"GET LOST!" Comment Giveaway

4/7/2015

Tell us, "What do you love most about the NYC subway (or whatever your local public transportation system might be)?"

Submit a comment and you'll be entered to win a SIGNED copy of Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure by Nadja Spiegelman and Sergio Gargía Sánchez...officially released TODAY!

Nadja and Sergio to select 5 winners on Monday April 13th.

Answer from Author Nadja Spiegelman:
"On the subway, you're allowed to look and hear and be aware of the other people around you. I love it for that reason. I play a game on the subway sometimes where I'm alone. I listen to the conversation of the people behind me and I try to imagine what they look like. When I've gotten a very good mental image, I turn around to check and I'm invariably wrong. I find that wonderful. It's a reminder that New York isn't just filled with stereotypes and archetypes, but all of these extraordinarily specific human beings."

36 Comments

Katie Hutchison link

4/7/2015 02:26:42 am

Diverse people all going to different places with different stories

Katy Miller

4/7/2015 02:34:16 am

I am a librarian, so the public transportation is important in getting our patrons here!

A GRIFFIN link

4/7/2015 02:35:38 am

NYC SUBWAY IS A GREAT WAY TO TRAVEL FROM PLACE TO PLACE IN THE CITY. IT IS PROTECTED FROM THE WEATHER, CHEAP AND QUICK. I WISH MEMPHIS HAD A SUBWAY!!

Patti Blount

4/7/2015 02:37:42 am

Meeting new people and seeing new places while not worrying about the driving to and from each place.

Matt

4/7/2015 02:39:57 am

I love you can overhear the most interesting things others are talking about...and sometimes, if you're lucky, they let you join the conversation.

Elizabeth Dejean link

4/7/2015 02:42:42 am

I love the maps, station signs, directions like "uptown" and "downtown" that make sense to everyone and cryptic directions such as "N-Seabeach" and "to Newlots Avenue" that hint at history and romance. Reading is the key to independence on the subway, and being a shy person, the subway gives me a real sense of independence. I also think that subway maps and signs were the first words my children could read.

Alice Majka

4/7/2015 02:55:38 am

Ever since childhood, I've mentally assembled a "pefect town" when riding on public transportation, watching the world go by (though not while on the subway!). I'll "pick out" certain amenities like apartment buildings, churches, parks, grocery stores, gas stations, schools, etc., and "assemble" them in my mind to build my town. Then I place myself within it and imagine what life would be like and who else would choose it as THEIR town. (I'll be 63 this year, and I don't see myself stopping now!)

Linda E Wallace

4/7/2015 03:05:37 am

I love the Washington D.C. metro because it makes sightseeing in D.C. so much easier. I only use it for sightseeing but my sister uses it for work everyday and she is always mumbling about all the tourists -- and then when she sees someone who looks lost she invariably goes up and asks them where they are going and helps them out!

Ron Fowler link

4/7/2015 03:16:34 am

Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,
I don't have to drive my car.
I can read or talk or write,
twinkle, twinkle through the night.
In the night or light of day,
I walk and ride to find my way.
Go to work to earn my wage,
The subway can avoid road wage.

Margene Burnham

4/7/2015 03:19:21 am

I loved riding the subway to get to all the places I wanted to go without the hastle of driving. The people watching was great too.

Miriam Lang Budin

4/7/2015 03:20:53 am

I love the variety of people who ride the subway. It's like watching a different show in every car on every trip.

Annika

4/7/2015 03:31:44 am

In rural areas such as the state of Maine, kids have often never even been on a subway or train, so seeing their faces while you try to explain what it is intriguing.

Jean

4/7/2015 03:36:29 am

While riding on subway during a visit, a group of older men hopped aboard in Harlem and and started singing doo wop style. They hopped off after singing and passing a hat for donations. It was a nice interlude.

Nancy Middaugh

4/7/2015 03:58:13 am

In our small rural Iowa community, ones own feet would be considered public transportation. They provide you with an opportunity for fresh air and exercise, while allowing a ready view of trees and flowers blooming, kids playing in the yards and park, neighbors grilling in the backyard, and black squirrels chasing each other around a tree.

Alyssa Vincent

4/7/2015 04:19:59 am

I live in Chicago, and one of my favorite things about the "L" (our elevated train system) is the holiday train that they run during December. For about a week, each different L line will have a fully decked-out car in lights! The kids love it, and it also doubles as a charitable act since the "Holiday Train" delivers 300 food baskets to community organizations.

Kate H

4/7/2015 04:33:46 am

I love that I can read while I am riding the subway. Reading always makes the time go by faster...sometimes too fast when you miss your stop because of a really interesting scene.

Pam Hansen

4/7/2015 04:35:57 am

Our bus system (we don't have a subway) takes people to all parts of the city so people don't have to own cars. Some people are using it to get to work; others use it to get to school.

Daniel Duignan

4/7/2015 05:14:29 am

I like many, many things about the NYC subway system.

I am delighted I can travel from Washington Heights to Columbus Circle in about twenty minutes on most days.

I also fondly recall as a child traveling on very hot summer days with my entire family from our uptown home to Rockaway Beach for a day of sun and surf. The ride back home wasn't as quick or pleasant (sunburn, wet sandy shorts) but still well worth the token.

Finally, as an NYC public school teacher I marvel at how my colleagues--and math teachers especially--can not solve this particular riddle:

What is the next number?
4, 14, 34, 42, 59, 125, 145, 168, 175, 181, 190, 200, ____

The answer, of course, as most of my subway-loving 3rd grade students will tell you is: 207, because that is the last stop on the "A" line. These numbers represent all the numbered stops between West 4 and 207. "Too easy!" I'm always reminded. That's the answer; no MetroCard needed.

