What People are Reading

For the past year, whenever I saw a person reading a book or magazine on the subway, I tried to figure out the title and then kept a list of my findings. Between August 2012-July 2013, I found the following nine readers in this order:

1. Young woman reading a manual entitled, "The Segmentation of Beef." The manual was in English and Chinese with full color photographs of beef.
2. Older man flipping through a catalog full of LED lights and light fixtures.
3. Young woman reading a manuscript of a play in English. I couldn't see the title, but the main characters were named, "Ted" and "Natalie." 
4. Young woman reading a manual called, "Safety Starts Here." Pictured were all of the different road signs in Beijing. The subway may be about to lose one rider.
5. Woman intently studying a shoe catalog.
6. Woman reading a Chinese book entitled, "Three Things, One Life." 
7. Man reading a Chinese book called, "Descendants of Mao Shan." Near as I can tell, Mao Shan is a sect of Taoism that practices black magic.
8. Young woman reading the New Testament in Chinese.
9. Young woman reading a catechism in Chinese.

Personally, I have never read an actual book on the subway. I, like most people, am usually looking at my smart phone--reading news articles, using my Kindle app, practicing Chinese flash-cards, or playing Ticket to Ride (I'm hoping for a Beijing Subway version).