Tank Books is releasing a set of short stories and novellas in flip-top cigarette packs.

Each story is complete and unabridged — with a type size that’s easy to read. Individual books are great for throwing into a pocket or handbag — an instantly familiar object to carry with you. The complete set comes in a stunning tin — perfect as a really original gift.

Authors include Kafka, Hemingway, Stevenson, and Conrad. (What, no Virginia Slim-sized box of Virginia Woolf? I would have thought that would be a no-brainer.) The thing I find most impressive about these books—besides the immensely portable size—is the design of the packages. I know they're just plays on cigarette packaging, but they're striking, clear, and direct. Publishers are going to have to start thinking of design like this—in the packaging and in the design of the books—if they want books as objects to continue to have any appeal.