I remember seeing this a few months ago and thinking about posting it, but life tends to get busy, and a New York Times article come out a few days ago that also mentioned this, link:...
I chose to share the Publisher weekly link since it doesn't have a paywall and I don't have a New York Times subscription.
I've always enjoyed mass-market paperbacks for their size and cost. I loved being able to build up my collection with them over the years, and a big chunk of the books I own are in that format. I only really noticed the shift to trade paperbacks when I was collecting the Emberverse series and noticed halfway through the shift in form factor.
I always liked the variety of covers that older scifi/fantasy books had since they were more eye catching than many (not all) modern books have since many covers are now designed to be viewable as smaller icons in online stores in an ereader platform.
I don't have anything particularly interesting to share, I'm just a bit sad seeing the format end even though it makes sense from a cost and shifting consumer demand perspective.
Love that point about paperback covers versus online stores - something that makes me think about original sci Fi covers, Wheel of Time covers and all the rest as they are now - a 4 colour...
Love that point about paperback covers versus online stores - something that makes me think about original sci Fi covers, Wheel of Time covers and all the rest as they are now - a 4 colour gradient palette with nothing of consequence happening on the cover.
Big author, big sans serif capitals title, bye bye swoops-and-loops fantasy lettering, bye bye heroic scene on a forbidden vista.
It makes me think that should collect some old issues so that my kid can see an actual book cover when she grows up and there are none left.
Or the experience of perusing the local library for cool-looking fantasy or science fiction novels as a kid, literally judging the books by their cover.
Or the experience of perusing the local library for cool-looking fantasy or science fiction novels as a kid, literally judging the books by their cover.
Books are the one thing that I collect, and I'd definitely plan to slowly get more as I read the books I have. I love the old book covers, and if I had money and space I'd even collect some of the...
Books are the one thing that I collect, and I'd definitely plan to slowly get more as I read the books I have. I love the old book covers, and if I had money and space I'd even collect some of the different editions since there can be so much variety between different regions and editions of some books over the years.
I know I often judge books by their cover when I'm quickly going through a bookshelf at a used book store.
I agree with you so much on the Wheel of Time covers now, I really dislike their modern color gradient books. This is definitely a personal preference, I understand some people like that for their bookshelf, but I always found my eyes draw to the chaotic images, heck I'd love to get some of the older pulpier books just for their outlandish covers.
Interesting, in Ireland (and the likes of UK, AUS, NZ, etc., I believe) the B-format has been the defacto standard for paberpacks for several decades. It fits in somewhere between mass market and...
Interesting, in Ireland (and the likes of UK, AUS, NZ, etc., I believe) the B-format has been the defacto standard for paberpacks for several decades. It fits in somewhere between mass market and trade at approx. 198x130mm (~7.8"x5"), with a cheap but far from flimsy quality that feels comfortable for reading. Here, larger trade editions typically follow after an initial hardcover run on first publication, while the pocket mass markets described in the article are quite rare. I'm curious now if these kinds of changes are limited to the US industry or if something similar might be happening over here; personally, I can't see the B-format disappearing any time soon.
I remember seeing this a few months ago and thinking about posting it, but life tends to get busy, and a New York Times article come out a few days ago that also mentioned this, link: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/06/books/mass-market-paperback-books.html
I chose to share the Publisher weekly link since it doesn't have a paywall and I don't have a New York Times subscription.
I've always enjoyed mass-market paperbacks for their size and cost. I loved being able to build up my collection with them over the years, and a big chunk of the books I own are in that format. I only really noticed the shift to trade paperbacks when I was collecting the Emberverse series and noticed halfway through the shift in form factor.
I always liked the variety of covers that older scifi/fantasy books had since they were more eye catching than many (not all) modern books have since many covers are now designed to be viewable as smaller icons in online stores in an ereader platform.
I don't have anything particularly interesting to share, I'm just a bit sad seeing the format end even though it makes sense from a cost and shifting consumer demand perspective.
Love that point about paperback covers versus online stores - something that makes me think about original sci Fi covers, Wheel of Time covers and all the rest as they are now - a 4 colour gradient palette with nothing of consequence happening on the cover.
Big author, big sans serif capitals title, bye bye swoops-and-loops fantasy lettering, bye bye heroic scene on a forbidden vista.
It makes me think that should collect some old issues so that my kid can see an actual book cover when she grows up and there are none left.
Or the experience of perusing the local library for cool-looking fantasy or science fiction novels as a kid, literally judging the books by their cover.
Books are the one thing that I collect, and I'd definitely plan to slowly get more as I read the books I have. I love the old book covers, and if I had money and space I'd even collect some of the different editions since there can be so much variety between different regions and editions of some books over the years.
I know I often judge books by their cover when I'm quickly going through a bookshelf at a used book store.
I agree with you so much on the Wheel of Time covers now, I really dislike their modern color gradient books. This is definitely a personal preference, I understand some people like that for their bookshelf, but I always found my eyes draw to the chaotic images, heck I'd love to get some of the older pulpier books just for their outlandish covers.
Interesting, in Ireland (and the likes of UK, AUS, NZ, etc., I believe) the B-format has been the defacto standard for paberpacks for several decades. It fits in somewhere between mass market and trade at approx. 198x130mm (~7.8"x5"), with a cheap but far from flimsy quality that feels comfortable for reading. Here, larger trade editions typically follow after an initial hardcover run on first publication, while the pocket mass markets described in the article are quite rare. I'm curious now if these kinds of changes are limited to the US industry or if something similar might be happening over here; personally, I can't see the B-format disappearing any time soon.