Walk fast, talk fast.

I think I've figured out a surefire way to meet new people. I mean, besides just walking up to a stranger and saying hello; it's a perfect segue to conversation. My secret is reading.

Let me digress for a minute: lately, on the internet and in talks with friends, I've been discussing thoughtful pieces on cultivating lasting friendships, meeting new people (friend- or dating-wise) without using the somewhat soulless staging of the internet, and making friends after you're done with the naturally social setting of school. As someone who was the perpetual New Girl growing up, I've been through all sorts of trials and tribulations in making friends - but practice makes perfect, right? So, I've dashed away any shyness when it comes to meeting new people. But there's something about making friends with strangers you know you already share at least one mutual interest - without even speaking to them yet.

All of this led up to today's morning commute. I was making my usual transfer from one train to another, and made my way to the door, where a fashionably dressed girl with bright red lipstick stood aside for me to get off. As I passed her with all the other bustling passengers, I noticed she was reading Christopher Pike's The Lost Mind. I paused for a millisecond before I had to continue on, lest I hold up the train and the other gruff commuters - but if I had the time to stop, I would have inquired as to why she was reading the book, and if it was because she had liked Pike books so much as an adolescent like me, or maybe after reading the trite Twilight series she was in need of trying out more substantial young-adult fare?

The point is: I would have said something and that may have led to a conversation, and maybe she wears red lipstick like me because she digs vintage 40s pinups and also Gwen Stefani, or maybe we go to the same bars sometimes and never ran into each other. Or, she could just smile and nod at me, totally nonplussed by my surprise that a 20-something was reading Pike on the subway.

And yes, I'm a total book nerd, and we're not all book nerds, but it's that one segue you need to spark a conversation between yourself and a stranger. It's happened to me several times while living in New York, and it's always: books.

With other areas of interests, it's not as easy to gather the pertinent information. Nobody talks during movies, and unless you're at a special screening of a classic you love or you see someone wearing a t-shirt emblazoned with a line from your favourite movie of all time - you don't have an easy way to say "Hey." It's slightly easier with music - you could meet someone at a concert, though everyone's usually there with other people and, you know, it's loud. But there could be a quiet moment near the bar or in line on the way in. Forget that scene from 500 Days of Summer where Summer hears Tom listening to The Smiths on the elevator and starts talking to him: 1) music being blasted so loud in someone's ears that those nearby can hear it is super obnoxious and 2) there's no easy way to see what people are listening to without being the creep staring really hard at their iPod display.

But reading.

A lot of people might think reading is an especially private endeavor - unless you're being read to, you don't read the same thing with anyone else at the same time, right? But public reading is a different story. You can gather what others are reading displayed on the covers - whether in a Starbucks, at Barnes and Noble, at the library (though you have to remain quiet!), or, as most often in my case: on the subway.

Three years ago, I was reading Tom Robbins' Still Life With Woodpecker on the F train heading to meet someone for dinner. I was flipping the pages, reading contentedly, when the young man sitting next to me said, "Tom Robbins?" I looked up and saw a very nice face (I would even say model-nice) as he continued - "I can tell because of the illustrations between sections," pointing at the open book. "Yeah, it's my first Tom Robbins - I really like it." He smiled and said, "I love his stuff, you should definitely check out more." Then it was my stop, and maybe if I wasn't already intensely into the man I'd been dating for a month at the time - the man who told me to read Still Life - then maybe I'd've passed along my e-mail or stayed an extra stop to continue talking.

Another time, I peered over at the girl next to me as she opened a new book, and I read along with her the first few sentences of The Time Traveler's Wife - and those few sentences were enough for me to go out and get the book the next time I went to the bookstore. I wish I could thank that girl now!

Just last week there was a girl sitting across from me reading the totally awesome and yes, very fantasy, novel A Game of Thrones. When I was getting off the train, I got her attention and said "I love that series!" and gave her a thumbs up and a wave (nerd-style) and she smiled back enthusiastically. I've done this many a time - for those books where I think I'm the only person reading it. I think I've mostly gotten these types of exclamations in return when I read comic books - I've just started reading Runaways, so we'll see what the next few days bring.

When my book club was reading War and Peace earlier this year, I'm 99.9% sure fellow member Jaime got a shout-out on Missed Connections because of it. The ad described a tall, blonde woman who had been reading the giant novel War and Peace and that he would've said hi, but he didn't want to distract her. I sent it to Jaime and asked her if she'd been on the specific train at that time the night before, and she confirmed it.

I know it's easy to read on the subway every day, and that it's harder without a metro nearby to just go out in public and read amongst others - but I think it's definitely a way to instantly know one very small thing about someone else. And with that, making an attempt at conversation is far easier than without. Though I haven't exactly made any best friends out of my fellow subway readers, that's mostly because I don't really have time to cultivate new friendships - what with having a husband, six bestest friends, and many other friends and activities. But when ever Jesse and I leave New York and move to a new place, you bet I'll be reading in public, hoping for a stranger to pop up reading 2666 or maybe a Didion collection.

