Summer is all about public reading: at the beach, at the pool, on the plane to get there. As the season winds down and work routines return, reading tends to move indoors and become more private. Yet some intrepid public readers are unaffected by the seasons. Over the past month, I spoke to a handful of these bibliophiles around the D.C. area, who allowed me to interrupt their quiet time to share their book picks and reading habits.
(These interviews have been edited for length and clarity.)
Seth Grimes of Takoma Park, Maryland, reading Frank Herbert’s “Heretics of Dune” while walking on Sligo Creek Parkway, parts of which are closed to cars on the weekend.
Wow, reading and walking. That’s efficient — and difficult.
Walking while reading helps me focus, actually. If I’m moving, then I’m less susceptible to distractions. Moving helps me concentrate on the page.
Interesting. I hope you’ve never tripped or bumped into anything.
Not really, though I did once walk into a fire hydrant that was badly placed in the middle of a sidewalk. Since it’s maybe two feet high, it’s not something you see when you’re looking forward. I just bumped my shins. It wasn’t too bad. I am glad to be walking on a road that’s closed to traffic rather than a sidewalk or trail, where there are more potential obstacles.
Do you have a special technique to make sure you can concentrate on both walking and reading?
You’re counting on your peripheral vision. Also, you glance up every once in a while to make sure there’s nothing coming. That doesn’t mean there’s nothing that’s going to be coming or stopped in your way in 10 seconds, but unlike someone who’s texting while driving, if I hit something, it’s only myself I’m going to hurt — and that hasn’t happened, anyway.
What made you choose “Heretics of Dune”?
It’s the fifth of six books that Frank Herbert wrote solo. I read the first one when I was in high school. I was reminded of the series when I heard about the upcoming movie. I saw “Dune: Part One,” and I actually prefer the movie from the ’80s with Kyle MacLachlan. I prefer the look and styling of the film even if the special effects were laughable.
And what do you think of the Dune 5 book?
There’s a lot of science fiction that’s totally plot-driven. It’s like a bunch of Americans plunked down in X year, whether it’s 100 or 1,000 years from now, and they’re people just like us. “Dune” isn’t like that. They’re different people, imagined for a different time, in different physical circumstances.
Do you read mostly science fiction?
No. The book I finished before this was “Daniel Deronda,” by George Eliot.
Very different!
Yes.
What do you plan to read next?
There’s a book I started this spring called “The Oppermanns,” a novel by Lion Feuchtwanger about a German family in Berlin in 1933. So it is during the rise of the Nazis, and it is prescient. At some point I’ll also get the sixth of the original Dune books.
Do you ever read while sitting?
Occasionally, while commuting. If I am not riding my bike to work, I’ll take a book on the Metro.
Do people, other than me, bother you when you are reading and walking?
Not really, though I sometimes wonder if I have walked past people I knew who thought I was snubbing them because I was reading. At a certain point you stop worrying about things like that.
Page Murrell, 23, of D.C., reading Donna Tartt’s “The Secret History” at the Cleveland Park Library.
Reading a book in a library seems like a perfectly natural thing to do, except I have been coming to this branch for weeks and you are one of only a handful of people I have seen doing it. Most people seem to be on their computers or phones. What drew you here to read?
I just graduated in May from American University and moved into my apartment in Van Ness, so I’m just trying to find my footing stateside. I’m from Guam. I’m unemployed, so I’m trying to get out of the house more. I just thought it would be kind of fun to go see what the nearby public library has to offer. I wanted to get a library card so I spend a little less money buying books.
Did you get a card today?
I did.
Did you borrow anything?
Not yet. I’m still browsing. I saw a couple of things that I wanted to take out, but I wanted to chill here for a little bit and read.
What did you study at AU?
Literature. I was on the specific track called Transcultural Studies. A lot of my classes revolved around reading translated literature and literature from other countries. We actually read a book by an author from Guam, Julian Aguon, called “No Country for Eight-Spot Butterflies” that I loved.
So you graduated in May, and I don’t want to sound like your mother, but do you have a career goal?
Yes. The ultimate dream is to work for a publishing company as an editor. So I’ve been applying to a lot of writing and editing jobs, and last week I got a freelance writing gig that starts later this week. I’m pretty excited about it.
What other books do you like to read for fun?
I’ve been reading a lot of horror novels recently. I’m really into short stories because I can kind of just sit down with the story, finish it and walk away. I’ve also been dabbling in poetry. My favorite poet at the moment is Ada Limón.
She’s wonderful. You are reading a book by another fantastic author, Donna Tartt. How did you choose it?
I’ve been seeing a lot of things about it online for a really long time, and I went to Barnes & Noble this summer to browse and nothing was calling to me until I saw it, and I thought, “Everyone says it’s an amazing book; why not give it a try?”
