As I got to the bus back home a couple days ago, paid my ticket and got in, I couldn’t help but notice a girl at the second to last seat at the back of the bus. She was reading a book.
It was a long one, I couldn’t really read the title of it from where I was. All seats occupied, I was standing five or so seats away and the title was written in a cursive font that was not legible from afar.
She was reading the last twenty or so pages, by the art style of the cover, I assume it was some sort of romance YA novel, she seemed to be rather emotional about whatever was going on. I noticed the back and forth of her eyes as she was flying through every line, paragraph, and page.
After a couple minutes a seat freed up right in front of her, I glanced at her general direction, although she was so glued to the book to notice, although I wasn’t being obvious, I think. I still couldn’t make up what the title was, so I gave it up, sat down, rested my backpack on my lap, took my Kobo reader out, and continued my sci-fi novel.
I didn’t notice when she got down from the bus.
Sorry if you expected some sort of romantic twist, or any kind of interaction at all, oh well.
Anyway, that little event really made me think about books read in public.
Today, most people are looking at their phones, tiny screens, each person using different apps, social media platforms, or ad-ridden mobile games, and all of it is for the same thing, feeding from quick entertainment, slop and domapine, in the best case maybe having a chat with someone, although it’s usually a bubble—yes, Facebook Messenger here rules 🤢—left on a corner, replying when needed as one continues to consume.
So, I wonder how it would be if we just carried a book around instead?
Wouldn’t it be a sight to behold? Every person sitting at the bus, with a book on hand, or in ther pockets, reading something and engaging in a whole unique world for themselves. Some guy would be carrying one of those pocket-sized editions of some timeless classic, holding it at their eye level, another wouldn’t mind the full-sized 900 pages long romance novel, half-way hidden by the open bag its leaning on. Some other person would be standing, one hand firm on handle, the book held with the other in an awkward position, flipping a page with their some weird maneuver, the next guy just tapping on an e-ink device enjoying some sports manga.
Imagine, a never-ending book club, during lunch breaks, after the gym, or on a video-call, conversations sparking when two people notice they are reading the same one, heated discussions when the finale of a long-running series comes out at last. Best-sellers only lasting a few days as the fans catch up on them and the rest just borrow from their friends or libraries, which are fully functional buildings providing easy access to everyone in town, as ids aren’t needed, just pick what you want and leave it anytime, nobody really worries because there is plenty of supply for the demand.
Who needs “BookTok”, when your circle of friends will have suggestions and a backlog to share? when everyone is out there displaying their book cover as they read something?—instead of watching reels with monotone AI voices at full volume. Approaching people and making friends with shared interests would be much easier too!
I wonder if historians know of a period like this, a time where this was a common thing. I must admit I am completely unaware of a period where this was the case.
Did books ever get widely popular, as to be read in public or be carried around in pockets? I feel most people were too busy trying to get by with whatever working conditions there were at the time, and of course, knowing how to write or read was a privilege that not many people got to have for centuries.
If there’s something that I know, is that today we are more “connected” than ever before, and we have more access to information than any previous age, and more books widely available in both physical and digital format, and yet, it seems like books remain a niche, something rarely talked about in public, because you are seen as a snob or a geek when you mention it to someone, somehow.
In any case, just imagine that picture again, that bus, filled with people, wobbling their heads with their books on hand as the driver avoids the potholes on the roadway. The only noise inside? the fluttering of pages turning over, such a pleasant breeze.
Now that I think about it, some people can’t handle reading while on the move. I guess that’s how you can tell it’s just a dream.
It would be nice though.
