CoverSpy Keeps NYC Under Literary Surveillance

Slice Magazine has dispatched a “team of publishing nerds” to take a digital census of the reading habits of New York City residents.

They collect the results at the CoverSpy Tumblr page. Each post describes the reader, filling a literary voyeur gap left since Seen Reading went on hiatus last October.

The CoverSpies spotted the expected books: “The Lost Symbol, Dan Brown (Older M, 45ish, wire glasses & Hemingway beard, book flat in lap, F train)” and the slightly more unexpected books: “The Sex Lives of Cannibals, J. Maarten Troost (F, 28, long blondish hair, sitting in corner seat, B train).”

The website also features the occasional photo of a Kindle, the book’s identity forever shrouded in digital mystery: “Title Unknown, Author Unknown (F, 37, a well-put-together lady overall w/ Prada purse, exited F at Delancey).”

Finally, the site also prowls for writers: “(Jonathan Lethem, typing, Clover’s in Brooklyn).”

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