Only had to take the 7 train twice in my life ... once when there was a breakdown on the IND line (E and F) and once when meeting my parents for dinner at Lums on Northern Boulevard.
I read all of "War and Peace" and most of Faulkner on the 7 train. Used to live at 107 and Amsterdam, commuted to Queens College, and to work as a taxi driver, down the 1 to Times Square, then out the 7. QC was at then end, where I took a Kissena Blvd bus. A LOT of reading time.
Garage was at 33rd / Rawson, in Sunnyside. ("There are three forms of death: homicide, suicide, and Sunnyside"). There was a boxing gym a few blocks beyond the garage, and one of our drivers was a sparring partner for Gerry Cooney.