People are reading. Who knew?

I like to think that I am a fairly observant observer. I notice things. I eavesdrop on people. Sometimes I even take notes. I come back here, write it all up for you, and everybody goes home happy.

It's not terribly elevated, though. Most of the time, you get a conversation overheard at the returns desk or from the adjacent dressing room.

Completely unlike the sort of observation practiced by Sonya Worthy on her blog, People Reading.

In her January 20 article for the SF Chronicle, Sonya explains that having just finished writing her first book, she felt compelled "to know, really know, that people still read books." So, last July, she boarded a Greyhound bus with a plan--visit 48 states in 52 days, creating a "literary portrait" of the country in the process.

And you know what? Some people are reading. Books!

Sonya's blog chronicles readers and their books in the city of San Francisco, where she lives. A quick glance at her About sidebar will tell you everything you need to know about her motives and process, so I'll let you get that there. What I'd like to tell you here is how fascinating it all is.

Each post features a photo of a reader and his or her book. Sonya might ask the readers what they think of the books they're reading now and why they chose them, their favorite books of all time, their childhood favorites, or what they would write about if they were authors. These are not complicated questions, but the responses aren't always what you would expect.

I can't tell you how happy reading this blog about other people reading makes me feel. Happy--and hungry for a new book.

Read Sonya Worthy's San Francisco Chronicle article here.

photo, Sonya Worthy.