WORD UNDER THE STREET
You know when you see a stranger on the subway immersed in a book and you’re just dying to know what it is? Well, Geoffrey Vendeville asked for you.
Alanna Damp, 19, student
Book: Touch: The Science of Hand, Heart,
and Mind by David J. Linden Stop: College Linden, a Johns Hopkins neuroscientist, covers everything about the science of touch, from skin, nerves and the brain to how the sense influences human development.
“The sense of touch is something we don’t realize is so important,” said Damp. “If we’re born in an environment without it, it changes your lifestyle and the way you interact with everyone.”
Maurice Sanchez, 32, community worker
Book: Leading by Sir Alex Ferguson and Michael Moritz Stop: Museum Sir Alex Ferguson was at the helm of legendary U.K. soccer club Manchester United for 26 years and won 38 trophies. In Leading, he describes the decisions and work ethic that led to his success.
A diehard fan of the Red Devils, Sanchez picked up Leading by Ferguson and venture capitalist Michael Moritz to get a look inside the dressing room of his favourite soccer team.
“There’s a lot more than what you see on TV,” Sanchez said.
Claire Castillo, 19, student
Book: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying by Sogyal Rinpoche Stop: Union Castillo was seeking enlightenment from The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying, a distillation of Buddhist teachings on life and death by the meditation master Rinpoche.
The book is an international bestseller. “It’s a very open-minded book that makes you (wonder) for a minute why nobody talks about dying in general,” Castillo said.
After giving the matter some thought, she says she hopes to depart this world under a tropical sun, surrounded by palm trees.
Sophie Narod, 25, aspiring editor
Book: My Brilliant Friend by Elena Ferrante Stop: Summerhill Narod has two degrees in literature and reads everything she can get her hands on.
She’s reading My Brilliant Friend, the first in the acclaimed four-part series by Italian author Elena Ferrante, before travelling to Europe. The other three books in the series, about a lifelong friendship between two girls from Naples, will be in Narod’s suitcase.
The mysterious Ferrante, who writes under a pen name and keeps her identity secret, told The New York Times via email in 2014 that she originally thought she could tell the story that became the Neapolitan novels in fewer than 150 pages. However, the writing “unearthed memories of people and places from my childhood — stories, experiences, fantasies — so much so that the story went on for many years.”