Holiday reading suggestions?

[louisiana]

We're planning a cycling holiday shortly, in the UK. So what book should I take for the trip?

Requirements:

Not too short - I can only take one

Not too heavy - I have to carry it on the bike, and we're taking camping equipment! So no hardbacks, or heavy paper (hence I have dismissed The Crimson Petal and the White)

Not too big (tall) - can it fit in a handlebar bag?

Sufficiently engrossing, not too simple, not too demanding, appeals to whatever mood I'm in (I may be tired after a hard day on the road)

Print size and quality - I may be reading in a tent in semi-darkness without lenses, so no tiny crappy print

A good read - I don't get the chance to read too many non-work books these days, so each one needs to be worth it. So either a classic, or a recent top read.

And a nice to have: does it relate to out cycling travels in any way? I have been considering Boswell and Johnson's accounts of their travels in Western Scotland, as our plan A has been to tour Islay, Jura and mid-Argyll - though the weather may push us to plan B or C, Somerset or the Cotswolds.

My recent reads have included We Need To Talk About Kevin, A History of Tractors in Ukrainian (fiction); Last Night a DJ Saved My Life, Murder in Samarkand (non-fiction) and a travelogue about Cuba.

Current candidates include Gilead (Marilynne Robinson), Istanbul (Orhan Pamuk) and Never Let Me Go (Kazuo Ishiguro)...

[Keef]

Theres a lou of pressure on anyone recommending there! If I remember rightly, the lady who wrote A short history of tractors in the Ukraine (great book, but her name escapes me) has released a second book, so if you liked that, it could be am option... Will look in to it and post more details.