Europe, what are you reading? My fellow train passengers respond
Earlier this winter, I traveled by train in Germany, Italy, and Austria. I was struck by how many passengers were enjoying books 鈥� not books on cellphones or Kindles, but real paper-and-ink books.
We hear a lot nowadays about how the internet is destroying the life of the mind. It may be true somewhere 鈥� but not on these trains. Using my journalistic background as an excuse, I approached some of these readers about their books. Here are some of the exchanges that I enjoyed.
(With Tarik Karagol, traveling in Germany from Cologne to Munich and reading 1984, by George Orwell)
Me: 鈥淲hy this classic?鈥�
Tarik: 鈥淚 am Turkish. Maybe I can learn something from it? Because the situation in Turkey is problematic, and I find our president is comparable to the one in the book.鈥�
Me: 鈥淚s President Erdo臒an the reason for reading '1984'?鈥�
Tarik: 鈥淪omewhat. At first, I thought there would not be many commonalities, but now I find similarities.鈥�
Me: "What in particular?"
Tarik: 鈥淭he language of the people gets reduced over and over. The politicians want the people only to talk to each other when necessary. Someone who has a limited vocabulary thinks less, that is the main theme for me.鈥�
(With Eckhard Neusel, traveling in Austria from Salzburg to Innsbruck, reading The Swallow, the Cat, the Rose and Death, by H氓kan Nesser)
Me: 鈥淎nother Scandinavian mystery?鈥�
Eckhard: 鈥淣esser builds good parallel stories around interesting crime cases, and they include the characters鈥� home lives.鈥�
Me: 鈥淭he book looks used. Are you reading it a second time?鈥�
Eckhard: 鈥淚t鈥檚 my mother鈥檚. Whenever I am stuck for a new book, I ask my mother. She is the reader in the family.鈥�
(With Regina Meinke, traveling from Cologne to Munich, reading Smoke Signals: A Social History of Marijuana 鈥� Medical, Recreational, and Scientific, by Martin A. Lee)
Me: 鈥淲hy are you reading this?鈥�
Regina: 鈥淚 had a discussion with my 16-year-old son: Is marijuana harmful, yes or no? I said it was damaging and a gateway drug. My son believes it is not damaging and wants to try it.鈥�
Me: 鈥淭hat is concerning.鈥�
Regina: 鈥淵es, but I am unsure. Times and opinions are changing. I want to learn the facts first, and then talk with my son.鈥�
(With Nadja Neubauer, traveling from Innsbruck to Como, Italy, reading World Without End, by Ken Follett)
Me: 鈥淢any love this series.鈥�
Nadja: 鈥淭hey are immersive. I can turn off outside worries or thoughts. This is my second reading.鈥�
Me: 鈥淒o you reread a lot?鈥�
Nadja: 鈥淣ot much, but I read a lot. I watch some news on my phone or read the newspaper to keep informed. Listening to people talk about politics at work is enough for me; why invite that into your home?鈥�
(With Larissa Breuer, traveling from Munich to Salzburg, reading Sungs Laden, by Karin Kalisa)
Me: 鈥淭he title [鈥淪ung鈥檚 Shop鈥漖 is a bit plain.鈥�
Larissa: 鈥淚t is about two generations of Vietnamese immigrants in Berlin. The son has an intercultural week at school ... so he brings his grandmother to class.鈥�
Me: 鈥淪ounds like a sitcom plot.鈥�
Larissa: 鈥淭here are funny parts, and it is beautifully written. I like books about small communities or friendships. I also like to read young authors, hoping they become successful so I can see them mature.鈥�
(With Sandra Huth, traveling from Salzburg to Innsbruck, reading The Eye Collector, by Sebastian Fitzek and Paul Shearer)
Me: 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a gruesome title.鈥�
Sandra: 鈥淚t is. I won鈥檛 be reading it at home or at night. It sounds funny, but I only read thrillers on the train, and at home [I read] nonfiction or books relating to work.鈥�
Me: 鈥淲hat work is that?鈥�
Sandra: 鈥淚 am working on my PhD in psychology.鈥�
(With Konrad Faber, traveling from Cologne to Munich, reading Soul Splitter, by Ju Honisch)
Me: 鈥淭hat is a thick novel.鈥�
Konrad: 鈥淚t is a fantasy book, which run a bit longer. I like fantasies, and the way an author imagines entirely new worlds. Some people don鈥檛 like the amount of time spent describing a place; they want action immediately. I go to movies for that.鈥�
Me: 鈥淲hich might explain why many fantasy books run as series?鈥�
Konrad: 鈥淵es, maybe they address a patient audience? I get many pleasant hours from one book. It is time well spent.鈥�
(With Emil Scholz, traveling from Como to Frankfurt, reading Sharpe鈥檚 Honor, by Bernard Cornwell)
Me: 鈥淵our paperback looks pretty worn.鈥�
Emil: 鈥淚 bought the whole series of 25 books after reading the first in the series.鈥�
Me: 鈥淒o you read for history or fiction?鈥�
Emil: 鈥淏oth. The author weaves real history into his plot. It is an adventure book, but you can learn from it. Sharpe is a soldier who fought with Wellington in the time of Napoleon. It is an atmospheric read; when I look out on the countryside from my train window I can imagine those fields may have hosted a battle as in the book.鈥�
