People Reading

Thanks for visiting

I had been posting on Mondays 10am Pacific Time, but with Covid-19, I have slowed things down. For a while I was on lockdown in San Francisco and interviewed a few people from six + feet away. Now, I am in Taiwan, where I am learning how to say, "Can I take your picture for my reading blog?" I hope to continue posting pictures. Check back from time to time for new content.

As a result of the Black Lives Matter movement, I am more aware that this blog is filled with few black and brown people reading. I am (or was) a privileged white person living in San Francisco. According to Wikipedia, San Francisco's makeup is: Whites 48.1%, Asians 33.3%, African Americans 6.1%, Native Americans 0.5%, Pacific Islanders 0.4%, other races 6.6%, two or more races 4.7%, Hispanics or Latinos of any race 15.1%. When I return to San Francisco, I hope to interview more people that look different than me.

What I'm reading

What I'm reading

From January 2014 to most recent: lots of New Yorker fiction that I caught up on – I especially loved The Christmas Miracle, by Rebecca Curtis; Life of Pi, by Yann Martel; The Help, by Kathryn Stockett; The Heart of a Dog, by Mikhail Bulgakov; Haruki Murakami's 1Q84; Bel Canto and The Magician's Assistant, by Ann Patchett; the choreographer Twyla Tharp's The Creative Habit (intermittently); The Remains of the Day and The Unconsoled, by Kazuo Ishiguro; State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett; The Mystic Masseur, by the British/Trinidadian author, V.S. Naipaul; Never Let Me Go, by Kazuo Ishiguro; Sula, by Toni Morrison; two Swedish crime novels I read (in English) while in Sweden: Nephilim, by Åsa Schwarz & Killer's Art, by Mari Jungstedt; The Orphan Master's Son, by Adam Johnson; Swamplandia!, by Karen Russell, which my sister and friend, Colleen, recommended; Run, by Ann Patchett; When We Were Orphans, by Kazuo Ishiguro; The Complete Idiot’s Guide to World History, by Timothy C. Hall; The Sparrow, by Mary Doria Russell (only half because the ebook I was reading expired- but it was a re-read); The Circle, by Dave Eggers; Our Hotel In Bali: How two young Americans made a dream come true by opening one of the first Balinese tourist hotels on Kuta Beach in the 1930s, by Louise Koke (which I got from the Cannes free library on the beach, Pages à la plage); Jaffrey's World Vegetarian, by Madhur Jaffrey (from cover to cover - I was craving a kitchen, while traveling); Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage, by Haruki Murakami; The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt; The Corsican Caper, by Peter Mayle (on audio book); Catch-22, by Joseph Heller (on audio book); The Secret History, by Donna Tartt. (Starting a new year, 2015) Confessions of a Shopaholic, by Sophie Kinsella; Shaking out the Dead, by K.M. Cholewa; The Elegance of the Hedgehog, by Muriel Barbery; English teaching text books and New Yorker fiction; Divergent and Insurgent, by Veronica Roth; The Wolf Gift, by Anne Rice; and My Struggle, by Karl Ove Knausgård. --- I've been lazy for a long time about posting the books I've read lately. I'm not going to go back in time, but today (Feb 5, 2017) I just finished listening to Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett. Right before that I was on a Kim Stanley Robinson audio book kick and listened to Aurora and Shaman.

Blogger Template by Blogcrowds

November 17, 2021, Wednesday afternoon -- Reading Jiang Zongfan

I spotted this reader on my way to the university and was thrilled that not only did I have enough time to talk to her and not be late for class, but also that she said yes! In the past few weeks since I have been actively looking for readers to talk to again, I have been turned down three times. It felt so nice to get a yes. She even took her mask off for me for the photo.

The book is Apocalpyse 1: Signal of Doomsday, by Jiang Zongfan. In Chinese, if I wrote it out correctly, it is 末世訊號天啟. She said the book is about high school students....and of course, the Apocalypse.

October 29, 2021, Friday afternoon

In Da'an Forest Park, a stone's throw from a pond, on a pleasantly cloudy day, reading a publication about the social responsibilities of a university that is not far from the Taipei zoo.

Taipei, Taiwan

October 16, 2021, Saturday afternoon - Reading Virginia Woolf and Kyoko Fukuchi

They picked books that had ocean themes to take to the beach. Hers is set in Japan around a fish market and his is set in Scottland...different seas, but the water they look out upon when they glance up from the page is all connected.

October 10, 2021, Sunday evening

In New Taipei City, Taiwan

At the 7-11 en route to the canal I like to walk along, I spotted this reader.

A few days ago my Taiwanese friend, whose name is also Sonia !!!, helped me make a card that I could show readers explaining my project. This was the first person I showed the card to. I am interested in seeing how readers in Taiwan will respond to my project. This reader was totally fine with being photographed, which felt great.