Karen Maurer link

4/7/2015 05:39:42 am

I love the unexpected on the NYC subway. Buskers of all sorts, from musicians to gymnasts will entertain half-filled cars of people. (I'm not sure that this is legal but it's cool!) People in every kind of dress and make-up ride together. I have a friend who carries small bottles of bubbles on the subway to calm gretzy children. You never know what you will see.

tasneem link

4/7/2015 06:44:36 am

I love being able to close my eyes and trusting the system to deliver me to my destination with no road rage, no parking rage, and no what-happened-to-all-of-the-quarters-for-the-meter rage. Basically, I enjoy the rage-free ride.

Callie Fishel

4/7/2015 09:19:03 am

I love to ride the trolley here in San Diego. My Grandma takes me down town so we can explore our city. We like to guess where everyone is going, to work, to Little Italy and then see what stop they get off. My brother is going to NYC this summer and I would to win this book for him to
read before he goes. He is excited to ride the NYC subway with our grandma.

Beth Gilberg

4/7/2015 09:31:18 am

I love getting on the subway and hearing different languages being spoken.

Tina Dalton link

4/7/2015 01:35:44 pm

My family and I recently visited NYC for the first time. During our inaugural subway ride, my 14 son lost his balance and accidentally stomped on the toes of another passenger. Instead of yelling at him, she just laughed and asked where we were visiting from. I was pleasantly surprised to discover more passengers like her throughout our visit. People were quite nice to us, not at all what I expected based on "NYC stereotypes". It was awesome.

Pang Peow Yeong link

4/8/2015 12:05:34 am

I like that the Subway is where everyone comes together in a hodge-podge melting pot. Doesn't matter if you're white,black, yellow or brown, rich or poor, and live in your little enclave neighborhoods with people of same ilk, but the Subway is where everyone's paths cross.

Sharon Cerasoli

4/8/2015 03:09:54 am

Hi I travel to NYC for the day and love to people watch. The subway is a place where many people of diverse backgrounds travel to and from destinations. It is THE best place to observe. Also I love that all take the subway, it is a level playing field. It quickly and efficiently transports you throughout this wonderful and metropolitan city!

Carol Hirsche link

4/8/2015 05:10:57 am

Hopefully this is how we enter the contest?! I have never been to NYC (but I would love to someday), so I have never had the pleasure of using the subway. However I do ride my local public bus to commute to and from work each day. There are two things I love the most about riding the bus: 1) I don't have to drive in the nasty weather that comes along with winter in Utah. The bus drivers make sure I safely get where I need to go. 2) I can just sit back and relax listening to my favorite audio books while I ride along. I would read a book but unfortunately suffer from motion sickness, thus I am extremely grateful for my public bus.

Jess Smart Smiley link

4/8/2015 05:22:48 am

I love the wide variety of people, clothing, baggage, and conversations.

Christine H link

4/8/2015 03:14:14 pm

I like catching moments of sweetness between people -- a young brother and sister teasing each other while their dad looks on; two friends catching up with eager smiles on their faces; a couple with their heads together listening to a shared ipod; an old man whispering something to his wife that makes her nod and smile. In subways, many people are at ease with themselves and with their companions, and it's nice to see glimpses of people whom we might never meet in our daily routines but for our morning and evening commutes.

Amy Smith

4/11/2015 10:05:31 pm

I love the subway because ir's not something I get to do every day. I live near NYC, so when we go in for a day, riding the subway is a special treat!

Shawna Poage

4/12/2015 04:05:05 am

I love those chance meetings where you have a deep discussion with a stranger. You remember the conversations, and think about them often. Even though you never see the person again, they have somehow changed your life by making you think about the topic you discussed in a different light.

Bonnie

4/12/2015 06:41:28 am

Loved to add this to the library.

alexis

4/12/2015 02:47:53 pm

We don't have a subway where I live but we do have a bus system. On our bus, you can meet people from all over the world. You can hear a variety of languages being spoken, combined with the sound of the bus' grinding gears. You could be jostled to and fro with someone from Tibet, Dubai, Kenya or France, giving new meaning to the term melting pot, especially in the summer and the air conditioner has broken down. We endure it together; the weather, the waiting, the remembering to be patient with new bus driver who is let out on the route for the first time, without the instructor, all the while, we are clinging to our seats Some days, there isn't a seat to be had, let alone standing space. Other times, it's just you and the driver, like you're a Lord with your own personal Jeeves. I like riding the bus because it is never boring and it is full of life.

Margaret Borger

4/13/2015 12:08:22 am

What I like about the subway is the art-there are so many wonderful projects to look at. Especially the mosaics-some are old like the beavers down on Canal Street and some are new like the beautiful and colorful shapes at Lexington Ave. and 51st Street. The art connects the past and the present and also shows the work of great creators today.

Jane Cottey

4/13/2015 01:27:10 am

I love that the subway doesn't get caught in the above-ground traffic jams!

Genevieve Ford

4/13/2015 08:45:03 am

My favorite times on the train are when a fellow passenger is singing or drumming or dancing to the music on, usually, his headphones and is lost in his own world, oblivious to the stares and discomfort of other passengers.

Jean Kammer

4/14/2015 01:25:03 am

I rode the NY Subway when I was a child. The noise of the train coming in scared the bejeezus out of me but I loved riding on the train.
We are in a rural area and have no public transportation. Wish we did have some.

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.

"GET LOST!" Comment Giveaway

Tell us, "What do you love most about the NYC subway (or whatever your local public transportation system might be)?"

Leave a Reply.

TOON Books Blog

Links

Categories

Archives