People Reading

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.

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August 6, 2017, Sunday morning -- Reading Victor E. Frankl

Walking down a quiet street in the Mission District

He is reading Man's Search for Meaning, by Victor E. Frankl. The author describes his time in four different Nazi concentration camps, what it takes to survive, cope, and find meaning.

He enjoys reading books about psychology and plans on getting a Ph.D. in the subject. His favorite book is Discourses, which is the recorded teachings of the Greek philosopher, Epictetus, who was born around 50 A.D.

July 22, 2017, Saturday afternoon -- Reading a Chinese author

At a laundromat not far from San Francisco State University
I hadn't been in this neighborhood for a while because I no longer work at SFSU. Walking through the streets, I realized I missed how quiet and peaceful this part of town is.

He is reading a book written in Chinese. I asked him what the title was and he said that it would be difficult to translate it into English. I asked him what it was about and he said he didn't know yet. If anyone reading this blog speaks Chinese, and has read this book, maybe you could comment.

He doesn't have a favorite Chinese book, but his favorite books in English are the Harry Potter books, by J.K. Rowling. He read them when he first started reading in English. Lately, though, when he reads in English he reads about finance or psychology. In psychology he recently read a book about how to understand body language.

July 16, 2017, Sunday afternoon -- Reading Gary A. Haugen and Gregg Hunter

Near the Mesoamerican Cloud Forest, at Flower Piano, an event where pianos are scattered around the botanical gardens in Golden Gate Park and you can read while being accompanied by music

She is reading Terrify No More:Young Girls Held Captive and the Daring Undercover Operation to Win Their Freedom, by Gary A. Haugen, with Gregg Hunter.

We didn't talk to her for long because I was with my siblings, but I did ask her about her favorite book or author. She said there were so many, but that East of Eden, by John Steinbeck was one of them.

July 11, 2017, Tuesday afternoon -- Reading Annie Barrows

In the Mission District on a sunny afternoon

He is reading Nothing, a young adult novel by Annie Barrows. He found it in the free bin at Adobe Books, along with The Gospel According to Peanuts, (as in the cartoon by Charles Schulz) by Robert Short. Something he read good recently was The Waters of Eternal Youth, about an Italian police officer, by Donna Leon.

June 24, 2017, Saturday afternoon -- Reading Adam Grant

In the Mission District

She is reading Give and Take, by Adam Grant. She met another author who had co-written a book with him and learned about this book that way. It's about being a giver, and how you might think that givers have less, but they have more.

From a young age she has loved stories by Paullina Simons. She also liked I For Isobel, by Amy Witting, an Australian author. In general, she likes books that tell stories and also make a point of how to be better in life.

Another author she likes is Sydney Sheldon.

In High School she loved Shakespeare.

She's writing a book proposal right now about how to be an entrepreneur. Apparently women own about the same number of businesses as men, but make far less money as men who own businesses. One of the reasons why is that more women than men don't have the money to hire a consultant. The book she wants to write will give advice that a consultant would be able to give, leveling out the playing field.

She has her own business. They make accessories out of recycled fish leather, leftover from the food industry.

June 9, 2017, Friday morning -- Reading a psychology textbook coordonné by John S. Barnhill

At the beautiful Geneva Botanical Gardens, not far from the United Nations (if I'm ever in Geneva in the winter, that's where I'll be - chilling in the glassed-in tropical forests)

She is reading DSM-5 Cas cliniques, a psychology textbook coordonné by John S. Barnhill. She graduates at the end of June! She doesn't have much time to read for pleasure, but she does like reading Danielle Steel, in either French or in English.

June 4, 2017, Sunday afternoon -- Reading Janet Evanovich

At a cafe on a mountain called Harder Kulm, high above Interlaken, Switzerland

He is reading One for the Money, by Janet Evanovich. He's German, but has been living in Australia for years, so he does all his reading in English. His favorite book is The Power of Now, by Eckhart Tolle, which he read for the first time about 10 years ago and still reads frequently. Something else good that he's read recently is the Chet and Bernie mystery series, by Spencer Quinn, narrated by Chet, the dog, about his owner who's a Private Investigator.

May 31, 2017, Wednesday afternoon -- Reading John Gray and Edna Buchanan

Between semesters, I was able to take a vacation to France and Switzerland. I spent a couple of weeks eating good food, swimming, hiking, and managed to photograph a few readers, too.

On the shore of Lake Annecy in Duingt, France

They are from the Netherlands and doing some vacation reading. She is reading Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus, by John Gray. He is reading Moord in Miami, by Edna Buchanan. During their non-vacation time they don't have much time to read, but when they do have time she likes to read "chick-flick"books, and he likes books by Dan Brown.

May 20, 2017, Saturday afternoon -- Reading Captain Charles Moore, with Cassandra Phillips

I think San Francisco would be an even nicer place if everyone sat on their front steps and read. Coincidentally, May 20, 2017, when I met this reader, was SFPorchfest, for music on porches, backyards, and stoops of the Mission District. Reading should have a day like that. Work could be cancelled on a sunny day and everyone would go home and sit on their front steps and read and talk to their neighbors about their books.
She is reading Plastic Ocean, by Captain Charles Moore, with Cassandra Phillips.

She met and interviewed the author a few years ago when his boat was docked at her hometown. She was doing research and studying (ecology?). She got Plastic Ocean about six years ago and is finally getting around to reading it. It took a sunny day. She just gave her dog a bath and they went out into the sun to dry off. Her dog loves the sun.
She has lots of favorite books and authors, but a couple that came to mind were The Name of the Wind, a fantasy novel by Patrick Rothfuss, and Righteous Porkchop, by Nicolette Hahn Niman, about the meat industry.

