Confession: I am that person who tries to sneak a peak at the book you are reading as you sit next to me in a waiting room, on a plane, or a train, or even as you precariously cling to a subway pole. As a guest in your home or office, I am drawn like a magnet to any book collection in sight.
In other words, I am a book voyeur.
If I have read the book you are reading, I will wonder if you are loving (or loathing) it, as I did. If it’s one that I enjoyed, the familiarity gives me some small sense of pleasure. If I don’t know about it, then I’m naturally curious – please tell me about it.
Earlier this year, the pandemic thrust us all into a surreal world, transporting our workplaces, classrooms, gyms, and social meetings onto a screen. It wasn’t exactly the Silver Screen, but one in which millions of homes and their contents were newly on display. Bookshelves were suddenly the in-vogue décor and ‒ voilà ‒ overnight, legions of people became book voyeurs too.
While readers looked at and listened to presenters (formal and collegial), our minds wandered among the backdrop of bookshelves. We pondered:
Have I have read that book? What did they really think about THAT one? Is there a theme here? Have they read all of those? How are those books arranged: alphabetically, by size, genre, color scheme, or just in a fire-hazard chic kind of way?
More than mere eye-candy, books serve as catalysts for relatedness, an opportunity to recognize kindred spirts. As a long-time book voyeur, I sometimes feel those momentary connections to fellow readers, even if we exchange no words about the works. That is magical any time; but during this period of so much physical seclusion, those emotional connections, however brief, have been especially precious.
There is a saying, “Seeing someone reading a book you love is seeing a book recommending a person.” Bibliophiles know how true that is. Happy voyeuring!
P.S. “Bibliophile: An Illustrated Miscellany,” is a display worthy, beautifully illustrated work that described as “a love letter to all things bookish.” Among other book facts, it contains multiple features of beloved bookstores.