from
JoeUser Forums

One of my favorite books is a JG Ballard novel entitled High-Rise because the story is good, the cover style appeals to me, and because it is just the right size.
I got it at a second-hand bookstore, and it has that slightly musty paperback smell. It was owned by a Lillian something-or-other which threw me for a second, because I would have expected to find her name carefully etched into a classics novel or possibly a mystery novel penned by some female writer under an initialed pseudonym, not a 70's sci-fi book with a breast-baring cartoon standing in front of a smoking building.
The book is enjoyable, but not highbrow. It's the equivalent of watching an adventure movie at the drive in, I suppose. Part of the fun in a book like this is knowing that it just gets right down to the point of it all, and all you have to do is enjoy the ride.
I have a couple of books lying around, in various stages of completion, but sorrowfully, I don't what I'm looking for: something to take me out of this life and into a different world. On a weekend that's as perfect as this, I just feel the need to hit a parkbench with nothing more than a pair of sunglasses, a sweater in case it gets chilly, a coffee and a book in my back pocket.