"Books" in public

["James J. O'Donnell" <jod@georgetown.edu>]

I took a count on an Acela Express train between New York and 
Washington the other day.  Walked the length of the "business 
class" (= coach) cars, witha bout 200-220 passengers.  51 were 
reading or intending to read "books" of some kind, print and e- 
(Kindle, Nook, iPad).

(Intending to read:  I did confirm that e-books are every bit as 
functional as traditional print books for the purpose of holding 
in your lap while dozing, but I counted them anyway as reflecting 
a readerly *intention* at least.  The other 150 or so?  Many 
laptops, many cell phones, fair amount of chatting, modest number 
of magazines or "paperwork".)

Of the 51, 44 were printed volumes, 7 were e-books.  This is a 
more affluent train population than you find on the "regional" 
trains and it includes a lot of regular travelers.  Only one data 
point at a moment in time.

Jim O'Donnell
Georgetown