I’ve something of a confession… I’m always curious when I look over in an airplane and see someone reading a book or kindle or what-have-you… what are they reading? Sometimes, if it’s possible, I’ll look over and see if I can catch the cover. If they’re really into reading, I hate to interrupt them and ask. Sometimes I just ask them after the flight, while we’re all in that awkward moment while we wait to disembark, you know, when everyone has their stuff and are ready to leap into the aisle and make a dash for the door.
Some of my curiosity is just that, I’m naturally a curious person. Some comes from a desire to find new authors or interesting topics to read about. I think a good portion of it comes from just wanting to understand more about people. People, and what they read, are stories to themselves. The little old lady one row up who is reading Fifty Shades of Grey or the teenager across the aisle reading a calculus textbook. Those kinds of things fascinate me, because then my brain tries to put together a story about why these things happen.
What we read often defines who we are because it defines what we know. The books and stories we read are a profound statement about who we are and what we care about.
So then my question goes out to you… What’s the oddest thing you’ve ever read (in a public place)? What’s the oddest thing you’ve ever seen someone else reading?
Kal Spriggs 
Book: Agoraphobia for Dummies
Location: train platform
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I used to get all kinds of weird book to people pairings when I worked at Hastings. Creepy old fat man always special ordered magazines and books that had to be kept in the back room, couldn’t even be out at the desk.
I don’t get to read much myself, having two kids makes any book in my hands any where strange and unusual.
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This topic reminds me of my old buddy Mike Spagenberg who recently moved to N. Carolina. He was a book hoarder needless to say but his paradigm about that habit was simply driven curiosity. I was ranting to a friend of mine yesterday about a world that would allow people time to read at least one good book per week without the nuisance of daily life.
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Having time to read all those interesting books is of importance. For me right now, finding time to even write is a problem. It would be nice to live in a world where time wasn’t an issue. Then again, we wouldn’t have the drive, I think to go out and experience life, if that were the case. As far as working at a book shop, I’d bet you would see rather interesting book pairings. The weirdest book I’ve ever bought at a bookstore was one on Tarot cards, I’d say. I did have an interesting moment where someone broke my expectations when a nice older lady ahead of me in line at the movies bought a single ticket to Riddick. I love it when people make me rethink my assumptions.
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