Singapore — These days, there’s no denying that we all need a bit of extra humour in our lives. “Woman With Books”, an anonymous, bespectacled commuter with a penchant for fun, has been delivering smiles and laughs to fellow Singaporeans and social media users with an interesting social experiment.
A bright spot amidst a backdrop of disruption and illness, one woman in Singapore, the self-titled “Woman With Books” (@womanwithbooks on Instagram), has found a way to level up the all-too-boring task of commuting and bring smiles to others in the process.
View this post on Instagram
Colourfully adorned with quirky, pink star-shaped glasses and an equally pink mask, the woman told the Coconuts website in an interview that she wants “to address millennials’ daily stuff and feelings that they don’t normally share with others in a humorous way”.
She decided to spread the message of levity by printing hilarious (and larger-than-life) “book titles” and sticking them to A3-sized journals. She then “reads” the books while commuting, inviting onlookers to look and have a laugh.
Some of her covers include “How To Transfer Money From My Mind To My Bank” (her personal favourite and most popular, so far!), “How To Hide Your Insanity” and the uber-relatable “How To Survive Your Nosy Relatives This CNY”.
View this post on Instagram
When pressed for identification details, the 28-year-old remarked that she wants to remain anonymous and a “mystery” to her fans, who currently number more than 1,500 users on her Instagram account. She did say, however, that she works as a digital content creator, which makes perfect sense.
The woman noted that she came up with the titles herself, which were “based on real-life experiences and were deliberately picked to evoke reactions from onlookers”.
Her antics have brought delight to many commuters and social media users, who have shared comments on her Instagram account and joined in the fun.
“Can you read this book ‘How To Deal With Crazy Aunties In MRT’? I heard it is good,” joked one commenter, while another hilariously suggested she go with the book title, “How To Fart Without Sound”.
View this post on Instagram
Others shared their approval of her experiment and yet others said that they hope to catch a glimpse of her on their daily commute.
“Thank you for spreading joy!!,” wrote one user.
“O my gosh, you’re so good 😂 I really hope to see you some day loll 💕,” said another, while someone else wrote that they are “gonna [take] the MRT more often” in order to catch a glimpse of her.
Meanwhile, a self-confessed “admiring non-stalker fan boy” quipped, “I truly hope to come across you one day!”
When asked if she plans to take the social experiment further, the humorous woman noted that for the moment, she wants to just “go with the flow” and hopes that what she is doing continues to bring light-hearted fun to everyone who happens to spot her.
With eight posts on her Instagram account so far, it’s going to be fun to see what she comes up with next. /TISG