Así es como empieza un buen proyecto, con una idea que engloba a muchas otras personas. Tal como Uli Beutter Cohen, una alemana afincada en Estados Unidos, encontró que siempre que viajaba en el metro de Nueva York veía a gente con un libro en la mano. A ella le interesó mucho poder saber qué leen y por qué lo hacen. De manera que empezó con este proyecto fotográfico el cual fue publicando habitualmente en su Twitter, Facebook, Instagram y su propia página web.

Terrorist Assemblages; Homonationalism in Queer Times by Jasbir K. Puar. Molly: "I gave him this book as a romantic gesture. I've done that multiple times with other people before, but he knows that. I'm really bad at separating my academic life from my love life." Kareem: "We often read together but yes, you caught me reading to her just now. The book is a nonfiction piece about how nations have come to claim gay rights for their own agendas, which are often complicit in imperialist projects. It's a favorite book of Molly's. We share what we study and think about it together often." @mollytheo @discoasos #newyork #nyc #subwaybookreview #bookreview #subway #bookloversunite #author #jasbirpunar #homonationalism #gayrights #politics #readingisawesome #loveisawesome

A photo posted by Subway Book Review (@subwaybookreview) on May 12, 2015 at 3:28pm PDT

Así nació Subway Book Review (‘Reseñas del metro’), una colección de pequeñas reseñas escritas y publicadas en redes sociales sobre lo que le contaban los lectores del metro.

Spinster by Kate Bolick. Caroline: "This is one woman's memoir in which she attempts to de-stigmatize the 'unmarried woman'. She talks about her own story and the lives of 5 other women writers through history. The book is very compelling and wise. It makes me feel excited about solo living. The idea of remaining unmarried by choice has often been seen as a strange decision for women, when in fact there are a lot of wonderful things about it. It's an important book for all women to read, because there are aspects of her story that we can all relate to: having control of one's space, having quiet time or finding creative inspiration. Those are also my favorite things about my current living situation." @carolinecala #katebolick #spinster #memoir #sololiving #womenpower #singlelife #history #neithboyce #maevebrennan #charlotteperkinsgilman #ednastvincentmillay #edithwharton #newyork #bookreview #brooklyn #subwaybookreview @crownpublishing

A photo posted by Subway Book Review (@subwaybookreview) on Apr 30, 2015 at 11:35am PDT

La autora le dijo a la BBC que le sorprendió el entusiasmo con el que la gente le contaba qué estaban leyendo y por qué. Lo que comparten con ella no son solo impresiones de sus lecturas, sino también cómo estas impactan en sus vidas, contó a la cadena británica.

Where's Waldo? The Totally Essential Travel Collection. Addison: "Papa got this book for us today. In the book you just find things. Like Waldo. You find him because he has stripes on. This is Anais's book. Percy Jackson is my favorite book." Anais: "I want to find the sandcastle. Where is it?" #whereswaldo #sandcastle #percyjackson #subwayreading #thecutest #sisters #newyork #subwaybookreview

A photo posted by Subway Book Review (@subwaybookreview) on Apr 15, 2015 at 5:15am PDT

Beutter ha vivido varios años en EE.UU., pero su mudanza a Nueva York es reciente. Para su proyecto no cuenta con lujosas cámaras ni un vasto equipo de producción, son solo ella y su celular. Beutter no graba las conversaciones, sino que toma apuntes porque se dio cuenta de que al grabar ahuyentaba a las personas.

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz. Roberto: "I love brash, street-talk narration. This story is spoken in a very vulgar, superficial language, but you still get an in-depth look at the characters. The message of the book is that life is full of struggle, but that richness and fulfillment are born out of this struggle. A lot of it is speaking to dealing with family problems. That's something we all can relate to. I'm excited to see how the family in the story might break the vicious cycle and everybody gets to heal." @elotrolado1 #junotdiaz #pulitzerprize #briefwonderouslifeofoscarwao #novel #curse #newjersey #dominican #family #book #subway #newyork #subwaybookreview

A photo posted by Subway Book Review (@subwaybookreview) on Mar 2, 2015 at 3:07pm PST

Cuando inició el proyecto solía armarse ciertas teorías sobre las personas por el libro que leían, pero pronto descubrió al conversar con ellas, que esa primera impresión estaba equivocada. Así que ahora cuando ve a alguien con su libro no sabe qué esperar y eso la emociona. Le toca hacer su trabajo rápidamente porque en el metro de Nueva York el tiempo transcurre rápido y si se despista puede perder buenas reseñas.

King Leopold's Ghost by Adam Hochschild. Mary: "What is the book about? Oh god, the story is complex. It's a study on colonial Africa that goes back to the 1400s. It's a historical account that's easy to read, like a story, but you're learning a lot. It's starts with the Portuguese interest in the Congo, how they started to colonize it and creates what the trajectory looked like from there. You see how trade turns into conquest. Hochschild gives us the perspective of the first King of the Congo – that's a voice we usually don't hear. I'm re-reading the book because I like to refresh my memory on dates and names. I'm West African and understand the consequences of colonization but it's good to have exact references." @maryakpa #kingleopoldsghost #hochschild #history #africa #congo #colonization #kingleopold #10milliondead #humanrights #bookreview #newyork #subwaybookreview

A photo posted by Subway Book Review (@subwaybookreview) on Mar 22, 2015 at 8:01am PDT

Este proyecto no solo la ayudó a conocer más personas, sino que conoció más el lugar en donde estaba viviendo y donde le esperaban más aventuras… como las de los libros.