one of my two favorite bookstores in the Greater Boston Area.

The Black Book on the Red Line

When: Saturday 4/3/10, 1:30 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going toward Braintree, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Male, 60s
What: The Black Book by M.A. Harris

WorldCat's synopsis: "Copiously illustrated scrap-book on folk culture of black people from early days of slavery through the present." Interesting.

The girl who smiled while reading

When: Saturday 4/3/10, 1:30 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going toward Braintree, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Female, 20s
What: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson

This book's second appearance. The woman reading it was smiling real big.

Possible sci-fi

When: Thursday 3/25/10, 5:30 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Braintree, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Male, 60s
What: The Hidden Family by Charles Stross

The subject headings for this book are pretty mundane (Women journalists - Fiction), but the publisher, Tor, usually publishes fantasy and science fiction. With no knowledge of the plot, I'll just classify it as fiction.

This qualifies as postmodern, right?

When: Thursday 8/20/09, around 6:15 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Braintree, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Female, 20s
What: Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith

I'm surprised this book hasn't made it on the blog before. If you haven't heard of it, you've probably been living under a rock somewhere.

First sighting of a prolific writer

When: Sunday 8/16/09, around 3:45 PM
Where:MBTA Red Line, going towards Alewife, between Park St. and Harvard
Who: Male, 50s
What: Longitudes and Attitudes: Exploring the World After September 11 by Thomas Friedman

Published in 2002...I wonder what the sequel will be like.

The reader was furiously underlining

When: Friday 7/31/09, sometime in the early afternoon
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Braintree, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Male, 30s
What: How God Changes Your Brain: Breakthrough Findings from a Leading Neuroscientist by Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman

I wish I could better separate the wheat from the chaff when it comes to this type of book. Book reviews, I guess.

Shakespeare - whoever he was

When: Friday 7/31/09, sometime in the early afternoon
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Braintree, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Male, 40s
What: Shakespeare: The World As Stage by Bill Bryson

From what I can tell, this is a biography of Shakespeare, about how difficult writing a biography of Shakespeare is. I've never read anything by Bill Bryson, though I see his books everywhere.

Otras lenguas!

When: Friday 7/31/09, sometime in the early afternoon
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Braintree, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Female, 20s
What: Las cinco personas que encontrarás en el cielo por Mitch Albom, translated by Mariano Antolín Rato

The first Spanish-language book to appear on this blog (I think), even if it's just a translation.

Got way too excited about this one

When: Friday 7/31/09, sometime in the early afternoon
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Braintree, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Female, 20s
What: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

This is one of my favorite books ever in life, and I am hoping that the movie adaptation coming out next week won't be too disappointing. This book profoundly affected me; cf. me crying at the trailer, just because I know what's going to happen.

Middle of a series

When: Wednesday 6/10/09, around 6:00 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Ashmont, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Male, 20s
What: Rabbit is Rich by John Updike

On a train packed with Red Sox fans going to the second game of a series with the Yankees. This book was massive; I can't imagine trying to read all the Rabbit novels.

Not "an" autobiography, but "the" autobiography

When: Thursday 5/28/09, 8:30 AM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Ashmont, between Harvard and Park St.
Who: Male, early 20s
What: Clapton: the Autobiography by Eric Clapton

This particular T ride was frustrating, because half the car was reading books, but the only book whose title I could see was this one.

Maybe a more modest financial goal is appropriate these days....

When: Monday 5/25/09, early afternoon
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Alewife, between Harvard and Davis
Who: Male, early 20s
What: I Will Teach You to be Rich by Ramit Sethi

The WorldCat summary: "Presents the author's six-week personal finance program for adults ages 20-35. Integrated with his website, where readers can use interactive charts, follow up on the latest information, and join the community, it is a hip blueprint to building wealth and financial security."

This is perhaps the only instance of "hip" modifying "blueprint" in the English language.

Political novel

When: Saturday 5/16/09, around 4:00 PM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going towards Alewife, between Downtown Crossing and Harvard
Who: Female, 40s
What: Supreme Courtship by Christopher Buckley

The novel about a TV judge who ends up on the Supreme Court, by the erstwhile National Review writer (see this October New York Times article). I recognized the title from when I saw him on The Daily Show (or maybe it was The Colbert Report).

Image from WorldCat.

Ubiquitous Salinger

When: Saturday 5/16/09, around noon
Where: MBTA Red Line, going toward Braintree, between Harvard and Broadway
Who: Female, 20s
What: Franny and Zooey by J.D. Salinger

Salinger keeps popping up lately (he was an answer on Jeopardy! the other day). I've never read this one...this blog is quickly becoming a list of books to read. I'll add it to the several others I keep.

First children's book of the blog

When: Saturday 5/16/09, around noon
Where: MBTA Red Line, going toward Braintree, between Harvard and Broadway
Who: Male, around 8 or 9
What: Dragon of the Red Dawn by Mary Pope Osborne

An installment of the Magic Tree House series.

Your book is passing by

When: Friday 5/8/09, 8:30 AM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going toward Braintree, between Harvard and South Station
Who: Female, 20s
What: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

I've heard an awful lot about this book; I might try to read it soon. The author used to (and might still) teach at MIT, which the train passed as we were going along. This kind of physical proximity of reader to author probably happens a lot in university towns.

Life change events -- Fiction.

When: Friday 5/8/09, 8:30 AM
Where: MBTA Red Line, going toward Braintree, between Harvard and South Station
Who: Female, early 40s
What: The Shack by William Paul Young

Another great subject heading.