DISQUS

Pat · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying "Netherland" by Joseph O'Neill. Relatively slim, but hardcover and hardly ideal for an average pocket. Maybe I can start up a literary fanny pack trend.

Greta · 10 months ago

I'm carrying around "Payback" by Margaret Atwood and it almost (but not quite) fits into my pocket. Thanks for the contest!

Honore Hishamunda · 10 months ago

I always carry a copy of "Franny and Zooey" by JD Salinger when I'm flying/traveling away from home. I wish they'd make a pocket edition of it so I could always keep one on me. Cheers.

largehearted boy · 10 months ago

I absolutely love "Franny and Zooey," it's a book I re-read often.

Honore Hishamunda · 10 months ago

JD Salinger is a genius, a genius I tell ya.

Adam · 10 months ago

I'm on a quest to rediscover all the books I've known and loved, in order to understand just what made that initial impact, so I'm carrying around a copy of "Norwegian Wood" by Haruki Murakami to pour over.

carolinadex · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying "The Ridiculous Race" by Steve Hely & Vali Chandrasekaran around in my shoulder bag, and until I misplaced it, I carried a pocket-sized copy of Natalie Goldberg's "Writing Down The Bones" everywhere I went.

hardlikealgebra · 10 months ago

I wish that The Lure of the Local by Lucy Lippard could fit in my pocket!

Cool contest.

p.s. you can dm me at jwithy on twitter if i win! :-)

Leslie · 10 months ago

Currently reading Reborn: Journals & Notebooks, 1947-1963, by Susan Sontag (#39 in my own 52 books in 52 weeks project (begun July 1, 2008)).

Elizabeth · 10 months ago

I wish Moby Dick could fit in my pocket. Well, maybe if they divided it up into smaller installments, it might...

Frank · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying around a hardcover copy of "Middlesex" by Jeffrey Eugenides. Quite impractical.

Pete · 10 months ago

The book I'm carrying around is Budd Schulberg's "What Makes Sammy Run?" which, I'm pleased to say, does indeed fit in my pocket.

tdicola · 10 months ago

I wish I could carry Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow in my back pocket without needing to visit the chiropractor. :)

ben · 10 months ago

Barthelme's 60 Stories.

Sarah · 10 months ago

I often buy those old 50 cent paperback versions of classics specifically because they're so carry-aroundable.

Oddly enough, by recommendation I'm currently reading (and toting around) The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay by Chabon.

Michael · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying around the Conviser Illinois Mini-Review, and I wish I wasn't.

Emilie · 10 months ago

I'm carrying around the best american travel writing of 2008. The unfortunate thing about being a small girl is small pockets, but I never leave home without my bag, so carrying books isn't usually an issue.

David · 10 months ago

I'm carrying around "The Wordy Shipmates" by Sarah Vowell, but it fits better in my laptop bag than my pocket.

kshane · 10 months ago

I'm carrying around (and it's heavy) "The Savage Detectives" by Roberto Bolano. I have big pockets, but it doesn't come close to fitting in them.

teri · 10 months ago

ditto on this! not the most pocket-friendly book.

Mark · 10 months ago

I'm carrying my current reading-in-progress, "Time Traveler's Wife". At 500+ pages it fits in no pocket but with a warm turn in the weather I leave my mittens in my pocket and palm the book. When I absolutely need something to fit in a pocket I take along a "Penguin 60s" copy of Joyce's The Dead. Hugs my hip and I can re-read it any number of times. My brother wasn't pleased when I pulled it out in the stands of Wrigley Field, but he should have known I wasn't a baseball fan....

Tom · 10 months ago

Jessica Mitford's "American Way of Death: Revisited" and Henry James' "Eight Tales from the Major Phase" in a bike courier bag, light enough, except for the content. Some Kundera would brighten the load a bit I'd say.

Chris · 10 months ago

I am currently toting U.S.! by Chris Bachelder.

Tim · 10 months ago

I am currently carrying "the slide" by Kyle Beachy. I would like a pocket edition of any book by Haruki Murakami.

Rebecca · 10 months ago

I'm usually carrying around a copy of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, which I have yet to squeeze into my pocket.

Peauxlicits · 10 months ago

Carrying around Infinite Jest; not really conducive to being hauled around without a backpack, but in this short year it's been everywhere from Boston to New Orleans- from the Mummers Parade on New Years Day to Mardi Gras and in its seen enough airport Bloody Mary's and security check bins that its aging fast enough that after 7/8's of a read it's time to retire the first edition paperback and invest in a newly printed reading copy.

