Paradoxical Pastime

     The man was eating lunch alone. He sat near me inside a restaurant.
     I walked over. "What are you reading?"
     "No Surrender."
     The book, he said, described the exploits of two soldiers from 101st Airborne Division. They escaped from the Germans during World War II and helped the French Resistance.
     The man had stopped to eat while traveling from another state. I recommended another book from World War II. We discussed other things.
     If that man had been reading a newspaper, or stating into a smart phone, I would not have approached him. But a book is an invitation to conversation.
     During my travels around the country, I've often seen men, usually middle aged or older, reading books while alone in restaurants. Sometimes their books were e-books. Whenever I've initiated a conversation, they've been happy to talk.
     It's somewhat paradoxical. Book reading is a solitary pastime, yet book readers are among the most social people I know.