And were they right?
Yes, it’s been really enjoyable.
Malick Diomande, 28, of Albany, New York, reading Roald Dahl’s “Going Solo” at Koma Cafe in Takoma Park, Maryland.
What made you decide to read this book?
I’m getting my car fixed at a garage nearby, and I was looking for somewhere to go to pass the time. So I found the coffee shop here, and I didn’t have a book in hand, so I passed a Little Free Library and found this book.
Have you read Roald Dahl’s work before?
Not since I was a kid, but I was recently listening to a podcast about his life, “The Secret World of Roald Dahl,” so this title stood out when I was looking on the shelf.
I think I read that one recently, too. Remind me what it’s about?
It’s about the author’s life in his 20s, so not far off from my age. It’s interesting because I picked it up thinking it might be a children’s book, but it very much reads like an adult or young-adult book.
What brings you to town?
Actually, I am between jobs right now. I was a track and field coach at Union College (in Schenectady, New York). I am looking to change careers. I have been coaching for four years, and I also had a full-time job as well. I really enjoyed it, but I didn’t think that this was necessarily the lifestyle for me.
Were you a runner in college?
I was a high jumper in college. I went to Cornell. Humans defying gravity is a fun thing to observe and experience.
What field do you hope to enter next?
Nonprofit work, education or government. I am here for job interviews, staying with family. I like D.C. New York (City) is too fast for me, and Albany is getting to be a little too slow for me, even though I love my hometown.
What other books have you read recently?
I’m Muslim, so the biggest book I read is the Quran. I have it on audiobook, and it is something I constantly listen to. As for a contemporary book, “The Alchemist,” by Paulo Coelho. It’s a really incredible book given how relatively short it is and how many messages it can impart on the reader. Whenever I come back to it — I’ve been reading it since my junior or senior year of college — there’s something new that I learn.
So are you going to take “Going Solo” with you?
For sure.
Val Gonzalez, 27, and Alec Morales, 27, both of Alexandria, Virginia, reading Khaled Hosseini’s “The Kite Runner” at Quill and Crumb in the Folger Shakespeare Library in D.C.
You’re both reading the same book!
Val: Yes, he is on a Kindle because he’s a pilot and it’s easier to carry that in his bag.
Alec: I read between flights, in the cockpit. I read about one or two books a month.
Val: I’m an ICU nurse. I rotate working days and nights, and I don’t have much downtime on the job. But I like to read right before bed. It’s a good little wind-down routine. Today we both have the day off, so we’re relaxing together.
What made you choose this book?
Val: The author wrote another book I was interested in, “A Thousand Splendid Suns,” but this one is summer reading for a lot of people. My best friend told me this is one of her favorite books.
You look to be about halfway through. What do you think so far?
Val: After the first couple of pages, I knew this was going to be one of the best books I’ve ever read.
Where did you get the book?
Val: Barnes & Noble. We actually just got back from there. Alec got a book called “Pedro Páramo,” by Juan Rulfo, in Spanish. I’m fluent, but Alec is learning Spanish, so we got the novel so he can practice reading in the language. I’m excited for him to read that one.
What other books have you enjoyed recently?
Val: I just finished reading “The Housemaid,” by Freida McFadden. That’s very different content from this one, but it was a gift so I felt like I needed to read it. Before that it was “Wicked,” which was a gift from Alec, and then he took me to Broadway to see the play.
Alec: “House of Leaves,” by Mark Danielewski. Also, “There Is No Antimemetics Division,” by Sam Hughes, a cosmic-horror book. I like reading horror, but I don’t like watching it.
How do you plan on spending the rest of your day off together?
Val: I don’t know. It’s our anniversary, and Alec has been surprising me all day.
Wow, that’s really nice. I guess I am part of the surprise. Enjoy your time together.
(Later in the day, Alec proposed. Val said yes.)
Nora Krug, 56, of Silver Spring, Maryland, reading John Steinbeck’s “East of Eden” at Green Spring Gardens, Alexandria.
I drove out here because I’d heard that this was a great spot for reading, and it is. But I am the only one with a book. Everyone else is enjoying the beautiful flowers and green space. So I decided to sit down with the book I’ve been reading for the last month.
Mostly I have been listening to it in my car — that’s why I didn’t mind the long drive from my home in Maryland. I have been mesmerized by this sweeping tale that I wish I had appreciated when I read it in college. I am interested in seeing how many of the thorny issues and characterizations are treated in the upcoming Netflix series. I didn’t finish the book while sitting on this bench, but I did on the journey home. Now I want to listen to it again.
Nora Krug is a former writer and editor at The Washington Post.
The post ‘What are you reading?’ I asked. Here’s what five strangers told me. appeared first on Washington Post.