March 7, 2021, Sunday afternoon

In Taichung on the grounds of the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts. I photographed these readers months ago and, because I was busy with work and other things. They were so nice and spoke English to me. Don't ask me what the translated titles of the books are, though....

October, 23, 2020, Friday afternoon -- Reading a book in Chinese

New Taipei City, Taiwan

I have been in Taiwan since the end of August. I see lots of people reading books everywhere. On my walk to school I saw this reader and kept walking because I don't speak Chinese yet....but then I realized that if I want to continue posting for my blog I would eventually have to start talking to people again. My blog is about my meditation on the importance of books, and how much readers appreciate them and this man, having his lunch and reading, seemingly in a serene moment of a busy day, touched me, so I turned around and went back and see if the reader spoke English. He spoke English enough for me to get permission to post his picture on my blog, but I couldn't understand what his book was about.

August 5, 2020, Wednesday afternoon -- Reading Geoff Dyer

At the edge of the park

He is reading Out of Sheer Rage: Wrestling with D. H. Lawrence, by Geoff Dyer. The book makes him happy. It's funny and it cheers him up. This is not his first time reading it.

Geoff Dyer is one of his favorite authors. He also likes Thomas Bernhard, Milan Kundera, Michel Houellebecq, and Vladimir Nabokov.

He is Austrian and reads in Spanish, German, and English. When he reads in Spanish he reads slower than in English and German. Some of his favorite authors to read in Spanish are Roberto Bolaño and Jorge Luis Borges.

He asked me why I started doing the blog and I told him that 14 years ago I was working on a novel that I never finished. He told him that this book he's reading right now -- Out of Sheer Rage -- is perfect for me, because it's about an author who wants to write something, but just moves and moves from one place to another, like Rome where it's too hot to write, and doesn't do it.

August 2, 2020, Sunday evening -- Reading Apartamento

In a park I had never been to before (Covid lockdown has opened up so many new things in my world -- my friends and I were looking for a park that wouldn't be too busy to eat takeout in)

He is reading Apartamento, a Spanish design magazine, though he said that he usually reads books. One of his favorite authors is J.G. Ballard, who writes speculative fiction. His favorite books of J.G. Ballard are The Drowned World, a post-apocalyptic novel, and Vermilion Sands, a short story collection. He said that the author is obsessed with suburbs.

Something good he read recently was A More Beautiful Question, by Warren Berger.

July 31, 2020, Friday afternoon -- Reading Paolo Bacigalupi

On a warm afternoon

He is reading by Paolo Bacigulupi. It was recommended by a friend.

Something good he read recently was Seveneves, by Neal Stephenson.

June 29, 2020, Monday afternoon -- Reading Michelle Obama

On a beautiful afternoon

She is reading Becoming, by Michelle Obama. She's really enjoying it. Recently she read Beach Read (the actual title) and said it was the opposite of good.

I am a little envious of her chair. I think I might read in the park if I had a chair like that.

June 27, 2020, Saturday morning -- Reading Eduardo Galeano

At a Mexican restaurant in the Mission District - chips and salsa al fresco, and a book!

She is reading Voices of Time: A Life in Stories, by Eduardo Galeano, a Uruguayan writer.

Some of her favorite authors are Carson McCullers, Joyce Carol Oates, and Isabel Allende.

She told me about a bookstore/café shop on 3rd Street called Word that I've never been to before. Their website says they're closed until July 17th, but it looks like a great place.

I used to love going to this restaurant because it's decorated so festively. It makes me happy seeing the chairs and tables on the street every time I walk past.

May 9, 2020, Saturday morning -- Reading Carmen Maria Machado

Standing in a socially distanced line for the grocery store

He is reading Her Body and Other Parties, by Carmen Maria Machado.

Off the top of his head his favorite author is Tom Robbins.

April 29, 2020, Wednesday morning -- Reading Torcuato Luca De Tena

Sitting outside a cafe

He is reading Los Renglones Torcidos de Dios, by Torcuato Luca De Tena. The title translates into God's Crooked Lines. It's about a detective in a mental hospital.

His favorite book is Marina, in Spanish, by Carlos Ruiz Zafón.

March 30, 2020, Monday morning -- Reading Ta-Nehisi Coates

I won't be interviewing readers while we are socially distancing.

I have taken a lot of pleasure in books during this time. Right now I am listening to the audio book The Water Dancer, by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It's a surrealist book set in the United States before the Civil War. It's a completely different world than the world we live in right now.

I listen while I walk around my neighborhood and cross and re-cross the street to maintain distance between walkers, joggers, cyclists, and homeless encampments. I feel fortunate to have shelter while we shelter in place, and plenty of soap and water to wash my hands with.

