Check out the latest in "The Good Earth" series on Underground New York Public Library. This site is just a collection of people reading literature on the subway. The photo to the right is of a woman reading Pearl Buck's The Good Earth in a subway station. It can be very interesting to see who is reading what in the photographs and how wrapped up in it they seem to be. While literature can be an invaluable tool for self-discovery, and we like to see ourselves in the things we read, it can also be the means through which we come to understand those who are different from us. It puts us in another's shoes, let's us into their head.
This is why we seek out writing by those who are from different cultures and civilizations, or personalities that are different. We probably ought to do it more. The world might be a better place if people read literature produced by those who are different from them, be it in terms of culture, race, religion, gender, sexual preference, political beliefs, or whatever it might be.
That's what interests me about these pictures, seeing who the the book appeals to and who is reading it. Have a look at the site. Are the images surprising in any way?
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