Literary greatness.

[davywavy]

One of the first things you learn about travelling on the tube in London is 'Don't make eye contact'. Instead of interacting with your fellow man as you cram yourself into the poxy little clockwork box that passes for a train, you find a patch of wall and fix your gaze on it and don't look at other people. This is because if you make eye contact with someone then they may want to talk to you, and one of the rules of life is that anyone wanting to talk on London public transport is always an escaped mental patient.

A good way of not making eye contact is to read, and this explains the rise of free newspapers and magazines which are given out morning and evening at tube stations. Some people actually read books, but their numbers are declining as the volume of free newsprint like Metro, London Lite and The London Paper rises.
One of these papers a while ago had a space-filling article on how we judge people by what we see them reading, and how flirtation on the tube can be born simply by impressing people by your reading matter. It contained lots of voxpops like this one:
Emily Guttersnipe, 19, said: "When I see someone reading sumfink on the tube, 'specially if it's sumfink dead interlekchewal like Dan Brahn, I'm dead impressed, like, an' fink 'I'd like me some of that, like.'"
Well, needless to say, if there's hot totty to be had just by changing my reading matter I'm interested so I ditched my copy of Five go to Kirrin Island and started carrying Les Miserables instead. Not that I actually read it - moving your lips and running your finger along each line is a dead giveaway.

On the train home last night I looked up from my copy of Goethe's Faust and saw that everyone else in the carriage was reading London Lite. I wonder why I bother.

What do you reckon - do you judge people (and become interested or dismiss them) on what you see them reading?

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

I understand you have read 'My vision of a Young Country' and judge you accordingly.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I read the warnings on bleach bottles too - but I'm not the one who's dumb enough to drink the contents.

[medusa-nw.livejournal.com]

I do, I'm a total snob. Despite actually having read 'The DaVinci Code', so somebody probably judged me like that as well. :-)

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Considering most of my reading material is "light", no. However, if I see someone read something I've either read or not yet read and think I might like, it might be an incentive to chat (if I had the courage).

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

'fraid so... couple of times I've seen someone and thought "ooh! yummy!" then noticed they've been reading something that I either loathed or couldn't see myself reading in a million years and it's completely destroyed any "ooh" value they might have had

also, if you look closely, there are a scary number of people on the tube reading the Bible or commentaries thereon.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I have found that reading the Bible in a public place is a dead-on guaranteed way to get some peace and quiet.

[(Anonymous)]

What about the Koran? Or is that a dead-on guaranteed way to get shot?

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Dunno - I haven't started reading that yet.

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

I should imagine that there might be Koran-spoilers in the Bible. Or maybe vice-versa? I think they might have copied each other in Religious Text Generation class

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Thus far I've only read the Old Testament, which is somewhat bonkers but I hear the sequel is much better.

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

depends on whether you like Gospels or Commandments I guess

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

The Old Testament was doing well right up until this bit:
Ezekiel 13:18-20
"Thus saith the Lord God, Woe to the women that sew pillows.... Behold, I am against your pillows."

[(Anonymous)]

Are pillowcases okay? I made three out of an old sheet a while ago

H

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

They aren't mentioned and there's another verse elsewhere in which the Lord speaks out again kercheifs, so I'm sure if He objected to pillowcases he'd've said. He's quite specific in His abominations.

[(Anonymous)]

phew

H

[thegreenman.livejournal.com]

It's all part of the general smiting biz in the OT isn't it?

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

I think The Lord was getting a bit smite-happy by that stage. "Egyptians..ka-pow! Philistines...ka-pow! Lot's wife..ka-pow!! Pillows! Hahahahahahaaa! Ka-Pow!! Hankies! Ker-blammo!"

[(Anonymous)]

g_godMode=1

It has a lot to answer for.

[flywingedmonkey.livejournal.com]

I do (if I see someone reading the Daily Mail I have to resist the urge to shove thier face into the window) but then I've been known to read FHM, Spider-Man comics and (*shudder*)Richard Dawkins books on public transport.

But, much like the gym, I don't see the place as a pick up joint and therefore don't give a fuck what they think.

JmC
Apparently not as sex obsessed as he thought

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

It had never really occurred to me that girls might be checking me out on the basis of whether I was reading Harry Potter or Baudelaire, but know I know...it's got to be worth a try, right?

[(Anonymous)]

What does Tegen de islamisering van onze cultuur: Nederlandse identiteit als fundament say about me then?

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Eh?

[gnommi.livejournal.com]

/agree

[medusa-nw.livejournal.com]

You support Geert Wilders? I'd stay well clear of you... ;-)

[(Anonymous)]

I'll stick with The Road to Serfdom then.

[flywingedmonkey.livejournal.com]

No. No, no, no.

That road leads to going to the gym, putting on designer gym gear and NOT EXCERCISING beyond slowing lifting weights up whilst eyeing up and pretty girls in the place. And those people amoung will be first for radiation blasts to the groin when I finally manage to graft bat wings onto my monkey army and conquer the world.

JmC
If you're not sweating FUCK OFF OUT OF MY GYM!!!!!

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

But...why else would enyone go to the gym?

[flywingedmonkey.livejournal.com]

You seek to anger me. It will not work.
JmC
He says through gritted teeth

[sea-cucumber.livejournal.com]

I used to purposely take weird books to read on the train to work when I was in London, (the Key of Solomon was a good one I seem to remember) just because seeing the reactions of people was interesting on an otherwise dull commute. Latin bibles are also fun, you get the people who know Latin scared because you're reading a Bible on the train (so you must be a religious nutcase), and you get the rest of your fellow passengers thinking 'ooo, someone reading a book in a weird language?'.

[davywavy.livejournal.com]

Either reading deliberately highbrow (sister has a book on Terraforming which is good for this) or lowbrow ('teen fiction' like Sweet Valley High is good) tends to get interesting reactions from people too.

[raggedyman.livejournal.com]

I can form opinions on them based on what they are reading but I don't think I accept or reject them based upon it. Another piece for the jigsaw but except in extreme instances (Mein Kampf, official Coldplay biography etc) I'd not make the decision based on it.

[fonnparr.livejournal.com]

Today's XKCD covers this very subject

http://xkcd.com/374/

Literary snobbery

[applez.livejournal.com]

What do you reckon - do you judge people (and become interested or dismiss them) on what you see them reading?

Yes, but at least as important is whether they are reading the source intently, with agreeing nods, dismissive laughter, or even barely-contained horror (as I myself expressed when reading DV's Code).

[applez.livejournal.com]

Or will they be clamouring for your...BRRAAAAAINS!? ;-)

[susanofstohelit.livejournal.com]

given that my commute involves driving my car, anytime I see someone reading during my commute I judge them negatively.

but I don't judge people on most things they read, although I draw the line at tawdry romance novels.