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.
I picked up "Dragon" magazine a few times. No idea what it was about (DnD), but all I saw was cool art, dice for sale and a lot of dense writing about things I thought were cool. I also picked up...
I picked up "Dragon" magazine a few times. No idea what it was about (DnD), but all I saw was cool art, dice for sale and a lot of dense writing about things I thought were cool.
I also picked up "Guns" magazine one time. Yeah, my mom put a stop to that. The product photos were great, though.
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.
Same here, I specifically pick up used paperbacks to put on my bookshelves -- especially sci-fi and fantasy from the 80s and 90s with fun cover art. I appreciate some of the sci-fi covers from the...
Same here, I specifically pick up used paperbacks to put on my bookshelves -- especially sci-fi and fantasy from the 80s and 90s with fun cover art. I appreciate some of the sci-fi covers from the 50s and 60s as well, but it tends to be a little outlandish.
When I'm at a used book store I look for paperbacks of some fantasy novels I missed out on earlier in life along with specific versions of some popular books (GoT with pre-HBO covers, for example). I like to get early editions of the books because they have a certain hue to their printings, sometimes have embossed lettering in the titles, and maybe they have the old style of the publisher's logo or something mildly interesting.
I have a small collection of cover art in the form of poster prints (Michael Whelan art, mostly). A lot of posters are getting hard to find cheaply -- as are some of the paperbacks with versions of the covers I really want. Mass market reprints were sometimes done with different color hues/temps, art was cropped differently, lettering for the title wasn't embossed, and things like that.
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'm in Canada and I've got one of those B-format books in front of me right now, and I've got to say: it's a perfect size for reading. It's portable and easy to hold, perfect for bringing with me...
I'm in Canada and I've got one of those B-format books in front of me right now, and I've got to say: it's a perfect size for reading. It's portable and easy to hold, perfect for bringing with me wherever I go. Now if only I could find some time to actually sneak in a few pages while at work. It's almost less conspicuous to be wasting time browsing on my phone...
I don't think I've ever read a book in that format, but I'll keep a look out next time I go to a used book store here in Malaysia since there is definitely going to be books coming from those...
I don't think I've ever read a book in that format, but I'll keep a look out next time I go to a used book store here in Malaysia since there is definitely going to be books coming from those countries you mentioned here. I had to look up a size comparison online so wrap my head around the differences. That does look like a sweat spot between the trade and mass market paperback sizes.
One thing I will say though is that the few mass markets I do own tend to be sci-fi or fantasy and the cover art is so much better than any other editions. It could be a regional/licensing thing...
One thing I will say though is that the few mass markets I do own tend to be sci-fi or fantasy and the cover art is so much better than any other editions. It could be a regional/licensing thing rather format, but, whatever the case may be, I absolutely adore those painted covers and wish we could see more over here.
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.
I picked up "Dragon" magazine a few times. No idea what it was about (DnD), but all I saw was cool art, dice for sale and a lot of dense writing about things I thought were cool.
I also picked up "Guns" magazine one time. Yeah, my mom put a stop to that. The product photos were great, though.
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.
Same here, I specifically pick up used paperbacks to put on my bookshelves -- especially sci-fi and fantasy from the 80s and 90s with fun cover art. I appreciate some of the sci-fi covers from the 50s and 60s as well, but it tends to be a little outlandish.
When I'm at a used book store I look for paperbacks of some fantasy novels I missed out on earlier in life along with specific versions of some popular books (GoT with pre-HBO covers, for example). I like to get early editions of the books because they have a certain hue to their printings, sometimes have embossed lettering in the titles, and maybe they have the old style of the publisher's logo or something mildly interesting.
I have a small collection of cover art in the form of poster prints (Michael Whelan art, mostly). A lot of posters are getting hard to find cheaply -- as are some of the paperbacks with versions of the covers I really want. Mass market reprints were sometimes done with different color hues/temps, art was cropped differently, lettering for the title wasn't embossed, and things like that.
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'm in Canada and I've got one of those B-format books in front of me right now, and I've got to say: it's a perfect size for reading. It's portable and easy to hold, perfect for bringing with me wherever I go. Now if only I could find some time to actually sneak in a few pages while at work. It's almost less conspicuous to be wasting time browsing on my phone...
I don't think I've ever read a book in that format, but I'll keep a look out next time I go to a used book store here in Malaysia since there is definitely going to be books coming from those countries you mentioned here. I had to look up a size comparison online so wrap my head around the differences. That does look like a sweat spot between the trade and mass market paperback sizes.
One thing I will say though is that the few mass markets I do own tend to be sci-fi or fantasy and the cover art is so much better than any other editions. It could be a regional/licensing thing rather format, but, whatever the case may be, I absolutely adore those painted covers and wish we could see more over here.