I also listen to my book while I walk up and down my backstops for exercise, so that I can be in good enough shape to walk up to the teachers room on the 10th floor when I return to work.

I wish you strength, health, and peace, and lots of good books.

March 12, 2020, Thursday afternoon -- Reading Jay Kirk

At a cafe in the financial district

She is reading Kingdom Under Glass: A Tale of Obsession, Adventure, and One Man's Quest to Preserve the World's Great Animals, by Jay Kirk. The book is research for a horror story she is writing about a real human skull being found in a taxidermy exhibit at a museum.

Something good she read recently was the Sun Down Motel, a suspense novel by Simone St. James.

March 7, 2020, Saturday evening -- Reading Tara Westover

In the window of a café

He is reading Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover. It was recommended by his family and he borrowed it from his roommate. He said it's good, and he's almost finished.

Something else he liked was The Hard Thing About Hard Things: Building a Business When There Are No Easy Answers, by Ben Horowitz.

March 1, 2020, Sunday afternoon --Reading Alice Bag and a report from the Congressional Budge Office

At Dolores Park on a beautiful sunny day, still no rain the day after the driest February since 1864....I guess we really need the moisture, but it was really nice to have a sunny day in the park

He is reading Violence Girl: East L.A. Rage to Hollywood Stage, a Chicana Punk Story, by Alice Bag. He picked it up at Dogeared Books, because he's into that kind of music. Recently he read and enjoyed Drown, a short story collection by the Dominican-American author, Junot Díaz.

She is reading Effects of a Carbon Tax on the Economy and the Environment, a report by the Congressional Budget Office. She has to write a review about it for a class she's taking. The report, she feels, is not for the layperson. As a college student she finds the reading difficult. She thinks that because the information is so important, the writing should be more accessible. The message is basically this: the world is going to keep going downhill unless we make changes. Recently she read, and really liked, Solo, Solita: Crossing Borders with Youth Refugees from Central America, edited by Steven Meyers and Jonathan Freedman, and White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism, by Robin Diangelo.

March 1, 2020, Sunday afternoon -- Reading a book edited by Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang

At Dolores Park on an amazingly sunny day

He is reading Two-Spirit People: Native American Gender Identity, Sexuality, and Spirituality, edited by Sue-Ellen Jacobs, Wesley Thomas, and Sabine Lang. He is giving a presentation at a festival and is reading this to prepare. The festival is the Weaving Spirts Festival, which explores diversity in Native People and as their website says, "decolonizing sexuality, performance, and language."

One of his favorite authors is Marlon Riggs, who was a poet, an educator, a filmmaker, and a gay rights activist.

February 22, 2020, Saturday afternoon -- Reading Koushun Takami

In Japantown Center, where he just bought this book

He is reading Battle Royale, by Koushun Takami. He was supposed to have finished reading it in the 8th grade for a project, but only got half way through. Now he's a freshman and he's determined to finish it. The book has about 650 pages.

He doesn't have a favorite author, but does like J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan, who he said writes stories for teens about Greek mythology.

Lately he's been reading a lot of mangas, like the Tokyo Ghoul series by Sui Ishida and My Hero Academia, by Kōhei Horikoshi.

After he finishes Battle Royale he's planning to read Animal Farm, by George Orwell, which his younger brother recommended.

February 14, 2020, Friday morning -- Reading David Quammen

In the Castro neighborhood

She is reading Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, by David Quammen. She started reading it even before the Coronavirus hit the news. She's a biology student.

Her favorite author - this question stumped her for a moment and then she decided Gabriel García Márquez.

Something good she read recently was The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho. She read it in Spanish and it was the first book that she's ever read entirely in Spanish.

Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

I started this blog in 2006 as an exploration of literary San Francisco and daily affirmation that people still read. I was working on a novel and needed encouragement.

After interviewing over 1,200 readers, I've discovered the beauty and rarity of a given book being read at a given time, instead of, say, packed away in a box somewhere. I've also discovered that I've not only been chronicling the popularity of books, but also the diversity of individuals. What goes on inside our minds is evidenced by and influenced by what we are reading, have read, and the inner dialogs we have with authors.

In 2007, I took a Greyhound bus trip to all the lower-48 states and took photos of readers in each of them: DogEaredUSA. Following that, about a year later, I spent 48-hours in Oahu photographing readers. I found about 46: Readers in Oahu.

The pictures to your left are taken in San Francisco, unless I say otherwise.

I get rejected about 20% of the time and I respect the privacy of people who do not want to be on this site.

I invite you to search the blog (see upper left corner) for your favorite books so you can see who else likes to read what you do. It always makes me happy when I interview completely different looking people who have the same favorite books.

Please let me know if I've made a mistake or if you have something to add. You can also email me directly at sonya.worthy@gmail.com.