Belynda Cianci · 10 months ago

Oh man I know, that thing is a beast! I have the paperback (although it transports more like a granite slab!) It's been riding shotgun in my car for weeks, and someday I'll even finish it...

Hanna · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying around a one volume edition of the Lord of the Rings. I wish it would fit in my pocket, too, but I think that's doubtful ever to happen.

Jeff · 10 months ago

Carrying: The Tyranny of Dead Ideas. Not sure I like it.

Wish I could carry always: Visions of the Anointed

Nik Mercer · 10 months ago

I'm devouring "Bottchan" by Natsume Soseki for the hundreth time right now. I love it, but I certainly need some need literature ...

Thanks!

Justin · 10 months ago

i'm carrying around Infinite Jest by David Foster Wallace... in a backpack.

lolin · 10 months ago

I've been reading "The Omnivore's Dilemma," by MIchael Pollan. Not huge, but definitely not pocket-size either.

Jess · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying around Lolita -- can't believe I waited so long to read it. I absolutely adore Everything is Illuminated. A pocket version? Heaven.

Mike · 10 months ago

Carrying around William Blake's "Marriage of Heaven and Hell" and Krakauer's "Into the Wild" lately. Cool contest - and great blog lhboy!

willko · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying around The Sot Weed Factor by John Barth (in a backpack). I wish Infinite Jest was back-pocketable.

andreabee · 10 months ago

I'm carrying around "Tooth and Claw" by T.C. Boyle. Just in case I finish while I'm out, I'm also carrying around "Exit Ghost" by Philip Roth.

Simulacrum · 10 months ago

I've been carrying around By Night in Chile by Roberto Bolano. Unlike Bolano's novels, it fits quite nicely in my jacket pocket.

Jessie · 10 months ago

Carrying around (or would like to be at least, my bookbag is full of textbooks instead) Atmospheric Disturbances by Rivka Galchen. Also wish I was carrying the new scott pilgrim :)

Cardy · 10 months ago

Blind Willow, Sleeping Women by Haruki Murakami. The corners have buckled under so many droppings thats it's practically a semi-circle. I wish it was pocket sized.

K. · 10 months ago

I'm carrying Iain Banks's The Crow Road. It's a thick book, but I have a big bag. (Also, it's great, for anyone who hasn't read it.)

ramiam · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying around 'Musicophilia' by Oliver Sacks (per your recommendation via Twitter). Most definitely not pocket sized. Unless you have giant pockets that is.

laura c · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying around The Beggar's Opera, by John Gay.

pna · 10 months ago

Currently reading (but not carrying around) "Drown", by Junot Diaz. Pretty good so far.

Jason · 10 months ago

The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem!

Dave Petty · 10 months ago

Hello;
Unfortunately being able to carry around a book that will fit in my bag on the back of my bicycle is sometimes the criteria for (in?) choosing what I'm going to read at any given time. Right now that is the paperback version of Middlemarch. It's kind of fat but not too long, in size that is. Just getting started now. Great blog. Thanks,
Dave

Mikaela · 10 months ago

Always carry around a copy of Coupland's Life After God...Compact enough for even the tiniest clutch on a night out, the perfect on the go companion reader.

jake n. · 10 months ago

currently: moneyball by michael lewis

though i'd love to have a pocket version of summerland by michael chabon in my back pocket

rufusjt · 10 months ago

Summerland is a great book...I bought The Yiddish Policeman's Union (but haven't read it yet) and intend to get Chabon's other books. Current book is Watchmen and it would be nice to have a pocket-sized copy, sure, but this is my first graphic novel and I think it would lose something in the translation.

Douglas Hedderich · 10 months ago

I am currently reading "Quicksilver" by Neil Stephenson. It is so long that making it small enough to fit a pocket would make the type unreadably tiny.

Walter Biggins · 10 months ago

I'm carrying around Roberto Bolano's "The Savage Detectives," which is much too thick for my back pocket but gets comfortably swallowed up by my trusty knapsack.

