Howard bites down on his thumbnail, considering. Just having authors recommended is one thing, but the fact that Barbara's emphasizing a discreet location means it's a little more than that. "What if I don't like reading, I just like writing?"

Which is partially true. He doesn't mind reading, but he'd be lying to say he had any great interest in it. He mostly writes because without a therapist or anyone who really knows how to deal with things, it's one of the few coping mechanisms he has. The idea that someday he could make a living out of something he does naturally is mostly a bonus (if he's even any good at it, which he's not sure about).

But from the way Barbara's hedging around the idea, Howard thinks that maybe she would get something out of this too and well, he may think Barbara needs to get a little common sense, but he likes her more than most of the people on the ship.

And God knows he understands the desire to keep busy.

"I guess we could do that, yeah. As long as it's not like, Shakespeare. That's hardly even English."