Comelibros on the Metro

The semi-humid Madrid air blows past my ears as I push the entrada door to the La Elipa Metro station. I suddenly feel a gush of warmth that is inviting yet uncomfortable from the gales and breezes that sweep through the underground. As I enter this subterranean world, I realise that the weather outside is now insignificant as I see people strip off their coats and pull out their books, newspapers, and iPods, gearing up for a quiet ride on the Metro. I take out my monthly pass that I use at least 6 times a day, push it through the machine and head down escalator after escalator into the depths of the station. I wait for the train to come; usually it takes three minutes at the most for a train to arrive (it is really amazing to me that they can be that frequent!).  As I wait, I take out my Kindle or my book (if I actually have a physical book to read); I start reading on the platform and wander into the train once it arrives. I'm almost somnambulant as I pore into my book, enraptured by the characters, descriptions, and words that fly across my mind as I read. But why is this experience so fascinating to me? Well, this is the first year I've been able to read for fun since...well, since as long as I can remember.

Now, I'll have to admit that there's some sort of obsession I've developed when it comes to reading. In Elementary School, I looked forward to the days that we would go to the school library. In Middle School, I started keeping track of what books I read and how many I read each year, competing with my mother to see who could read more! Then in High School I became such a voracious reader that I would even have a book open on my music stand during band class. My reading habits changed in college -- instead of reading for fun, I had to read for class; however, in order to motivate myself to read things like the Iliad and Ovid's Metamorphoses I would reward myself by reading out of my non-school-related book after each reading assignment (which essentially just made me procrastinate about 80% of my homework until the very last minute...or not do the homework at all, wowing my professors with amazing philosophical discussions about the 10% of the assignment that I actually did read!). Now that college is over, I read in random little bits during the day: at home, on the bus, on the metro, in a bar or café, and waiting for people (because in Spain, everyone arrives late to things). It's really one of the most wonderful aspects of mi vida cotidiana (my daily life) here in Madrid.

I'm suddenly brought back to reality when I hear the chime of the Spanish Metro Lady over the speakers as she tells me to get my nose out of my book because my stop is coming up next. In these few moments before I get off the train, I glance at the other passengers with books to see what I might want to pick up next. (Usually the middle-aged women are useless with this because they seem to be so embarrassed about what they read -- trashy romance novels with Fabio on the cover? -- that they actually cover their books with butcher paper!) I am in awe at how we can all enter this underground world and read a few pages here and there, passing hundreds of fellow comelibros everyday without saying one word to another bookworm about their book... I then step off the train and walk down the platform towards the salida, anxious for my next opportunity to pick up my libro and read.

Siempre imaginé que el Paraíso sería algún tipo de biblioteca.
Jorge Luis Borges

(Post inspired by this page on the New York Times website:  Sketchbook - What New Yorkers are Reading on the Subway)