Mike G. · 10 months ago

I have a pocket version of the "Jungle Book" and "Just So Stories" by Kipling that I carry around with me. I loved it as a kid and after re-reading it as an adult realized just how warped the disney version of it was.

jrab · 10 months ago

I have L. Tolstoy's Anna Karenina with me everywhere I go, as I trudge sans velo through the streets and laneways of my secret city.

Lillian · 10 months ago

Currently carrying around Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, but unfortunately it doesn't actually fit in any of my pockets due to the YA-size type set.

Katie · 10 months ago

I'm toting around Farabeuf by Salvador Elizondo. I would like the feel of having Kundera in my back pocket!

Sean · 10 months ago

I wish I could carry War and Peace in my pocket!

Taylor Hodge · 10 months ago

I'm carrying around a pocket copy of The Catcher in the Rye.

eddie · 10 months ago

i wish i could carry around all-star superman by grant morrison, but i'd need some giant pockets

Ed · 10 months ago

The book I wish could fit in my back pocket would be Lord of the Barnyard: Killing the Fatted Calf and Arming the Aware in the Cornbelt by Tristan Egolf.

This book made me laugh so hard.

Steve · 10 months ago

I'm carrying around "Selena" by Ron Rash. (Actually reading it too. lol)

mess · 10 months ago

For me, it's To Kill A Mockingbird, it fits comfortably in any bag I'm using. I know it's on everyone's list and been done before, but I don't care - it never fails to make me happy :)

Booksmitten · 10 months ago

Currently carrying "La Divina Caricatura" by Lee Breuer from Green Integer (which means it DOES fit in my pocket).

But I would love to see "White Noise" by Don DeLillo or Pullman's His Dark Materials series in uber-portable format.

Voldermania · 10 months ago

I have HUGE coat pockets.
In spite of this, I carry my books around in my bag. I'm currently reading 'The Thought Gang'.
Hmm, if there was one book I wish I keep in my pocket it would be 'Fantastyka' by Boris Akunin (because that would mean it got translated into english)
(or Martian timeslip, or The Clay Machine Gun)

mika · 10 months ago

gunter grass, 'the tin drum,' with about two layers of clear packing tape holding the cover together :)

Sinéad Gleeson · 10 months ago

Currently carrying around a svelte copy of Peter Murphy's debut novel 'John the Revelator'. It's a funny, literary, quick-read coming of age tale that works in the Fianna, worms, small-town secrets, Asylum seekers and apocalyptic crows. Think Pat McCabe with a touch of Nick Cave via Sheridan Le Fanu.

Duncan Walls · 10 months ago

I WISH I could get a back pocket version of the Neil Stephenson book I'm reading NOW...Anathema...the lastone of his I read I DID have in paperback and it was huge. Very unsightly bulge. This one wouold be even bigger, I'm afraid.937 pages in hardcover.

Josh · 10 months ago

I've been carrying around a copy of Machiavelli's "Discourses" for the last couple of weeks.

Amanda Aranowski · 10 months ago

I wish I could fit (the book I am currently reading:) Shantaram in my pocket. I can barely lift it to read as is. :)

Colin · 10 months ago

I've got 'A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius' in my bag at the moment, and am surprised at how quickly I find the pages flying by.

k · 10 months ago

I'm currently dragging around Infinite Jest. I look forward to every chance that I can read it.

Jason · 10 months ago

I'm currently re-reading and carrying around "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky, which actually is pretty close to pocket size.

Jon · 10 months ago

No Country For Old Men - Cormac McCarthy

Ash · 10 months ago

Lately I've been reading The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, by Ron Hansen, and the Acme Novelty Library #19, and enjoying it all too much...and for pocket books, maybe some more pocket-sized graphic novels...

Susan · 10 months ago

I am currently carrying around "Pillars of the Earth" by Ken Follet. I do indeed need it in a smaller format!!

ruz · 10 months ago

Right now I'm carrying around "Cloud Atlas" by David Mitchell...

Winston · 10 months ago

Currently carrying around The Hero With a Thousand Faces by Joseph Cambell, and Notes from Underground by Dostoevsky.

And my name is Winston.

nikkos · 10 months ago

I'm currently reading:

"The Portable Beat Reader"

and

"Yucatan Before And After Conquest"

I wish the "Portable Beat Reader" fit in my pocket. It would be much more....portable. :)

monkey · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying around The Rum Diaries by Hunter S. Thompson. A recent find at my new favorite locally owned bookstore. Doesn't quite fit in my back pocket, but tucks nicely into my purse

Michael Brewster · 10 months ago

I'm carrying 2666, but I have large pockets ;-)

Belynda Cianci · 10 months ago

It's funny, I actually just finished the Olive Edition of "Everything is Illuminated"! I LOVED it. I'd love to read the other two.. Right now I'm carrying around "The Rose Variations" by Marisha Chamberlain. Not for long though! I love it, and hope to finish it today!

