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What's up with the newer 8 1/2 inch paperbacks? I can't site a specific reason but they really irk me. The look and feel awkward. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, check out the David Baldacci books on the bookstore shelf or The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. I think they're doing it with Stephen King paperbacks too (at least his latest books). Does anyone know why these came about? Anyone prefer them?
What's up with the newer 8 1/2 inch paperbacks? I can't site a specific reason but they really irk me. The look and feel awkward. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, check out the David Baldacci books on the bookstore shelf or The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets Nest. I think they're doing it with Stephen King paperbacks too (at least his latest books). Does anyone know why these came about? Anyone prefer them?
It's trade paperback (TP, or simply, trades.) TP is not new. It has been around for as long as (or probably, even longer than) MMP (mass-market paperback). I like TP much better than MMP. The quality of paper is higher, the soft cover is nicer to the touch, the binding is better, and the fonts are clearer. Many decades ago when and where I grew up, TP was the only acceptable format for (less expensive) mass-produced books. If one could not afford hardcovers, one bought trades. Paperbacks were looked down back then. Even now, in Europe, TP is more available than MMP.
The majority of bookcases are designed for TP, not MMP, that's why the space between the shelves are much farther apart.
Last edited by Ol' Wanderer; 03-27-2012 at 09:28 PM..
I was wondering about it, too. The two Steven Konkoly books I have recently purchased are larger. They are easier to read but I little more difficult to hold while reading. The paper quality is much better.
The trade size paperbacks have been around for a very long time, dating back to the WWII era. You're just seeing more of them nowadays, imo an effort by publishers to make us think we're getting more book for our dollars. Instead of going to $9.99 for a massmarket size, they'll give us a larger paperback for $12.99-$15.99.
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1. Hardcover. I don't like 'em -- too heavy. I'll read them, but I don't enjoy them.
2. Trade paperback(the one that you're talking about). They're my favorite.
3. Mass market paperback. Hate them. I don't know why, but I just don't like them.
I feel the same as Dawn. I do on rare occasions prefer a hardcover, but really rare occasions. An example would be the Harry Potter books. First one I got was hardcover and I loved the story so much I wanted to have the series in hardcover.
When I shop in thrift shops for used books, I tend to look for the trade paperback size and only skim the mass market and hardcover books.
Let me guess: Touted as new and improved, and cost more than the old size. Right?
In the 1950s, a paperback novel, a magazine, the Sunday paper, a chocolate malt, a gallon of gas, a pack of cigarettes and a hamburger all cost about a quarter. Guess which one has gone up to ten bucks?
Let me guess: Touted as new and improved, and cost more than the old size. Right?
It is the old size, jtur. MMPs are the new size. In the early and mid '60s, I worked a couple of hours each day after school in a printing company and all we did back then was trades, printers could not make a living with MMPs. Only in the last couple of decades that most people preferred MMPs for the convenient pocket size and cheaper price. MMPs are cheaper because it cost less to print and there is no binding. Trades have always been more expensive since the beginning because it cost the publishers more on higher quality paper, softer cover, larger sheets, and sturdy binding. Now, with more people turn to ebooks and/or discard their MMPs after reading, trades are making a come back to target people who do not want to part with their books.
Last edited by Ol' Wanderer; 03-30-2012 at 01:02 AM..
All this is really interesting. I did not know the difference between mass market paperbacks and trade paperbacks.
I was a book reviewer for the local newspaper for about 10 years and they usually had a hardcover book they wanted me to review but sometimes they gave me a trade paperback. I really liked those because some were galley proofs where I got to see the editor's marks.
I read a particular book series and Number 9 and 10 came out. All of a sudden they were trade rather than mass market. I can be anal about my books and it bothers me to see the smaller books followed by 2 larger ones on my bookshelf but the trades are easier to read with larger print.
Yippee! I'm going to try to work "trades" into my discussions from now on. People might actually think I know something. LOL
I read a particular book series and Number 9 and 10 came out. All of a sudden they were trade rather than mass market. I can be anal about my books and it bothers me to see the smaller books followed by 2 larger ones on my bookshelf but the trades are easier to read with larger print.
I am the same way!! I can't even put my Diana Gabaldon's "Outlander" series together because some are MMP and some TP.
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