Reading on the London Underground

Would I read over your shoulder on the Tube?

Travelling into work yesterday, someone sat next to me who was reading something far more interesting than me. I was in the middle of an old Book Group book Small Island, whereas he was reading a programme idea for a new reality makeover TV show starring those "fashion gurus" Trinny & Susannah. I couldn't tear my eyes away from it.

It sounded like a mixture of twosome's "What Not To Wear", with added stuff from "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy" and "Testdrive My Girlfriend" and "Decorate my Antique Relationship Extreme Celebrity Sudoku Challenge UK". Trinny & Susannah or T & S as they were described in the "treatment" (spot the trendy meeja term) - would turn up at a couple's house and give them advice on how to makeover each other with 60% of the advice on clothes and 40% on their relationship.

It will be interesting to see if it ever makes it to TV. But it made me have a quick look at what other people around were reading on the Tube, to see if anything they were reading had that quality of being more interesting than my own stuff.


A girl opposite me on the Piccadilly Line was reading a diary written in some sort of Arabic looking script. Her friend was reading a paper for a university degree on auditing or something similar. After a while they started comparing notes.

A guy and a woman were studying an A-Z. A Sikh guy was reading a book with more Arabic looking typefaces.


Further down a woman was reading a book with a cryptic looking cover.


I know it's not just me who occasionally reads over people's shoulders. In fact when I got down to reading my copy of Small Island again, I could feel that the woman next to me was reading it over my shoulder too.

So what are you reading on the Tube right now? Would I feel compelled to read it over your shoulder? Or do you just read Metro or another paper?

London Underground; Tube Posted by annie mole Wednesday, May 03, 2006 Permalink COMMENT HERE
Tweet http://london-underground.blogspot.com/2006/05/reading-on-london-underground.html