WORD ON THE TRAIN

Geoffrey Vendeville asks commuters what they’re reading.

Marilyn Kleinman

ESL teacher at the North York Community House Book: Quiet by Susan Cain Station: Queen’s Park Review: Quiet is about the “power of introverts in a world that values extroverts,” according to Kleinman, who chose the book because she’s quiet herself. “Introverts can fake extroversion. I fake it really well. When you’re a teacher, you’re getting up there and performing, right? But when I’m done I go to my apartment and close the door and don’t speak to anybody for a few hours at least.” She likes the book and plans to give a copy to her 29-year-old son, who is an introvert like his mother.

Ahmed Mohamad

23, electrical engineer major at Ryerson University

Book: Mean Genes: From Sex to Money to Food: Taming Our Primal Instincts by Terry Burnham and Jay Phelan Station: Museum Review: Co-written by a biologist and economist, Mean Genes gives advice on how to overcome instincts to overeat or overspend. “It’s helping me know a bit more about myself,” says Mohamad, who borrowed the book from a city library on a friend’s recommendation.

Daniel Kintanar 30, bartender

Book: Interview With the Vampire by Anne

Rice Station: St. Patrick Review: Kintanar, who prides himself on his margaritas, is rereading Interview With the Vampire after spotting it on his landlord’s book shelf. “You know when you read a book, it’s always much better than the movie,” he says. The book has much more detail than the 1994 film starring Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise, according to Kintanar. “The way the author describes everything, it makes your imagination go further.”

Sasha Dipnarine

Administrator in the University Health Network

Book: The Lady of the Rivers by Philippa Gregory Station: King Review: Dipnarine got her copy of The Lady of the Rivers — a historical novel in The Cousin’s War series about court intrigue and revenge in 15th-century France — from her boyfriend’s mom, who lives in England. “She said, ‘Don’t take it if you’re not going to read it,’ because she knows I take forever,” Dipnarine says. She’s confident she can finish it before they go to visit her at Christmas.