United States Reviews - The Times Union TN2

Sitting in London's Heathrow Airport en route to the States, I found myself without anything to read. Earlier that morning, I had finished Alain de Bottom's bestselling "The Art of Travel." I had a British edition of the book. Not only was the binding and the cover different, its color end papers, drawings and photos made the U.S. version pale in comparison.

That was when I decided to head for the numerous bookshops that inhabit the huge mall at Heathrow.

Oh, what wonders I found -- most conspicuous were the British "airport editions" of new books. These are inexpensive paperbacks of current hardback bestselling books (both here and in the United States) including Alice Sebold's "The Lovely Bones," the latest from Janet Evanovich and Minette Walters. They fit quite well in your travel bag. American publishers would do well to capitalize on this smart British marketing ploy.

In the children's section, Lemony Snicket rules. On a banner in one store, a quote from the Independent newspaper exhorted: "Move over, Harry, Lemony is in town." Unlike the American edition of "Lemony Snicket: the Unofficial Autobiography," the British version opens in the middle of the hardcover book to reveal stuff that might make book designer Chip Kidd turn green with envy. Collector that I am, I put a few of these in my satchel.

Moving on to the sports section, I found biographies on soccer idols David Beckham and bad boy Roy Keane as well as a follow-up bio on boxer Prince Naseem. And I grabbed a copy of Jamie Oliver's latest "Naked Chef" cookbook for a friend.

I then did a double take. Sitting on a shelf was the new Stephen King book. No, not the recent "Everything's Eventual." Instead it was "From a Buick 8" in a paper edition at a decent price. The interesting thing is that the book is available in the States only in a more expensive hardcover format.

Out of the many purchases I made, I settled on "Lost in a Good Book," by Jasper Fforde in an inexpensive paper format to read on the flight home. If you've read "The Eyre Affair" then you know how eagerly anticipated this book is. Yet readers in the States will not get to read it -- until the spring of 2003 in a $25 hardcover and not in the $7.75 paper version I bought.

How can armchair travelers get these editions? You don't have to make a trip to England if you only want the airport editions. Even then, the Fforde book is only available in paper. That book and the rest are available through various Internet booksellers. Many of these books are 30 percent off regular price.