Books by Weight

Following on from the last post on getting kitted up, I've been trying to work out what the best book to take on the Ride would be. Obviously War and Peace would be out, but then so would - I don't know - Dear Zoo. Ideally, you need a book that is engaging and easy to read at the end of an exausting day, but also short. Or, rather, light.

I remember when I worked at Waterstone's Booksearch, there were some booksellers who would sell books 'by the yard', for pubs and hotels that wanted the authentic look of full bookshelves, but didn't care about the content. I guess I'm wanting something similar, but by weight rather than length. And less is definitely more.

So pretty much anything by Muriel Spark would be good. Heart of Darkness: good. Whitsun Weddings: good. Anything by Ivor Cutler: good. A Man without Qualities: bad. Clarissa: bad.

In the end I've gone for a bit of a compromise, and taken the book I'm currently reading: Ebony Tower, by John Fowles. Engaging enough, but in an old 1970s/80s Pan reprint, which means small. Have you noticed how these days books are always on the large size, and even novellas get the full trade paperback treatment? Doubtless part of the obesity epidemic. I'll make sure to tip off the Daily Mail.

Anyway, another plus of the Ebony Tower is that, because it's a knackered old thing, it can be abandoned along the way if it turns tedious. Which is always possible with Fowles.