Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
Lifestyle
Brendan Bowrey as told to Katie Cunningham

The kindness of strangers: out of the blue, an older woman handed me a well-thumbed book

A women reading a book on a train
‘She smiled at me but didn’t say anything.’ Composite: Victoria Hart/Alamy/Guardian design

A few years ago I decided to improve myself physically and mentally. I did that by setting a couple of new year resolutions. One was to exercise regularly, the other was to read a book a week. The exercise part didn’t go so well because on 1 January, I went for my first walk and stepped on a branch that punctured my leg. But my plan to throw myself into reading was much more successful.

Later that year I was on a long train trip from Sydney to Melbourne with a friend and told him about my reading goal. I was pretty stoked with how well I was going and was excited to talk about it. I didn’t think this was particularly interesting chat to anyone else on the train, so I certainly wasn’t worried about anyone eavesdropping.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.