May 18, 2017, Thursday afternoon/evening -- Reading Donald Miller

At that time of day when it's both afternoon and evening at the same time

He is reading Blue Like Jazz, by Donald Miller. It was a birthday gift. I asked him if he was feeling pressure about finishing it and reporting back because it was a gift and he admitted that he does find it hard to finish books sometimes, but this is honestly good. He can't put it down.

If he had to name a favorite author it would be Charles Bukowski. A couple of good books he's read recently are The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho and This is Water, a transcription of a graduation address David Foster Wallace gave in 2005.

May 18, 2017, Thursday afternoon/evening -- Reading Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney and Cory Doctorow

On a sunny Thursday afternoon/evening in the Mission District

They are reading The Nest, by Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney and Walkaway, by Cory Doctorow. They bought them at a real live bookstore (!!). He chose his book because on the cover it is recommended by William Gibson. I asked my "favorite book/favorite author" question and like most people, he was stumped its weight. He doesn't really have a favorite author or book -- it depends on his mood and he cycles through work books and escapist literature. Right now, he likes Neal Stephenson. Something he read recently that was good was A Spy Among Friends, by Ben Macintyre. She tried to read it but couldn't get through it - lots of who is who? and backstabbing. Something else good he read was Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, who is an economist. It's about how decisions are made.

For her, she was on the phone for most of the time we were talking, but she said that a good book that stands out for her is Little Bee, by Chris Cleave, which she read about 5 years ago. It's about a Nigerian Asylum-seeker.

The real live bookstore where they got their books was Christopher's Books in Potrero Hill.

May 11, 2017, Thursday evening -- Reading Robert Fernandez

At a bar in North Beach

She is reading Pink Reef, by Robert Fernandez. She heard about him at a poetry workshop. After hearing one of his poems, she wanted to read more. After this, she said she's going to City Lights to see if she can get his other books. He's pretty young, she said. He was born in 1980. One of his influences is Frank Ocean, an R&B artist she loves.
Her favorite author is Eileen Myles, who I looked up online while writing this blog entry. She has won several awards and written 19 books of poetry, fiction, and nonfiction. It's good to have a favorite author who's prolific!

May 4, 2017, Thursday morning -- Reading Jerome Bixby

In the Financial District

He is reading Mirror, Mirror, by Jerome Bixby, who wrote episodes for the original Star Strek.

He read a short story collection by the author and then found this.

Another author he's been reading lately is Ned Beauman. Last year he read The Teleportation Accident and from the first page he loved it. Now he's "going after" Beauman's other books.

April 27, 2017, Wednesday evening -- Reading Haruki Murakami

In the Mission District

He is reading What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, by Haruki Murakami. This is his 15th book this year that he's read, which is a record for him. Before he read something by Murakami he thought of reading as a chore. Now, he reads lots of different authors. He likes to switch it up and read fiction, then nonfiction, then maybe a design book, so he doesn't rush into another story too quick. Fiction is his favorite. Other authors he's read recently have been César Aira, Simone de Beauvoir, and Kobo Abe.

April 26, 2017, Tuesday evening -- Reading Kenzaburo Oe

In the Mission District

She is reading Death by Water, a novel by Kenzaburo Oe. Lately she's been exploring history from a non-Eurocentric viewpoint.

She has lots of favorite authors, including Marcel Proust and Percival Everett.

April 22, 2017, Saturday morning -- Reading Raymond F. Dasmann

In the Mission District

He is reading The Destruction of California, published in 1965 by Raymond F. Dasmann, a wildlife biologist and conservationist. He got it at a thrift store up north and is finally getting around to reading it. Something else good he read recently was The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court, by Jeffrey Toobin. When he was a child his favorite book was The Phantom Tollbooth, by Norton Juster and illustrated by Jules Feiffer. Like The Destruction of California, it was also published in the 1960s.

April 1, 2017, Saturday afternoon -- Reading George Saunders

In my backyard

We were really just having cocktails, but then my sister and brother-in-law pulled out their matching Lincoln in the Bardo books, George Saunders's first novel. Together they've also read Dissident Gardens, by Jonathan Lethem, and How Music Works, by David Byrne (and saw Byrne's exhibit in Palo Alto).

Other good things they've read recently have been Embassytown, by China Miéville for him, and Tenth of December for both of them (but they didn't read it together).

April 1, 2017, Saturday afternoon -- About to read Pat Carey

In the Mission District on a sunny afternoon

She is about to read, or, she admitted, probably flip through and read parts of, Growing up Irish Catholic, and Surviving my Mom's Eleven Sisters, by Pat Carey, that she just found at one of those itty bitty free birdhouselike libraries.

Like this one, her favorite books are biographies. Right now she is also reading a biography about Lincoln, which she is not reading linearly and completely either.

April 2, 2017, Sunday afternoon - Reading Margaret Atwood

On Bernal Hill, on a perfect, windless sunny day

She is reading The Heart Goes Last, by Margaret Atwood. She saw it at Green Apple books, and got it when she realized that there was a Margaret Atwood book that was published a couple years ago that she hadn't read yet.

Margaret Atwood is her favorite author because she makes the characters feel very real, very human. For example, she said this book is dystopian and outlandish, but the characters are real.

The reader is a novelist herself. Check out her book, The Deception Artist, about an American family in the 1980s.

On a side note, even after a hiker came by and said he'd seen a snake nearby, she kept on reading in her spot in the grass. Who cares about snakes if you have a good book.

I'm still on blogging hiatus

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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.