Christina · 10 months ago

From the wished-it-could-fit-it-in-my-pocket category: Salman Rushdie's The Ground Beneath Her Feet. The shiny silver dust jacket made it look even bigger.

George · 10 months ago

Zombie Survival Guide by Max Brooks.
It fits in my man purse.

Marci · 10 months ago

I currently am reading A Changed Man by Francine Prose, wish it was smaller to be able to put in my pocket

fishtankfish · 10 months ago

I am carrying around 'kafka on the shore' by haruki murakami. it's a hardcover edition from the library so it isn't even close to being portable as nice as that would be.

Bob · 10 months ago

Book I wish I could fit in my pocket: John Crowley's Aegypt (tetralogy).

S. Krishna · 10 months ago

I'm currently reading The Writing on my Forehead and really wish it could fit in my pocket!

Sabrina · 10 months ago

I am currently being accompanied by Joanne Harris's Five Quarters of the Orange . It will go everywhere with me until I've finished reading it.

Michael Kindness · 10 months ago

I'm a little ashamed to say that I'm carrying around a bunch of books on a Sony Reader. They're all for work and would be photocopied manuscripts otherwise. The next printed book I plan to carry is The Thirteen Clocks by James Thurber.

Ryan Van Meter · 10 months ago

Richard Siken's "Crush" (poetry collection--and it's nearly pocket-sized, but just not quite.)

laura · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying a hard-backed edition of AS Byatt's 500 page book Possession, and I surely wish it fit in my pocket!!

Jodi · 10 months ago

I'm carrying around Madeleine's Ghost, by Robert Girardi! I love the pocket idea, but isn't that the whole point behind the Loeb series already?

Brian · 10 months ago

I'm carrying around "The Crying of Lot 49" by Thomas Pynchon.

mrspao · 10 months ago

I wish I could fit Lawrence Block's Matthew Scudder books in my pocket.

Austin Kleon · 10 months ago

Carl Jung's MEMORIES, DREAMS, REFLECTIONS -- great read, but not pocket-sized...

Matthew Smith · 10 months ago

The paperback of Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay.

Chris Pomeroy · 10 months ago

I'm lugging around Henry James's 'Portrait of a Lady', and would love it if the durn thing could fit in my pocket. Thanks for running the contest!

teabird · 10 months ago

I carry a little edition of Emily Dickinson in my pocket - indispensable!
Lovely contest!

erik · 10 months ago

"A Fan's NOtes," by Frederick Exley. @erikorama

Paul · 10 months ago

I wish I could fit Borges Collected Fictions in my pocket.

a ross · 10 months ago

I'm reading William T. Vollman's "Fathers & Crows." It hardly fits in an oversized backpack, much less a backpocket tho' I wish it would...

Tisa · 10 months ago

Currently carrying around Outlander by Gabaldon but too big to fit into my pocket. ~ :) Thanks - cool contest!

Cheng-Chung Tsai · 10 months ago

I am currently carrying "King Dork" by Frank Portman, it's fun and easy to understand.

wlharvey · 10 months ago

Carrying around (and reading) 'Mysteries of Mind Space & Time: The Unexplained', volume 1 of a 26 volume set. unfortunately, this is the only volume i have...

Marsha · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying Stephen Johnson's "The Invention of Air." It definitely does not fit in my pocket!

Angie · 10 months ago

"Grace" by Richard Paul Evans is what I just jumped into.(or jumped into my pocket!) Easy read and good for the heart.

Andrea_Day · 10 months ago

I have to second 'Infinite Jest.' Maybe if I could carry it more easily on the train/bus, I'd have finished it by now.

Mark J · 10 months ago

I wish I could fit Danielewski's "House of Leaves" in my pocket - then I might actually get around to finishing it!

jay319 · 10 months ago

I'm lugging around tender is the night by Fitzgerald. it's better than gatsby IMHO....

