The world rushes by outside the window, unseen, as one is immersed in pages.
Thoughts of a bookseller on an icy morning, when said bookseller is housebound and longing to become a Traveling Wilbury again.
"When does the next train start for Galatz?" said Van Helsing to us generally.
"At 6.30 tomorrow morning!" We all started, for the answer came from Mrs Harker.
"How on earth do you know?" said Art.
"You forget - or perhaps you do not know, though Jonathan does and so does Dr Van Helsing - that I am the train fiend. At home in Exeter I always used to make up the time tables, so as to be helpful to my husband. I found it so useful sometimes, that I always make a study of the time tables now..."
"Wonderful woman!" murmured the Professor.
No, I'm not cross-posting The Blog Stoker's DRACULA Project here, so don't get that panicked look in your eyes, Gentle Readers. I am still saving that for blogdracula.
Rather, I was reminded of the above passage and highlighted that particular phrase in boldface because of two factors.
1] It's from Dr. Seward's diary for October 28, 1897, which just happens to be my birthday, if not my birth year.
2] I am also a train fiend. Train travel is by far my favorite method; I keep timetables in my head; and most importantly I can read on the train. I think most of the books I've actually read cover-to-cover in 2007 and 2008 were read on trains, particularly on my Nov. '07 trip to New York where I commuted from Long Island to Manhattan every day for a week.
I think the cure to my current reading drought is for me to engage again in regular train travel. It's magic, don't you agree?
---pmc2
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