Books rarely make it onto the metro. Phones take up the attention of my fellow travellers: playlists, whatsapp, video games, checking their appearance on the selfie camera. Same for me - there's always a date I need to confirm with someone or a message to send. And yet, there are a few lone readers. When I spot one I want to know what they’re reading. Sometimes the cover is visible. Or the book design includes what designers call a running head which means the book title is repeated as a header at the top of every page. Last week I was lucky; I saw a book on every trip to work: Friday 14 June 2024, 09:35 Freida McFadden, The Housemaid (in Portuguese) Monday 17 June 2024, 07:50 Harley Laroux, Her soul for revenge (in English) Tuesday 18 June 2024, 08:20 George Orwell, 1984 (in Portuguese) Wednesday 19 June 2024, 07:59 Patrice van Eersel, Le Cinquième rêve (in French) Thursday 20 June 2024, 08:21 João Pedro Marques, The Strange case of Sebastião Moncado (in Portugues...
FRIENDSHIP, DIFFERENCE, BEING OUT OF PLACE. I write about being in a foreign country, speaking a new language, and living through cultural differences. Texts in English and Portuguese.