London Commuters Get Easy Reading from a Machine

Feb.16 -- Travelers on the London Tube, they say, don't talk or even catch each other's eyes. They simply bury their heads in the Times or the Sun. It's one of those English things.

But these days, commuters on the Tube — as the London Underground is affectionately called — have a choice of elegantly produced short story mini-books conveniently folded to make for easy reading on the train that helps see them through their chit chat-less commute home.

All they have to do is slip a handy pound coin ($1.50) into a snazzy book vending machine and presto, there's a short story for the ride.

London's South Kensington Underground Station has three vending machines offering passengers a selection of short stories by literary big daddies such as Arthur Conan Doyle, Martin Amis and P.G. Wodehouse as easy to buy as a candy bar.

Officially launched last month, these sleek 5-foot-tall story dispensers have gone down rather well with commuters and London Underground officials alike.

"We are always delighted to find an innovative idea for vending on the Underground," said Stephen Wilson of London Underground Marketing and Planning. "Our customers are enthusiastic users of confectionery machines and we have no reason to believe they will not be equally keen on feeding their minds with a good read that is just the right length for an average daily commute."

Designed to be read within 45 minutes with a 10,000-word limit, the elegantly produced books are published by Travelman Publishing, a London based short-story publishing house.

Brains Behind the Beauty

But the brains behind the pound-for-a-story venture was the Earl of Iveagh, who also happens to be an heir to the Irish Guinness brewing empire. He told ABCNEWS.com he would much rather be called Ned Guinness.

Guinness floated the idea to his friend Alexander Waugh, founder of Travelman Publishing, who is also a writer and a grandson of the late novelist Evelyn Waugh.

"It's nice to be able to put a smile on people's faces," said Guinness. "Traveling can be so boring, especially if you do it every time."