Bringing Crime And Punishment Back To The NYC Commute

When was the last time you saw Mark Twain on the Q train? Or Faulkner on the F? If you've noticed that great literature has lost out to throw-away tabloid news on the subways beneath Manhattan, you're not alone. Buku Sarkar has noticed too, and she's determined to bring the classics back to the New York City commute.

Sarkar has begun Choose What You Read NY, an organization that collects old books and distributes them - free - in subway stations on the first Tuesday of every month.

With nothing more than a folding table and a sign reading, "Free Books for your Commute" she has led a project that is part recycling effort, part recession relief, part literacy campaign, and all heart.

In the model of a similar London-based organization, Sarkar and a few other volunteers braved the sweltering stuffiness of subterranean Union Square for their inaugural effort last month.

"Literally within minutes of us setting up there were swarms of people around us," she said. "People were skeptical at first, which New Yorkers always are." But in just an hour, the group had distributed all 130 of the books they brought.

There's no price tag on the books Sarkar distributes, but each bears a small green sticker with the organization's logo. She hopes that commuters will read the book, then return it to the organization so it can be distributed again.

"In the long run, the idea is that the same book keeps on changing hands," she said, "Do I expect it to happen? I hope so. I hope that within the first year it will catch on"

The organization is in its infancy now. For the first distribution in July, most of the books were collected from family and friends and most of the volunteers were like-minded people she knew.

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"It's all young people who are just doing this because they really want to help and they like books," she said.

Since then, Choose What You Read NY has expanded to collect books at three donation sites in Manhattan and Sarkar has been soliciting donations and volunteers on Craigslist. She hopes to secure nonprofit status soon, with the help of a pro bono accountant, and continue to grow the organization.

"I'm waiting for someone to come to me and tell me, 'You know what? I never really used to read books, but now, thanks to you, I read,' "Sarkar said. "That would touch my heart and make me really proud."

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Comments

[m66]

You mean Harry Potter isn't great literature? That's all I see people reading.

[Pupster]

Harry Potter is wonderfully written and cleverly done. Don't underestimate how well Rowling tells a entertaining story, a skill many writers lack. I find that generally the people who turn their noses up at the series don't really know very much about good literature.

[weebils]

How about bringing back literature to the schools. It is disgraceful how the classics are no longer read in school. Longfellow, Poe and so on are absent from many schools. Ask a kid if they ever read The Pied Piper of Hamlin. It is really sad.

[NewmanFan]

First, I think this book exchange is a wonderful idea.

However, I ride the NYC subway every workday for at least 90 minutes, and I can tell you firsthand that people are often reading excellent literature, be it fiction or nonfiction. More people read books than read the rags.

As a former college writing teacher, I would like to add that if someone is reading, I really don't care what it is. I just want more people to read! Reading helps one's writing immeasurably.

I would personally like to see a group sponsoring a drop box for people to discard their various music devices. We'll call it IA, iPods Anonymous. (And if you can't let go of it, can you at least turn down the volume so I don't lose my hearing simply by sitting next to you? We are going to have an entire generation going deaf by the time they're 40.)

[redsongia]

Boston commutes on the subway are usually shorter than NYC, but when I lived in Sommerville and rode in 40 minutes each way, I noticed plenty of literature on the train, the classics and the locals. I once sat down next to someone reading the same Haruki Murukami novel as I was reading.

But I do think it's nice that they pass out books if people want them. It's better than reading the metro, which only takes about 10 minutes and never lasts the whole ride.

[C0mm0nSense]

Programs like this should be started in the middle east.

[anthonytaurus]

Sorry, but I am fundamentally against reading fiction, especially if it doesn't teach you anything. Those "classics" are no different than cheap romance novels or tabloid fodder (with possibly better writing as that seems to be the only point that can be made). Even in school, I saw no point reading Catcher in the Rye. Holden Caulfield was a waste of time and his "story" didn't teach me anything. I did not take that nonsense seriously at all.

But, something as simple as Aesop's Fables stuck with me. I live by the Art of War as its substance is so important; it's my bible. I love to read essays and nonfiction. Philosophy is incredible!

My point is, what's the difference between reading Chaucer and a cheap tabloid? You pretty much get the same quality of info that's mostly useless unless you plan on being a part of a game show.

