This week I spotted a woman on the MTR reading a thick Jeffrey Archer paperback. A girl got onto the train at the same time as me carrying The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown. A few days later, a woman standing right next to me was reading a paperback. I looked over her shoulder and saw that the chapter title was A Study in Scarlett and The Sign of Four. I don't know if she was actually reading these stories or if it was a book about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's work. I saw a child carrying a Diary of a Wimpy Kid book in Central station and a woman carrying Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin down Hollywood Road. I spotted four Chinese books this week in various locations. What are people reading in your town this week?
In other news, my faithful camera died this weekend. I got it for Christmas in 2006, so I suppose it was time for a new one, but it was still sad. That camera has been with me through Hong Kong, Bali, Taiwan, Korea, China, Malaysia, England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, France, Greece, Italy, Finland, Canada, two Great American Road Trips, one Olympics, one international romance and one photo-heavy blog.
I'll have to say goodbye to the old Canon PowerShot and introduce you to my sleek new Canon Ixus. We'll have to see how it handles my next walking tour...
I'm sorry to hear about your camera. It's like having to give up a well-traveled passport after it expires. But your new one seems to take beautiful photos, so I'm sure you're in good hands.
ReplyDeleteWow, people there are reading a great selection of books! I don't remember noticing so many people reading English books when I lived there, but I probably wasn't paying attention. I just finished Gordon Mathew's book about Chungking Mansions (Ghetto at the Center of the World) and today I started Ha Jin's Nanjing Requiem.
In Cheung Kong Park in Central, a man was reading Thomas Pynchon's Against the day and a girl on the MTR was reading a Chinese novel. It had a familiar blue spine sticker;it was a library book, yeah! Apart from that,just one Chinese man reading a white kindle; that's the second time I've seen a white kindle here, don't know if it's old or new?
ReplyDeleteMy mom has a white Kindle, so I think it's old. Hers is the first type that's larger in overall size, but with a smaller screen.
ReplyDeleteShannon, I just found you on Twitter last night. I can't believe it took me so long. I guess I thought I was already following you. Better late than never. Did you go to the HKWiPS event? I've been a member for years!
Thanks for your comments Joyce and Susan.
ReplyDeleteI definitely think I notice more books now that I've started looking for them because it really does seem like there aren't that many readers in HK. Joyce, do you find the same thing?
My Kindle is white and it's a second generation one (got it in the summer of 2010). I think it stands out a big more amongst all the tablets and readers that are out there now.
Susan, I went to the WiPS event at the Foreign Correspondents Club and it was really nice. I meant some interesting people and learned more about the publishing scene in HK. I'd like to work as an editor when my current contract ends so I'm doing the research now. I submitted a short piece for their publication, too.
I got my Kindle in February of this year, so I think mine is the same generation as yours. I had a nice cover, but my 2 year old yanked it out, so the light doesn't work and I have to attach it to my Kindle with tape. Oh, well.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you made it to the event. In some ways, it's like stepping back into colonial Hong Kong when you go to those meetings at the FCC. But I love the organization and found some awesome freelance jobs through their listserve. I'm actually a moderator of the listserve because it's a volunteer job I can do overseas. I can't wait to see your piece in IMPRINT. It's a great publication!
I got my Kindle in the UK in March this year, white wasn't an option, pity.I don't like the bulky covers so I bought a litle cotton bag in Vietnam which protects the screen and looks pretty.
ReplyDeleteI am constantly amazed and heartened not by the number of readers or lack thereof, but by the fact that in this ciy of constant bustle and myriad distractions, people want to pick up a book at all.To see a young man reading on a crowded train, squashed between several hundred commuters and lost in the written word does my heart good!