Anyone Else Not Like Trade Paperbacks?

[Nardpuncher]

When I read my fiction I like mass market paperback size.

Trade paperback size was sort of neat when it first came out, or the first time I remember it in the mid 80s or so.

I really wish that non-fiction would use mass market size more often too. It's very rare I think for non-fiction to come out in mass market size.

Sorry if this sounded like a weird rant!

 

[DBR]

edit: oops, I misread and though you were talking about MMPBs.

TPBs aren't my favorite, but it seems to me they take way longer to come out in MMPB format (like hardcovers eventually do) so I usually suck it up and buy them if the book appeals to me.

 

[Warp Coil]

MMPBs are smaller (thus they are more portable and take up less space) and cheaper. I don't see the appeal in paying more to get a trade paperback.

 

[Argus Skyhawk]

It honestly makes no difference to me. When I'm reading a novel, I don't care how big it is or whether it is paperback or hardcover, and since I tend to get my novels from the library, price is irrelevant.

 

[Top41]

I used to prefer Mass Market PBs to the trade PBs, but now I really like the big ones! They're so pretty! And often their spines are more durable so I'm not bending them as I read them. I'm a horrible spine-bender!

I do prefer paperbacks to hardcovers though--not exactly sure why... maybe because they're softer or something like that. And I love puffy letters on the cover.

As you can probably tell, I'm a very tactile reader! I'm one of those who would never think a Kindle could replace the contents of my bookshelf...

 

[MeanJoePhaser]

I hate coffee table books, actually. THey are so unwieldy and don't hold coffee well.

 

[Mooch]

I don't mind TPBs... what I don't like is those weird tall and skinny paperbacks that I sometimes see.

 

[RandyS]

^Yeah, I hate those too.

The only thing I hate about Trade paperbacks is that I'm running out of shelf space for them.

 

[Lookingglassman]

Battlestar Galactica's mini series paperback was pretty good. It followed the mini series, but had extra material in it that wasnt on tv.

 

[cardinal biggles]

Count me in as one who prefers trade paper to mass market. I find that the books are a bit more durable in trade paper.

As a bookseller, mass markets are a pain in the ass, because the books tend to expand once they're taken out of the box and put on the shelf. This is why you'll sometimes see mass markets falling off the shelves when they're faced out... all the copies behind it are pushing them off the cliff.

 

[Nardpuncher]

Count me in as one who prefers trade paper to mass market. I find that the books are a bit more durable in trade paper.

As a bookseller, mass markets are a pain in the ass, because the books tend to expand once they're taken out of the box and put on the shelf. This is why you'll sometimes see mass markets falling off the shelves when they're faced out... all the copies behind it are pushing them off the cliff.

Hey yeah...I noticed that but didn't think of the reason behind it.

I should mention that I like hardcovers for what we would call 'the great works'. I just got The Grapes of Wrath in that Everyman's Library edition. It was only about $8 more than the trade paperback with the uneven edges...HEY! what's the deal with books like that??? The ones where the edge of the paper is a different width and makes it harder to flip the pages??

 

[Navaros]

I hate all paperbacks. Every book should be hardcover by law.

 

[RandyS]

Battlestar Galactica's mini series paperback was pretty good. It followed the mini series, but had extra material in it that wasnt on tv.

Most tie-in novels are like that. That's one of the reasons they say "The book is better than the movie".

Take the novelization of Star Trek V: The Final Frontier for example. The actual movie doesn't even start until something like 110 pages in. It's been twenty years since I read those, but I'm pretty sure the Star Trek III book is the same way.

Of course, that's not always the case.

 

[RandyS]

I hate all paperbacks. Every book should be hardcover by law.

They wouldn't sell as well. Not everybody can afford to shell out $24.99 for a hardcover.

 

[auntiehill]

I actually don't mind trade paperbacks. They are making the mass-market paperbacks so cheaply these days that they can't take much abuse before falling apart. Since I'm always shoving a book in a large purse or suitcase, I can sometimes beat them up pretty badly. At least some of the trade paperbacks are slightly sturdier.

 

[James Tiberius Kirk]

I'm definitely more of a fan of hardcovers and trade paperbacks than of mass market paperbacks. Mass markets just seem shoddily constructed a lot of the time, often with crappy paper and print, and are damned near impossible to read without destroying the spine. I like being able to lay a hardcover flat or at least open a sturdy trade paperback without cracking the spine.

 

[Nardpuncher]

Maybe that's the reason I don't mind MMPBs...as long as the pages stay in (after I crack the spine) I'll abuse the book and then leave it somewhere when I'm finished for a passerby to take, or on a shelf at work for coworkers to have.
There's no need to have finished books on my shelf unless I'm sure I'd like to read them again.

 

[Pavonis]

^Why would you pay for books then give them away? I would go to a public library for free, if I were you, or sell them to a used book store. I've heard of others doing similar things, even of people going so far as throwing books in the trash (!) after reading once. Astonishing.

Personally I prefer mass market paperbacks. I rarely buy hardcover fiction, and I'll only buy trade paper if the publisher won't release a work in any other format.

 

[Top41]

I hate coffee table books, actually. THey are so unwieldy and don't hold coffee well.

^Yeah, I hate those too.

The only thing I hate about Trade paperbacks is that I'm running out of shelf space for them.

Ah, now this I can get behind. I have the same problem. And I'm running out of bookshelf space.

Count me in as one who prefers trade paper to mass market. I find that the books are a bit more durable in trade paper.

As a bookseller, mass markets are a pain in the ass, because the books tend to expand once they're taken out of the box and put on the shelf. This is why you'll sometimes see mass markets falling off the shelves when they're faced out... all the copies behind it are pushing them off the cliff.

I never knew that! I guess that makes sense, though, because I've noticed them expand if i leave them out or something. Interesting!

Hey yeah...I noticed that but didn't think of the reason behind it.

I should mention that I like hardcovers for what we would call 'the great works'. I just got The Grapes of Wrath in that Everyman's Library edition. It was only about $8 more than the trade paperback with the uneven edges...HEY! what's the deal with books like that??? The ones where the edge of the paper is a different width and makes it harder to flip the pages??

I don't get that thing with the paper, either. I think it's meant to make the book look more artful/fancier or something, but it doesn't really make a difference one way or another IMO.

I actually don't mind trade paperbacks. They are making the mass-market paperbacks so cheaply these days that they can't take much abuse before falling apart. Since I'm always shoving a book in a large purse or suitcase, I can sometimes beat them up pretty badly. At least some of the trade paperbacks are slightly sturdier.

Yeah, I do as well. I like to carry a book in my purse at all times, which can't be done with hardcovers. Paperbacks of either size are good for that.

^Why would you pay for books then give them away? I would go to a public library for free, if I were you, or sell them to a used book store. I've heard of others doing similar things, even of people going so far as throwing books in the trash (!) after reading once. Astonishing.

People throwing books in the trash make me sad. Why not just donate or give them away? I get wanting to have your own copy and read a book at your own pace, and then give it away once you're done. That's a nice gesture at least!

 

[Kirby]

Personally I get really creeped out by libraries, used book stores, and donated books because frankly I don't know what people were doing or touching while they were reading a book - that library book you're reading may have been in 40 different bathrooms - and guess how many people don't wash their hands, or they continue reading after wiping and before they wash their hands? For me the Kindle is the greatest invention because I can read a book that NOBODY has ever physically touched.