Try absorbing Plato beyond the need to pass a test if you don't wanna get caught with a cheap tabloid or skin mag. It's infinitely more interesting learning about the period in which The Canterbury Tales was written than actually reading the book.

my 2 pennies

[Numinous123]

You almost have a point, but then, by your logic, if you can't find any value in a subject like fiction, you would fine no value in poetry, or art.

You see, sometimes fiction can help to expand the mind. To see new possibilities, or to imagine that you're in someone's shoes.

It can help to expand the mind, or develop new concepts.

You don't really seem like the kind of person who would appreciate that.

Living a life in fiction is a waste, but that doesn't mean fiction doesn't have value.

[anthonytaurus]

My logic still applies as art and poetry are on the same level as prose. All of it can consist of fiction and nonfiction work. It's the difference between Jackson Pollock and Leonardo daVinci. Poetry is the same way.

However, by no means do I mean that we should limit ourselves to real life events alone. Imagination is part of why we are this far ahead as a society.

But, if you're going to make up something, don't make up something that's supposed to come off as a real event. That's lying lol. That's why I do appreciate mythology and so on. It's fantastic.

[Alarmist]

I'm not a fan of fiction either, and don't read much of it today. But this isn't really about fiction vs. non-fiction, it's more about getting people to read, and a book exchange program. I think it's better to have that than not. And maybe people don't want to read such an intensive non-fiction book about the life and times of Calvin Coolidge while on the train for a few minutes.

[anthonytaurus]

you're right on all points made. but i take issue with people who try to inject these kinds of books as though it's better than a cheap tabloid. i wouldn't want my kids to read those books as i wouldnt care for them to read cheap tabloids. I'd rather see them pick up the NYTimes.

and who said nonfiction was intense. try reading Maybe You Never Cry Again by Bernie Mac. very easy read and it's a real story and you'll laugh your behind off. some touching moments in there as well. and his story is real even if some parts might be embellished.

[ritz]

I started a "Free Exchange" in our laundry room. It's grown from a milk crate to a book case. It's been four years, and it's a hit.

[JhNyc]

We have the same in our laundry room (assuming we're not in the same building).

[Pupster]

This is why Kindle is evil and e-books are cr*p. Books are meant to be shared, passed around, dog-eared and marked, going through as many hands (and minds) as possible.

[EminemsRevenge]

Saw a girl reading Balzac on the train one day and she was so into it i said to myself that i gotta check him out...and i did:)

i read mainly classics simply because most current books are too predictable!

[redkim]

awesome idea! I always liked to see what people were reading on the trains...but since I no longer commute I won't get to see this in action.

[damyanky]

You people are sometimes so anal.

[JimBozo]

What's anal about choosing to not throw a perfectly good book into the trash, but to put it where someone else can find and enjoy it? It's not like putting your partially-consumed takeout meal on top of a mailbox. Not that that's a bad thing, either, of course; but that's a one-way transaction in my case.

It's hard to wear out a book, although I'm damn' tough on them. I don't mind some wear and tear on one, if I run into it on the street, or on top of my mailbox. I'll even buy one with the cover dangling off, if it's an author I like.

[ZoeyMO]

People all over my area of Brooklyn leave used books out on the sidewalk. I have both picked up quite a few and distributed many more. It's great. Books were meant to be read.

[jeffp26]

This is a great story about an even better idea.

Imagine how this country would be if everyone read, and was educated?

Think about two morons, for instance, who couldn't read if they had to: Bush and Palin.

[Diana]

Fantastic idea!

The free tabloids are right-wing rags that began to be handed out at subway entrances all over the city around 2003/2004. It was a strange phenomenon, and I remember a friend and I concluding that it was a great marketing tool to advance republican votes for bush. The tabloids are simply trash but since they are free, you see almost everyone reading them. Shame.

[Lillith]

We do the same in my building (I live in Astoria). Its a nice not to have books just sit there or be thrown away and then they can be enjoyed by as many people as possible. I hope it works as planned.

[JimBozo]

That's a great idea. In my building, near Union Square, we leave unwanted books on top of the mailbox in the lobby, and they're always gone quickly. Some of them come from me, and some go home with me.