The decision is further complicated by practical matters such as how many books one can physically fit into one's backpack, and how much weight one can carry on one's back without breaking it. That is breaking one's back not the backpack. It is not advisable to carry a portable library around with you on some of the most gruelling mountain terrain in the world - even if you do have literary aspirations. But let's face the problem head on: The fact of the matter is that there is a distinct lack of night-time entertainment in those wee parts where one may roam (unless one considers the popular past-time of 'spit in the spittoon' which involves the transfer of huge gobs of spit from one's mouth to a spittoon some feet away - very popular with the older country folk I might add).
The only entertainment I can think of to help while away those lazy, languorous hours (except a new sport I have just invented called 'dodge the spit in the spittoon') is the written page. So deciding which books to pack is a most important decision. A decision that has dogged me incessantly like a dose of tropical Dengue fever. I have suffered nightmares of being stuck in some dinghy hell hole without anything to read except 'Chinese Communist Party pamphlets' and extracts from 'Mrs Maawings recipe for fried dumplings' - in Mandarin. The decision is not helped by the foreknowledge of my lecherous reading habits. So what to do? what to do?
Kathmandu? Kathmandu? (no that doesn't help)
...But thanks to modern technology it is a decision I no longer have to make. Ladies and Gentlemen please allow me the pleasure of introducing to you the 'Iliad Reader' - the worlds first anti-strain, anti-glare, 'real pages', electronic book. This baby can store over 10,000 book titles, all in a small cute device the size of a book that fits neatly into your rucksack. It has 18 hours battery life and you can store all your books on it - problem solved.
God I'm a genius.
Oh yeah and it comes with a handy socket-adaptor travellers pack to ensure one can use it even in medieval Mongolia - where they do have electricity I have been reliably informed (in the cities at least)
i'mdefinitelygettimgmeoneofthose.com
youknowyouwantone.com
myprrrrecious.com
