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What's with the new tall & skinny paperpack books?
Has anyone else noticed this? A couple of weeks ago I was in Borders and noticed 10 or 12 different paperbacks that were about 3/4" to 1" taller than all the other paperbacks, and maybe half an inch narrower. I can't think of any good reason for the format change, other than to make them stand out on the racks (and wreak havoc with people's bookshelves at home). Other than standing out, I can't see any advantage-- it looks like the new page size has the same amount of space; just configured differently.
And if the reason for the change is to stand out, then in a year or 2 when all the books are tall and skinny, then none of them are going to stand out again. |
Easier to read for the older folks who do the majority of the reading these days. :)
(sad, but true...) |
But I looked, and the text inside seems to be the same size as regular books. The pages are just taller and skinnier.
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The text and lines should be more loosely spaced...USA Today article from a couple years back
http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/o...aperback_x.htm Paperback publishers put premium on size By Carol Memmott, USA TODAY Sales of mass-market paperbacks — the compact, inexpensive books found in bookstores, supermarkets and other retail outlets — have been soft in the past five years. So major publishers, including Harlequin, Penguin and Simon & Schuster, are tinkering with the format, hoping a slightly bigger "premium size" will increase their appeal. The traditional paperback is usually 43/16 inches by 63/4 inches; the new premiums are 41/4 inches by 71/2 inches. Premium type size is slightly larger; words and lines are more loosely spaced for easier reading. "Vision is obviously an issue for baby boomers," says Jack Romanos of Simon & Schuster. "If you make the books more readable, then some of the audience who have moved to larger formats will return." ... |
I like the taller format and wish it were the standard.
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Wait, what? Haven't paperbacks been "larger" for years now? I now Penguin started changing the format around when I was in high school. I think the old style of tall skinny & thick is completely gone: I've seen it maybe on sci-fi or fantasy books but I haven't bought a book in that style in close to a decade.
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No one has mentioned price yet. These tall bastards cost $2 or $3 more than the traditional paperback size. So while claiming to produce books that are more readable for old folks, publishers are just trying to squeeze more money out of their products.
I like the traditional size. |
not a hardcover fan and that where thses new paperbacks seem to be going in price and size..i always disliked trade paperbacks for the same reason
since good old fashioned mass market paperbacks seem to be a thing of the past . My Kindle cant get here fast enough |
Originally Posted by FunkDaddy J
No one has mentioned price yet. These tall bastards cost $2 or $3 more than the traditional paperback size. So while claiming to produce books that are more readable for old folks, publishers are just trying to squeeze more money out of their products.
I like the traditional size. |
I've grown so used to trade paperbacks I can barely read a mass-market paperback anymore.
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Originally Posted by DRG
I've grown so used to trade paperbacks I can barely read a mass-market paperback anymore.
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I find the premium mass market pbs to be silly -- I think they mainly exist as a way for the publishers to garner greater revenue from mass markets without incurring much more in the way of cost. But I'm not much of a fan of mass markets in general.
My favorite format to read books in is the one typically used for ARCs, which is very similar to trade paperbacks. Large enough to handle easily, good size print and pages, without the additional weight of the hardback. (Also, whenever I read a hardback, there's a little voice in the back of my head screaming, "You're messing up a first edition!") |
Can someone show me a picture of these "new" paperbacks?
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Here are a couple of side-by-side pics of a premium mass market (the Deaver) and a regular mass market (the Pelecanos). I didn't have a ruler handy, but you can see the difference.
<img src="http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj45/davidjmontgomery/sidebyside1.jpg"</a> <img src="http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/jj45/davidjmontgomery/sidebyside2.jpg"</a> |
Strange. I didn't know they made paperbacks like that anymore. I assumed everyone switched to the "Penguin" format since that's all I've seen in the past few years.
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Most mass market paperbacks are still the traditional size (like the Pelecanos above). For a few -- usually more popular -- titles, the publishers will release them in the "premium" format. The latter are definitely the minority, though -- which is good, as I don't especially care for them.
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My wife bought a Jonathan Kellerman book in this style. It is 'easier' to open and read, it doesn't feel like you're fighting the binding...however, it is harder to pay for since it was 9.99.
Most of what I've been reading is either checked out from the library, or 95cent cover price SF paperbacks, so I will try not to be buying these. |
It's so publishers can jack up prices a couple of bucks per book. I imagine that these cost no more to publish than the standard size. Considering that paperbacks get trashed when there are too many extras in stock, publisher must make a killing with the profit on these things.
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It's all a sinister plot by Ikea to get us to buy new bookcases.
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So if a book is released as a "Premium" size, does that mean it won't be released as an older, smaller type release?
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That's a good question. I think they eventually move to regular mass market -- I seem to recall this being the case -- but I don't have any examples at hand as evidence. I suppose a lot of this depends on how the sales are doing.
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Just got back from a bookstore, and there were two different sizes of the James Patterson book 6th Target in paperback. The biggest book had the cover price of $18.99, while the older smaller book had a cover price of $11.99 (in Canadian $). In US$, it was $9.99 versus $14.99. Even the smaller paperback seemed to be a different size than all of the other standard paperbacks. Strange.
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