[Brian Allgar]

After the runaway success of "Tailgaters", I thought you might like to know of this week's diversion in the Washington Post.

Style Invitational Week 971: Double booking — put two books under one cover.

Come up with a double book with a humorous connection; the first title must be an actual book, while the other may be your own fictitious title or a second real book. Feel free to add a short description if that enhances the humor. (Closing date: May 21)

Here are the examples they give:

Front cover: The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Back cover: The Very Full Robin

Front: The Hobbit
Back: The Bobbitt, a shorter tale

Actually, I think it's more amusing to use two real titles. Here are a few that I've come up with ... but I'm sure you can do better.

The old man and the sea/The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (... both of them spinning a line)

Bleak House/Cold Comfort Farm (... after them, the Hilton doesn’t seem so bad)

Little Women/Great Expectations (... great things come in small packages)

Summoned by Bells/Ring for Jeeves (... now we know for whom the bell tolls)

Venus on the half-shell/A farewell to arms (... she was fine with Botticelli - she never should have gone to Milos)

Anna Karenina/Trainspotting (... so that’s why the Moscow train was late ...)

Moll Flanders/’Tis pity she’s a whore