(Study 2) "What book are you reading?"

You look down at Megan's book. "What book are you reading?"

She holds it up. It's got a pristine white building on the cover and it reads: "Devil in the White City."

"Ah, never read it," you say.

"It's about the Chicago World's Fair...and a serial killer," she says. "It jumps around between the two topics. It's weird, super fascinating though."

"I take it that means it's nonfiction?" You say.

"Yeah. I guess I'm weird. I read everything. Most people I talk to, if they read, they only read fiction."

"No, I get it...have you read 'Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?'" You ask.

"I think I've heard of it."

"That's what I would use to convert people. It literally reads like fiction. Like I couldn't believe it was a nonfiction book, honestly."

"Huh...maybe after this," she says.

"And 'The Disaster Artist,' but that's more of a comedy."

"You mean the movie with James Franco?"

"Yeah, the movie was based on it. But the book is better because it's an actual memoir and it's batshit insane," you say.

"Well now you've given me two new ones," she glances at the book, sighing. "There's too many, you know. You could sit around reading twenty four hours a day for your entire life and you'd never get to every book worth reading."

"The endless TBR," you say.

"But, you know...it's weird," she glances at you, sunglasses down again. "Don't take this the wrong way: but most men don't read."

"Yeah well we're in college, right? So maybe it's better here?"

Slowly, she shakes her head. You laugh.

"Honestly, one of my biggest problems has been...no one is here to actually learn," she says. "People are here because they know it will be good for their career, but no one actually appreciates the quality of the education itself, and the ideas, and how fascinating it all is. Everyone just views it as extremely expensive job training. And I was hoping I'd get away from that kind of thinking...that super goal oriented shit. But no, it's just different here."

"Well at least we get to enjoy it," you say.

"You do?" she asks.

"It was hard over lockdown," you say. "But I think I'm coming to."

She smiles and looks on into the pool again. "Honestly, I usually hit a point where I'm not feeling the reading anymore, eventually. Now I kind of just wish I could enjoy the sun, the water...