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