Have you ever stopped someone because of what they were reading? Have you ever been been stopped? Tell me your stories!

There is no reasoning, it’s quite a silly thing.

A lot of people ask me for reading suggestions - given the fact that last year I read over 52 books, I'm part of a book club, and my penchant for daily commute reading. Last week a friend was planning their impending summer vacation, and asked for some "summer suggestions."

I decided to bring some to you, too. And I've categorized them! Since summer reading can go many a way. Generally I think you can read whatever genre, whenever you want, but let's go with the theme - this ain't time to read the frigid, despairing pages of Cormac McCarthy! You're on a beach! By a pool! Lounging in the sun or relaxing in air conditioning!

The Good Ol' Blockbuster

The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (& sequels) by Stieg Larsson

The books, the Swedish films, the rumors for the American film versions - this series is legitimately everywhere! And you know what? They're good! You can believe in the hype. At least - for now. I just finished the second book, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and I believe it's a vast improvement on the first. Perhaps because we get more of kick-ass rebel Lisbeth Salander? Or maybe because the translation's just better! I can't wait to read the third, and ALERT: the wonderful Swedish film adaptation is currently available on Netflix Instant Watch! The sequel was just released in theaters, and that's what I'm seeing tonight!

The Season of Passage by Christopher Pike

This one's an oldie. If you've been reading, you probably know that as a pre-teen and teenager, I was obsessed with Pike's eerie novels. However, this was one of his adult novels, and it's a wee bit sci-fi, a wee bit vampiric - and a total page-turner. It's been a few years since I last read it, I may have to delve in again!

For a Laugh

Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang by Chelsea Handler

Last year, Are You There Vodka, It's Me Chelsea cracked me up. This year's choice had me laughing out loud on the plane to San Diego in June. If she wasn't so funny about her practical jokes, she could be a sadistic pathological liar. Good thing she's hilarious!

Hot Mess: Summer in the City by Julie Kraut and Shallon Lester

I read this a few summers ago, and the emo references and teen language were great for a light, funny read. Also, if you've ever seen MTV's Downtown Girls, its star, Shallon, co-wrote this!

Glamorama by Bret Easton Ellis

Though definitely a dark comedy (the usual Ellis satirical stuffs) I am fully convinced that whoever wrote the plot to Zoolander definitely read this book. It's about the 90s, supermodels, and terrorism: I'm JUST saying. (It's also really violent and sexual, not for the faint of heart!)

Thought-Provoking Fiction

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

You may have recently heard of this novel because Kiera Knightley, Carey Mulligan, and Andrew Garfield (the newest Spiderman) are starring in a film version. Read it before you see it! I love this novel wholeheartedly, and unlike Dragon Tattoo, I'm pretty sure the movie cannot live up to the written word.

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

I read this last summer on the honeymoon - it was perfect to read on the beach with the warm Aruban winds lifting the corner of the pages every so often. It's a saga in the way of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, set in South America and following a family through tragedies and a nation's militant uprising. Allende's settings and characters come to life instantaneously with her gorgeous and illustrative writing.

Everything Lovely, Effortless, Safe by Jenny Hollowell

I contemplated grouping this with the comedies, but it made me think - think at what exactly I was laughing at. It's funny, to be sure, but in an almost sad, depressive way. Want to take a look into the seedy business of Hollywood? Go ahead.

Evening by Susan Minot

I read this novel for a class in college, but it still sticks with me long after. The writing uses so many flash-forward, flash-backward plot devices and descriptions that make you think; and it makes you emotional (was it just me?). You'll think of your own memories (many of them summer memories) and your first loves, lost loves, and even regrets.

Perfect for Short Summer Attention Spans

Runaway (Stories) by Alice Munro

Munro makes so much plot in so little words. Her stories could be ten pages long and you'd finish feeling like you knew those characters; her descriptions are succinct, plain, and perfect. I just read this last month, my first by Munro, and I can't wait to read more of her works.

Nine Stories by JD Salinger

I indeed despise Catcher in the Rye - but I truly love this tiny book. In fact, a friend "handed it down" to me last year for the bridal shower, and it was filled with little notes and ticket stubs from all over the world. I recently passed it on to another friend, and told her to leave her mark and pass it on as well. It's writing you can get attached to, but want to share with everyone else.

Slouching Towards Bethlehem by Joan Didion

I don't think I can even write about how much I love this collection of essays and articles. Ever since I read it last summer, I can't stop thinking about certain moments in this book, and in her writing. I've already reread a few of these essays, and can claim Didion as one of my favourite writers of all time.

A Classic for a Time Escape

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

If someone were to ask me my favourite novel of all time, I'd say this one. I read it one summer many years ago when visiting my family in Panama. I was under a mosquito net, the jungle outside my window, the humidity on every inch of my skin - and I relished in how I remembered everything even more clearly that summer because of this book. Also set in a deep South American jungle, the writing, though translated, is the best. One day I intend to read it in the original Spanish.

Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert

And now to France! This novel made me laugh many times, but like Hollowell's novel, there's an underlying sadness and desperateness throughout the text. Wonderful read.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton

For my final suggestion, a return to old New York. I still can't get Newland Archer's character out of my head - Wharton writes in an exacting, witty way and she gets across a lot in few words. If you enjoy Jane Austen and her musings on courtship, Wharton does the same in a much more biting manner. I'm currently reading The House of Mirth by her, and I'm glad to recognize her clever writing again.

*     *     *

Do not, under any circumstances, pick up Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. I couldn't even finish it; what a self-indulgent snooze-fest. And I absolutely love her magazine writing! I was super disappointed. Okay, okay - I know a lot of people love it, and maybe you hate one of my own suggestions. To each their own! Let me know if you love/hate/can't wait to read what's listed! Any suggestions of your own?

See what the jukebox knows.

The past few days have been a bit busy - Jesse left for tour yesterday so on Tuesday night we had a date night and went to our favourite restaurant, Sweet Emily's. Then the staff told us that they were hoping we'd come in, as we're regulars, because...the restaurant is closing next week. I nearly CRIED at the table. I'm not kidding. Anyway, then we came home and watched Funny People which I'm going to add to my worst films of 2009 list. However, it was a lovely night all the same, as I have so much fun the husband.

On Wednesday night we played a long poker game in which I came in second (my streak continues!) and then yesterday morning I had to say bye - just as I felt the inklings of a cold coming on. I got home from work and got down to laundry and cleaning out my closet (ps I tend to do a lot of errands when Jesse first leaves for tour...) and by the end of the night I was coughing and sneezing all over the place. Today, I fare no better. The good thing is that I haven't been sick in about a year, perhaps more. I blame this cold on all the non-stop fun I've been having!

And now, to the questions I recieved the past couple of days (ask me anything here!) --

what are the chances of you coming to australia when mcs tour in feb? i have been a loyal reader of your blog (and tumblr - i'm mynameisjenna --i think you follow me--) for just over a year i think, maybe even longer and i honestly think if we met, we'd totally hit it off, as i always seem to be nodding my head whilst reading cause i seem to agree with a lot you say. yeah, we'd defs be buddies. so you should try come out, just for the week, just make sure you hit up melbourne.

Ah! Jenna! Unfortunately, I won't be in Australia this year, though I'd love, love, love to visit! It's definitely a destination for the future, and I'll be sure to include Melbourne. Glad we're of the same mind, too. Ha. Thanks for being such a loyal reader - your tumblr is lovely! (And I think you're actual tumblr is jennacampbell, right?)

What is one goal you’d like to accomplish during your lifetime?

Write a novel. What an accomplishment that would be. And, I'm actively working towards it.

If you could visit any place in the world, where would you choose to go and why?

Japan. I've been fascinated with Japan since college and I believe no matter how much I learn about the country, I still wouldn't be able to imagine what it's really like. I have so many Japanese trinkets and t-shirts from friends, family, and Jesse over the years that I am constantly reminded of how much I'd love to visit!

What are your favorite hobbies?

Reading, writing, watching movies, watching movies I love with people who haven't seen them yet, watching really bad tv shows and making fun of them, milling about in a used book store, discussing and debating books music film, hiking, researching obscure facts, going to shows.

If you could have dinner with one person from history, who would it be?

Hm. Tough.

Joan Didion in her late twenties, Marilyn Monroe when she was married to Arthur Miller, Audrey Hepburn when she was sixty years old, Bette Davis after filming All About Eve.

Hey Jessica! It's Kaleigh (aliceintumblerland). I am almost done reading White Teeth...it took me a while to get into it, but I'm liking it more now. It's a different style of writing that's new to me, so maybe that's what threw me a bit. I wish we could meet and drink coffee and talk about books all day! anyways, hope you're staying warm and not buried in snow. Have a lovely day! Thanks again for the book suggestions...I just bought 3 new ones. I'm trying to read some of the classics I never have before. I got Walden/Civil Disobedience, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and The Jungle. Your book reading has really inspired me to start reading like I used to!

White Teeth is not the easiest book to read, but I'm glad you like it! And I love getting together and discussing books - would totally be up for that if we lived in the same town! I haven't read any of your three choices, though I hope to some day. That's awesome that you're reading more! Yay!

Hey Jessica! I was wondering if you know who Idina Menzel is...because I think you two kind of look alike...:D

Idina Menzel is the person I get compared to the most - it's totally the square jawline! But, more so when I had long hair, I think. Also, since Spring Awakening opened a couple of years ago on Broadway, I've been out at bars and twice been mistaken for Idina-lookalike Lea Michele (who is now on Glee). Very, very complimentary to be compared to these two lovely Broadway stars (one of whom is married to Taye Diggs!).

Idina

Lea

And me with long hair:

Short hair, not so much?

We have similar jaws/coloring. What do you think? I've heard rumors that Idina Menzel will be guest appearing on an episode or two of Glee, as well!

Apparently Jiscilla and I went from total princesses to goths in a year.