These Books Are Also Brazilian Subway Tickets

ticket books
ticket books | ticket books

On average, Brazilians only read about two books a year, according to research by Instituto Pró-Livro. To increase that number, pocket book publisher L&PM Editores worked with Agência Africa to create Ticket Books. These handy tomes are one part literature and one part subway pass.

Each special Ticket Book comes with an RFID card built right inside the cover which enables subway turnstiles to then read the covers just like a regular ticket. Now subway riders can carry a book and subway card all in one; once they're on the train, they'll already have a book in hand to entertain them on the commute.

This exciting program kicked off on World Book Day in April when L&PM Editores handed out 10,000 free books in Sao Paulo. Each book came preloaded with 10 rides. Once spent, the books can be re-upped on the Ticket Books website, or—if the commuter has finished the book—given to a friend to pass along the reading material. The event was a huge success and the project was expanded to other parts of Brazil.

So far, there are ten classic books to choose from, each with a subway-themed cover: Peanuts: Friendship. That’s What Friends Are For by Charles M. Schulz, Garfield: Sorry by Jim Davis, Hundred Love Sonnets by Pablo Neruda, The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Art of War by Sun Tzu, Sherlock Holmes: The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Hamlet by William Shakespeare, Murder Alley by Agatha Christie, Chives In Trouble! by Mauricio de Sousa, and Quintana Pocket by Mario Quintana.