The New Yorker

Magazine: The New Yorker
Location: 37 Corbett
Notes: Loved the cover of this one but it was impossible to get a shot of it. I stopped reading this magazine long ago, even though I love it - it was just too hard to keep up with the weekly issues.

Suzanne Collins

Book: The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Location: 24 Divisadero
Notes: Not sure I want to get into this series - sounds like Twilight crack (which I fully took part in) and I have so much to read on my night stand already!

Leonard Michaels

Book: The Collected Stories by Leonard Michaels
Location: T Train
Notes: I saw him on the train and couldn't get a shot of his book. Then I noticed him standing above me on the escalator, the back of his book poking out. Shooting this one felt like a fun game.

Iain M. Banks

Book: The Algebraist by Iain M. Banks
Location: J Church
Notes: Happy New Year!!

Shana Hyder Kabani

Book: The Zen of Social Media Marketing: An Easier Way to Build Credibility, Generate Buzz, and Increase Revenue by Shana Hyder Kabani
Location: T Train
Notes: Definitely interested in reading this one.

San Francisco Public Library Blog

Last week a friend let us know we were featured on the SF Public Library blog. We see a lot of library books in our travels and SFPL posted about some of the books we spotted from their branch. We love libraries and have a special spot in our heart for our city's beautiful library so it was a real treat to be featured on their blog. If you're in San Francisco and have never found yourself in that beautiful library downtown - get yourself down there and get a library card pronto!

Thanks SFPL!

Tom Batchelder

Book: Barking Up a Dead Horse: Avoiding the Wasted Time and Effort in Business-to-Business Sales by Tom Batchelder
Location: BART
Notes: Took this a while ago so I don't remember specifics but the name of the book definitely caught my attention.

Abraham Verghese

Book: Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Location: 24th BART Station
Notes: No filter on this photo! Look at those colors and patterns. Was so excited to get this shot. My Mom read this book and raved about it, so it's on my list for sure.

Stieg Larsson

Book: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson
Location: Luna Park
Notes: The credit for this photo goes to Molly. We were eating dinner outside on a lovely evening a few Sundays ago when I spotted a man reading this book at a table behind us. I tried taking an awkward photo from my seat and Molly, seeing she had a better angle, grabbed my ipod and took this photo for me. While doing so she caught the attention of a woman at the table next to us. Molly told her about my blog, and she was sweet enough to listen. The kind woman then suggested a book app called The Book Lover, which I've just remembered and will be downloading now!

Ernest Hemingway

Book: The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
Location: BART
Notes: I almost gave up on this photo but I was really excited she was reading this book so I managed to sneak a shot in. I also loved the pattern on her bag.

Marcus Luttrell

Book: Lone Survivor: The Eyewitness Account of Operation Redwing and the Lost Heroes of SEAL Team 10 by Marcus Luttrell
Location: Plow in Potrero Hill
Notes: Brendan sent in this one. His email was titled 'Sneak Tip'. He also said Plow has a great brunch that shouldn't be missed. Brendan is a fantastic chef, so when he suggests a place I listen.

Bill Bryson

Book: Made in America: An Informal History of the English Language in the United States by Bill Bryson
Location: Wikia
Notes: Saw this on someone's desk at work and loved the way it looked. It's like musical chairs at my office so I have no idea who was sitting here at the time. But Bill Bryson is a fun writer to read and I had never heard of this one, may just have to check it out.

Paul Ingrassia

Book: Crash Course: The American Automobile Industry's Road to Bankruptcy and Bailout and Beyond by Paul Ingrassia
Location: 37 Corbett
Notes: Nice quiet bus ride.

Reader Submission

Books: Man in the foreground is reading The Magicians by Lev Grossman and the man in the back is reading The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov.
Location: 38 Geary
Notes: Thank you Susan for the great shot! And nice work getting two readers in one photo. I love the thought of more and more people being book spies. When she snapped this photo Susan was reading a Jean Plaidy novel on her iphone.

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Book: One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Location: T Train
Notes: I love this writer, while I've never read 100 Years of Solitude, Love in the Time of Cholera is one of my favorite novels. And one I've been wanting to revisit for a while now. I was excited about the light in these photos and it's so rare I'm able to catch a book cover. I also noticed she was only on page 6. It made me excited for her. There's something so thrilling about the first few pages of a novel where you're just discovering what world you're entering into for the next 300 or so pages.

Book Porn

At Piper's Shoe Parlor.

Surprise package!

I love mail. And I love unexpected packages. So I was beyond thrilled when I came home to this! No note was included so I'm not certain who it's from but I think I have a pretty good idea. Best surprise ever. On Reading is a book by André Kertész (1894-1985) who according to the interwebs "was one of the most inventive, influential, and prolific photographers in the medium's history". The book was first published in 1971 and contains photos of people reading all over the world, taken between 1920 and 1970. I can't wait to dig into this little gem. I'll confirm the sender as soon as I identify them!
Update: Thank you Molly for the book!! Molly has a fantastic blog you should check out right now!

Arthur Golden

Book: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
Location: N Train
Notes: Loved her ring. I think I started this book years ago and never finished it.

My first non-Muni photo!

Book: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Location: Blush Wine Bar, Castro
Notes: Saw this book sitting alone with a glass of wine and no owner in site. Got so excited to frame a nice shot not on Muni! Owner came back and gave me a funny look which made me think he saw me hovering over his wine and his book. I smiled at him. He was older and wearing a Hawaiian shirt. I love that he was reading this book which reminds me so much of high school.

Jack Weatherford

Book: Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World by Jack Weatherford
Location: 37 Corbett
Notes: She was smiling a lot and really enjoying this book.