Skills

This is the first time in my life I've regularly ridden public transportation of any kind.  I have started to read on my daily subway trips; I never get more than a few pages in, partially because I end up watching the weirds and prettys around me, and partially because I run into trouble when it's time to turn a page.

See, my subway ride is chock full of stops, and is bendy and curvy between those stops.  There's unpredictable swooping and juttering, making it necessary to hang on to the rail at all times.  How am I supposed to let go and turn a page in the midst of all that?  I could be caught off balance and faceplant into a homeless man.

So I'm trying to turn the pages by thumb.  My hand becomes clawlike and restrains the body of the text while my thumb delicately forces the spent page to retire.  It's not easy.  I can't tell how other people manage this reading thing.

I also tend to zone out and ruminate on my claw instead of reading my book, which helps no one.