“My mission is to give individuals a new perspective through communication and to bring people together. I’d like to give people a chance to see each other in a new way.”

Uli Beutter Cohen. Reporter and founder of Subway Book Review. New York City, October 2017. By Julie Helquist.

 

“What gives me hope is talking to young people, and by that I mean 14-, 15- and even 10-year-olds. They have less attachment to titles and associations than older generations do. They are more shapeless and more open to perspectives that they know nothing about. They’re very curious. Identity fascinates them, history fascinates them - and by that I don’t mean that they want to read old-school history books. They want to hear stories, they want to talk to people, and they have a totally different view of what it means to be a stranger than we did. I obviously think that the digital life and how we connect has opened that up. And I think that’s a huge positive effect that gives me great hope.”

“There are many things that are not great about the “Black Mirror” which is our digital screen. But once you get past that, and don’t just see yourself reflected in your black mirror and everything you don’t like, you push through the void and there’s a whole fantastic universe out there.”

“With Subway Book Review, in the beginning it was my way of talking to New Yorkers and being able to use the book as an icebreaker to speak with someone whom I would otherwise not get to talk to. And then I realised, if I share that experience, I’m giving other people the chance to get to get to know that person too. The more people I spoke with, the more I saw that there is a human storyline that connects us that I can bring attention to so we can see what we have in common, instead of what divides us."

“Communication is my tool. It’s my number one tool in my toolkit. That’s what I use for absolutely everything that I do.”

“Someone with a different life is someone I can learn a lot from.” - Quote from a Subway Book Review.