I looked up and she nodded towards the book. Oh yes, I am really enjoying it I told her.
She said she was about a hundred pages ahead of me and told me I was just about to uncover something good. She began to tell me what she liked about the book, which included the perfectly detailed descriptions that make you feel completely immersed in the scene. The next thing she said pinpointed put my exact feelings about the book into words: It really requires concentration though.
How simple, yet profound. Although I love the story, I have been struggling with it. At first it was just identifying the characters and feeling sympathy for them, but more recently it has been feeling as though I was missing the subtleties that really brighten Edwards' writing.
When I got to my stop, I told her to enjoy the end. She replied, "You too. Take care."
What a wonderful way to start my day. This woman, a complete stranger in a city I am only just becoming familiar with, had been able to verbalize the secret to enjoying the same novel I have been working through since I left the states. She was much older and, judging by her accent, not from the UK either, yet we could find similar enjoyment in one story. I never thought that reading on the tube would make me feel smarter, more connected to a complete stranger and less alone while traveling abroad.
With a positive outlook on the day, I was extremely productive at work. From reading my earlier post you know I was also fortunate enough to get a ticket to a London Fashion Week show, and then was allowed to leave work at 3:30 PM. I spent the rest of the day reading and writing in Kensington Garden watching a peach colored sky fade into the tree spotted horizon. Dinner (sushi) and a movie (Juno) with Ambika and I am happy to call it a night.
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