The Polar Bear Expedition, James Carl Nelson (M, 20s, black V-neck sweater vest over white button-up, black tie, black jeans, black Converse, PROBABLY a black coffee, Starbucks)
seen from China

seen from Canada

seen from Malaysia

seen from United States

seen from Canada
seen from Brazil
seen from United States

seen from Argentina

seen from Canada

seen from Chile
seen from Chile
seen from China
seen from Argentina

seen from Belarus
seen from China
seen from Canada
seen from Sweden
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from Saudi Arabia
The Polar Bear Expedition, James Carl Nelson (M, 20s, black V-neck sweater vest over white button-up, black tie, black jeans, black Converse, PROBABLY a black coffee, Starbucks)
The Stand, @StephenKing (M, 20s, reading a battered paperback edition, unlaced boots, black puffy vest, analog watch, hand on coffee mug, @ObliqueCoffee)
The Trial, Franz Kafka (M, 30s, butterfly tattoo on shin, knit cap, reading at tented picnic table with a mason jar of beer, Pod 28 food carts)
It’s All about Change, OSHO (F, 30s, flirting with technician, Apple Store)
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho (F, gray World Series cap, blue nails, surgical mask, face buried in book while sitting in @citifield stands, @mets vs Brewers, top of the 8th, tied game, spied on @snytv)
Notes from a Young Black Chef, Kwame Onwuachi (F, 30s, white blouse with black crosshatch pattern, chatting with another extra, Extra Holdings on a film set, Portland area)
CoverSpy turned ELEVEN YEARS old this weekend. Our dispatch from October 31, 2020, looking back and spying ahead:
On October 31, 2009, CoverSpy filed its first report on the books being read in the subways, streets, parks and bars of New York. Forgive us for the fright way back when, Paris Review: we just loved capturing sweet moments between our neighbors, no matter what they were reading. And we weren’t the only ones who, at the decade’s start, thought paperbacks might blink out of existence (thank you, New Yorker). Go figure, plenty still carry hardcovers today. (E-book readers: we love what you carry too.)
What else have we learned in eleven years? In NYC, it’s not uncommon to catch you reading a book before it’s published (or an author writing one, to call back an old favorite). You take notes. Lots of notes. Kids read on the go, too, when they’re not busy making friends.
Thank you, friends, those we’ve met online and IRL, for spying on what we’ve spied. Check out our chapter in Chicago, too. Join us on Instagram and browse the lists we’re curating (the books we see, the books we read, and the books we recommend) on Bookshop, where every purchase helps independent bookstores.
This year has not been the same, but it’s not goodbye yet. Stay safe, and until we can spy again, keep telling us what you’re reading, dear civilians, and we’ll feature your books on our site.
~Agent Touchdown
"Magic? Time travel? Books? This second novel by Erin Morgenstern has it all plus a healthy dose of secret agents. Is it any wonder why this is a Cover Spy pick?" —Agent Eyre, Chicago
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