While there are many parts of the Internet that can be rabbit-holes designed to suck your free time away from you without you even noticing, there are many other parts of the Internet that I can’t imagine living without. Fun, interesting blogs like this one, and others that we’ve mentioned here where anyone can find cool, bookish topics are a continual source of joy. Pinterest straddles the line for me between time-suck and “what did I ever do without you?” But part of the wonderful randomness of the Internet involves coming across stories like this one, in which this year on World Book Day (which takes place every April) volunteers took to the public transit system of Sao Paolo, Brazil and gave out, not just free books, but free books that each came pre-loaded with 10 subway rides on an RFID card embedded on the cover. Commuters could not only bring their books along with them on their commute, but they could actually use those books to enter the subway system. Oh, and if that wasn’t enough, the covers were inspired by subway maps. I’m just going to let the awesomeness of this idea wash over you for a bit because it took me a while to fully grasp its genius.

We’ve talked a bit on the blog before about books allowing free transit passage in Romania, but we haven’t talked about that particular quality of books that can make a commute fly by and possibly make us miss our stop. There’s something about a public transit commute that welcomes the opportunity for reading. There’s no need to focus on driving, the train/bus often has other readers so there’s a sense of camaraderie and (maybe this is just me) the repetitive motion instills a sense of meditative calm which can easily induce a good state of mind for absorbing words on the page. To be fair, it’s been a while since I’ve commuted by public transit, so I may be romanticizing it a bit. I do, however, have several friends who regularly commute via MBTA and I polled them for some ideas. In addition to some very cool title choices which will be revealed below, one of them kindly let me in on one of her secrets, and I’m willing to bet it’s one many of us surreptitiously share:

“I’m going to reveal my dark secret…reading over peoples’ shoulders (unbeknownst to them) is my favorite train, subway, and bus material.  Whether it’s the white-haired grandmother surreptitiously reading Fifty Shades of Grey on her kindle, the college student devouring the latest in George R.R. Martin’s saga or the businesswoman lost in the Wall Street Journal, I love glancing over their shoulder to catch a sentence here or a phase there. We sit, the miles falling behind us as the pages flip by, engrossed in a particularly compelling character like Maya in “I know why the caged bird sings” or a thrilling Grisham storyline, united through a long commute and a love of books. You just can’t get that experience in a car.”

Since we’re having a bit of True Confessions: Books Edition here, I’ve always had a similar approach when I commuted on the train. I loved to take a look at what everyone else was reading and not necessarily read over their shoulder, but make a mental note of the cover or title to check out later. Clearly, the daily commute is not only a way to catch up on your reading or improve a country’s literacy rates, it’s a great way to gather reading suggestions as well! In that spirit, here are some books that may just make your commute go by a little faster:

Where’d You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple

This recommendation comes from the aforementioned, self-admitted “over-shoulder reader,” lest you think she only reads the bits and snatches she catches from other people. According to her, this light, funny, epistolary novel made for a great commuting read. It was engaging and went by quickly.

Thirteen Ways of Looking by Colum McCann

This was recommended by our wonderful regular blogger Arabella who is also a transit commuter. This is a book consisting of 4 separate novellas that are easily digestible in a trip or two. According to her: “there is a very nice sense of accomplishment that comes from being able to read a whole story in one commuting session” and she would recommend any type of short story collection for commuting. Apparently George Saunders’ books make good choices as well because “his stories are like little baby novels in terms of depth, if not length.”

One Dance with a Duke by Tessa Dare

Another recommendation from Arabella who also enjoys romance novellas on a commute “because they are like little bite-sized pieces of escape.” Most of Dare’s novellas are available through the library in ebook format, but we’ve got this full-length novel in paperback available here at the South. And really, when you’re crowded like a sardine or waiting in the cold/snow/rain/etc., who couldn’t use a bite-sized piece of escape?

As Always, Julia edited by Joan Reardon

I know I just mentioned this book just a couple of weeks ago, but it’s great commuting book. None of the letters in this book are more than a few pages long, which makes it ideal for reading in bits and snatches if you’re trying to fit some reading in before the next stop. The overall arc of the book, however, is engrossing so you can read longer to get a great sense of the evolution of Mastering the Art of French Cooking and the friendship between Child and deVoto.

Stardust by Neil Gaiman

Lest we forget those who commute by car, audiobooks are great for a car commute. As a matter of fact, many of our wonderful South Peabody patrons are fellow commuters who, like me, prefer to spend their driving time productively. Audiobooks allow you to safely “read” while you’re driving which I think is the best possible kind of multitasking. This book is brief but beautiful with the added bonus that it’s narrated by the author in all of his wonderful Britishness and delightful characterizations. Gaiman is not a man who is afraid to “do the voices” of his characters which makes any audiobook he narrates an engaging read, but this one is particularly well-suited for shorter commutes as the narrative is easily picked up again from short snatches. Plus, Gaiman’s prose is so immersive, it’s nothing to dive right back in where you left off.

Many thanks again to my wonderful friends who always manage to indulge me when I put out a call for suggestions. Till next week, dear readers, I hope your commutes are uneventful in the best of ways, but your reading during that time is exciting !