On his second day in the square, Perec contemplates the ways the square has changed. His second observation is about how he has changed: "I'm drinking a Vittel water whereas yesterday I was drinking a coffee (How does that transform the square?)".

On my second day observing Perec observe the square, I'm drinking a coffee instead of a water. I'm at my desk taking notes on my computer instead of taking notes on my phone while I read in the bath. In much the same way, these difference change the square both imperceptibly and fundamentally.

Perec aims to catalogue the mundane, but there is no end to the mundane, so there is no single thing that can transform the square more than he can. There is no single observation more descriptive of the other project than "I have the impression that the square is almost empty (but there are at least twenty humans in my line of sight)". Perec notes that he counts the buses because they're regular against the randomness of the cars and the people, and yet he still is drawn to describing the novel. He counts the buses for their regularity, but not the light poles for their constancy.

This small book is also bigger than I can take in. On day two, I find myself seeing people I missed last time, observing details I never saw, finding threads I hadn't connected without the square fresh in my mind. As Perec notes, the differences stand out.

On my day 1, I'm taken by policeman no. 5976 becoming 'policeman no 5976 ("Michel Lonsdale")' on Perec's day 3. On my day 2, looking for it, I realize that we're told on Perec's day 2 that no. 5976 "bears a certain resemblance to Michael Lonsdale" (the differing spellings of the actor's name are also present in the original French edition). What more will become clear as I read on? What more will stay hidden