Andrew · 10 months ago

Currently going through One Hundred Years of Solitude. Great so far!

sprite · 10 months ago

I'm carrying around The Elegance of the Hedgehog in my messenger bag.

eliMordino · 10 months ago

Middlesex is in there at the moment, but the book I most wish a) existed and b) would fit in my pocket is The Complete David Foster Wallace. I fear our understanding of physics is not yet advanced enough to accomplish this.

Catherine · 10 months ago

I'm re-re-reading Jon McGregor's If Nobody Speaks Of Remarkable Things - it's small and perfectly formed (perfect for crushed morning commutes).

Lauren · 10 months ago

I'm currently reading "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel. I was interested to see what all the hype was about, especially since it's currently being taught in high schools. It's quite good so far.

Muzamil · 10 months ago

Currently carrying around "The Girl From Foreign". Unfortunately it doesn't fit in my pocket.

Jeff Macklin · 10 months ago

I am currently reading "Kill Your Friends" on your recommendation. It's cool.
Can you enter me in your contest?

Jason Slatton · 10 months ago

John Banville's The Sea. Slim, yet heavy.

Darren · 10 months ago

i wish 'confederacy of dunces' was small enough to fit in my pocket cause i re-read it all the time

Troy · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying around Patricia Highsmith's The Talented Mr Ripley.

Bryan · 10 months ago

I am currently reading Salman Rushdie's "Satanic Verses." It is way too big to carry around

Jessica · 10 months ago

Brave New World would be awesome in a little book like that.

Erik T. · 10 months ago

I'm currently reading 2666 by Roberto Bolano, and it's a beast of a book at 900 pages, so there's no way it could fit in my pocket. Good read though. Cheers!

marta · 10 months ago

please enter me...

I am reading DROOD and REALLY wish it would fit in a purse...it's huge!

tbbycatt (at) gmail (dot) com

OT · 10 months ago

Current subway reads: Final Exits, The Illustrated Encyclopedia of How We Die

I really wish this was pocket sized, it barely fits in my tiny purse. I really need a smaller, easy-to-carry source of eye distraction :) and I haven't read any of those books listed!

Thanks for still keeping up this blog, I've been reading since there were only the big four: you, Fluxblog, Stereogum (in LJ form), and Said the Gramophone.

tsutrav · 10 months ago

I am reading Drood. And boy do I wish it fit in my pocket...

Skyler · 10 months ago

I've been toting around Roberto Bolano's 2666 for the past week or so - now halfway through the second paperback volume & still absolutely loving it. My most battered book is likely Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves, due not only to attempting to carry it around but also lending to friends who did the same. I now have two copies, so I can lend one out & keep the other relatively dent-free!

lance reynald · 10 months ago

Howl... always in backpack, and fits pockets.

I'd love to carry anything by michael cunningham in a pocketsize.
or Didion.

or a pocketsized written on the body.

those would be my first picks... I need more pockets.

teeny · 10 months ago

"white house mess" by christopher buckley. i like to re-read it whenever a new administration enters the white house. it has proven to be a timeless piece of satire.

evan · 10 months ago

i fit d.h lawrence's "england, my england" in my pocket when i went downtown for a show last week. i've never read him before, and its quite good so far.

Jeff Warrington · 10 months ago

I'm currently carrying around a USB stick full of Stephen King...but alas, I can not read it without a computer. I'm a fan of Chabon (Wonderboys rules!) and would love to read "Mysteries of Pittsburg" the old fashioned way...on paper...

Topher · 10 months ago

I'm carrying around Sharp Teeth and White Tiger.

The Book Pirate · 10 months ago

Currently I have Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut on hand. It's too big to fit in my pocket so it's in my backpack.

Adrian · 10 months ago

I've been reading Jean Ritchie's 'Singing Family of the Cumberlands'. It's really interesting and she even intersperses transcribed traditional songs as they relate to the story.

Matt · 10 months ago

I'm carrying "The Manual of Detection" everywhere.

Terry · 10 months ago

Stalefish: Skateboard Culture from the Rejects who Made It. Also, Star of the Sea by Joseph O' Connor cuz I always read a fiction and non-fiction at the same time.

largehearted boy · 10 months ago

We have a winner! Belynda from Dimestore Romance.com gets the three books.

Thanks to everyone for participating, with this great turnout, I will host a contest every Sunday featuring books, music, and DVDs.

Mark Neigh · 10 months ago

Currently carrying Metaphors We Live By.

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