For many years a book was an essential accompaniment to summer holidays. On the beach under an umbrella, on a balcony with morning coffee, afternoon on a terrace with a glass of wine…

Despite the invasion of the mobile phone, the booming sales of the books during the summer season prove that there are still readers who are loyal to their reading habits.

However, there remain some practical “issues” that often weigh on the final choice. The weight and dimensions of the book play a role in the choice as it should be easy to carry in suitcases, small bags and in the hands. Also, a book intended for the holidays is very likely to get ‘ ill-used’, wet, creased, hastily folded, soiled and so many other things that are a ‘nightmare’ for any passionate reader.

The answer to the above is pocket books. Smaller in size than traditional books, with a soft cover and with cheaper paper, they are easier to carry and more affordable. In previous decades, such publications were considered inferior, of lower quality and of dubious literary value. The well-known, best-selling, sentimental Harlequins that were also sold from newsstands became long synonymous with pocket literature.

However, for several years now, publishers have invested in the release of pocket books that, while retaining their advantages in terms of portability, do not discount their quality. Nowadays, several of the books published in regular format are also published as pocket books precisely to meet a great need in the market. The themes of pocket books are certainly nothing like those of the past. Works of crime fiction, historical novels, classics and even essays have found their place as pocket books.

Already in the early years of their existence pocket books were associated with travel. They first appeared in mass circulation in the mid-19th century in England. Important innovations in printing allowed the printing on cheaper paper of titles that were already in circulation and popular. But the decisive factor that helped their sales was the expansion of the railways at the same time as pocket books were sold at, by now, many more train stations and were aimed at travellers.

Suggestions for pocket books from the Greek publishing houses

PSYCHOGIOS PUBLICATIONS

The successful activities of Psychogios Publications include the series The Classics, directed by Ilias Manglinis. Among titles including works by Charles Dickens (A Tale of Two Cities), Emily Bronte (Wuthering Heights) and Henry James (The Turn of the Screw), are the prophetic works of George Orwell, 1984 and Animal Farm. Taking the pulse of the reading public, which in recent decades has turned Orwell into an iconic figure of pop culture, Psychogios Publications, at the same time as publishing a standard edition of the translation of the great British author’s works, is releasing his two most influential novels in pocket book form.

Animal Farm

The modern aesthetic covers, the explanatory appendices at the end of the books and especially the “lively” translation by Avgoustos Corto, make them a valuable treasure for those who seek classic literature on their summer escapades. In any case, George Orwell will remain that modern and such a classic writer who critiqued both the ways in which the system controls the individual and our animalistic thirst for power.

1984

METAIXMIO PUBLICATIONS

Metaixmio Publications, with zeal and perseverance, have created the Metaixmio pocket series, which includes titles from Greek, crime, classic literature and even biography. From Petros Tatsopoulos’ Heart of the Beast, Pedro Juan Gutierrez’s erotica works and Ian Rankin, to Zola’s Nana and Oscar Wilde’s The Portrait of Dorian Gray, this valuable series continues to progress and grow.

Tender is the Night

Among the titles of pocket books that do not go unnoticed by the literary public, is the translation by Michalis Makropoulos of Francis Scott Fitzgerald’s work, Tender is the Night. As descriptive and revealing of the setting of its time as the telling of Dick Diver’s story is, it is equally cryptic as to his personality and actions, making this book a captivating mystery for lovers of classic literature. Ernest Hemingway always professed his admiration for that writer (Fitzgerald) who most skillfully satirized the hallucinations of the American dream.

Kongeriket

Fans of crime and mystery literature will not be dissatisfied with one of Joe Nesbo’s most recent works, The Kingdom (translated from the Norwegian by Sotiris Souliotis), also available in the pocket edition series of the Metaixmio Publications. The chilling setting of Norway and the uncontrollable human passions as described in Nesbo’s plots have moved millions of readers around the world, while his subtle psychological allusions and references to Shakespeare’s world are shocking. A book that, once taken out of one’s pocket, is hard to put back in.

BELL BOOKS

Bell Publications, steadily through the year, proves how successful in its essence their Bell Best Seller series name is. Stephen King, Dennis Lehane, John Connolly and other favorites of horror and mystery literature join this inexhaustible series of stories. Now out of print in its first edition, John Connolly’s The Reapers (translated by Palmyra Ismiridou) is back again in pocket book form from Bell Publications, with a new cover and always featuring the author’s hero, Charlie Parker. Mixing genres, from the Western aesthetic to the noir of the 1970s, Connolly’s writing is distinguished by its “staging” and metaphysical contemplation of situations and characters.

The Reapers

LYHNARI PUBLICATIONS

Lovers of pulp literature in Greece, especially those who were nurtured by it in the 1980s and 1990s, cannot fail to remember the emblematic “library of detective literature” of Lyhnari Publications. Exbrayat, Conan Doyle, Hammett and Ian Fleming are just a few of the authors hosted by the pocket book series. Books so moving that you need at least 2 or 3 of them for your luggage.

Nightmare Town

A stained Ford introduces to the audience the hero of Dashiell Hammett’s Nightmare Town (translation by Lena Milili). Steve is caught in the web of a strange wager and soon falls in love with Nova, turning the small town of Izard upside down. For lovers of hardboiled American literature, this is a work that is full of entertaining characters and satirical allusions to the division that plagues the American continent.

His Last Bow

For those who like the classic heroes of crime fiction, His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, (translated by Eleni Karanika), starring the demonic Sherlock Holmes, fits like a glove. As the faithful Dr. Watson informs us in the prologue, Sherlock Holmes now lives in seclusion on his estate, tending his bees. Alas, the Prime Minister himself will need his services and retrain him in order to solve a difficult case of espionage and counter-intelligence. It’s hard to imagine a more ideal combination of adventure, nostalgia and Anglo-Saxon fervour. Many times one stops for hours on end on the same page to read over and over again the sparkling dialogue.