Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Mass Transit Culture

One of the unintended consequences about a really good mass transit system, like the T in Boston, is that almost everyone who uses it becomes a reader. We snagged the above photo off the web because we didn't think to bring a camera with us today, but it sort of illustrates the point. Take it from us, though: in every subway and commuter train car we rode in today, eight out ten passengers had a full-length book with them. The moment they entered and selected a seat, they opened the book and resumed reading.

One serious-looking woman in a corner wasn't reading. She was writing in a spiral notebook the entire time. We asked her what she was working on and she replied, "My novel."

It seems she gets in two pages in the morning on the way to work, and two more at night on the way home.

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