MTA To Frustrated Subway Passengers: 'Read A Book'

NEW YORK CITY, NY – The next time you're trapped underground on a subway trip from hell with a bunch of sweat-soaked passengers concerned only with their own survival, at least you can delve into some literature. So long as the WiFi connection works.

Amid a surge of delays and infrastructure problems – most recently an horrific F train glitch that left commuters on a sweltering, dark train for 45 minutes – the MTA announced it's partnering with city libraries to give their customers something interesting to read.

Free E-books will be downloadable in subway stations and include hundreds of short stories and excerpts of novels in what the MTA is calling a "Subway Library." The authority has joined the New York, Brooklyn and Queens public library systems to offer the works.

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The program will run for six weeks and is being hyped as a celebration of the installation of free wireless in every subway station in the city.

Starting Thursday, customers will be able to find TransitWirelessWiFi™ in the network settings of their device, the MTA said. They'll then be prompted to click on a SubwayLibrary.com link which will take them to the list of available books.

“The Subway Library will encourage adults and children to explore new worlds through reading during their daily commute, while spreading awareness of our Wi-Fi and connectivity services underground,” New York's Governor Andrew Cuomo said in a statement.

“By making thousands of free stories easily available to subway straphangers, we are encouraging reading, learning and curiosity,” said New York Public Library President Tony Marx.

"It’s a great way to celebrate the introduction of cell service and free Wi-Fi to all underground stations, and highlight the ongoing modernization of New York’s transportation system,” MTA Interim Executive Director Ronnie Hakim said.

E-books on offer include:

• New York stories, including excerpts from titles such as Soar by David Banks and At Balthazar by Reggie Nadelson
• New and noteworthy tales, which offers excerpts of recently released titles including Swing Time by Zadie Smith and Exit West by Mohsin Hamid
• Select shorts including The Soul Is Not a Smithy by David Foster Wallace and The Graveless Doll of Eric Mutis by Karen Russell
• Children's stories with titles including Bayou Magic by Jewell Parker Rhodes and Who Could That Be at This Hour? by Lemony Snicket
• Young adult tales with excerpts and titles such as Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda by Becky Albertalli and The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas.

As part of the Subway Library campaign, Transit Wireless has launched a special “library train,” with an interior designed to look like the Rose Main Reading Room inside the 42nd Street branch of The New York Public Library.

Lead picture courtesy of MTA