To say modern paperbacks are too big!

[PuffinsSitOnMuffins]

Anyone else agree? The original size was perfect, you could carry them around easily. Then for some reason the publishing industry decided to make them much bigger, with large text, line spacing and unnecessary amounts of space around. Some are like bricks now. If they went back to the old size it would be an enviromental win too, cutting paper use by at least a third I'd think.

there are three sizes of paperback, A, B & C (with C, Trade, being the smallest). Larger size print is seen as more prestigious and was originally reserved for 'literary' books. Other the years novelists and publishers have pushed for their books to be printed in the larger format.

Thank you for the inside information! I was wondering if anyone was going to reply to my (rather boring!) AIBU.

Not inside info, just the sort of useless stuff my brain seems to be stuffed with! If only it was useful things, like how to crack an egg without getting shell into it.

Use a kindle, then you don't get thumb ache from holding them open.

There are different sizes and it depends mostly on where the books will be sold. You'll get large paperback versions on books that have just been published in HBbut aren't available yet in normal PB in airports or train stations for example because travellers won't want to lug a HB on holiday. They're literally called 'airport editions'. Some older people ( a LOT of readers BTW) like bigger text and bigger books. Publishers react to the market mostly. Nice to see real books having a resurgence, it was dicey there for a while...

A kindle is your friend.

The bigger airport editions are C format - in the US there's a size smaller than our standard A-format paperback called a mass market paperback edition, which is generally sold in supermarkets.

Ditto - I'd love paperbacks smaller again and presented with two different versions, will always choose the smaller less flashy one as it's easier to carry around.

For those who say kindle... I just don't like them. I have tried three different kinds and given them a really good go, but I don't like reading from them. Even the way the pages turn annoyed me!

My teen is the same and prefers real books.

I agree. I believe the larger size also used to be a first print for books that would otherwise have been published as a hard back on their first run. Then the subsequent runs would be in the smaller version. Now it seems to be just a free for all!

Trade paperbacks are/were the largest non-large print editions. They are less common now, but essentially take up about as much room as a hardback edition and are still used for advance copies.

Novels are often longer than they were in the original format of Penguin paperbacks for example, so there is a trade-off to be made between print size and the amount of pages. It's a commercial decision at the end of the day.

Thanks Ifailed

BTW, get bits of egg shell out scooping with the shell you have left. It scoops it to the top of the albumen.

I like real books when studying (I'm in academia) but Kindles are fine for novels. Besides which, eBooks are free

NaiceHam
Tried that, they seem to multiply! Just have to get used to the crunchy texture of scrambled eggs. Sure its a good source of calcium though.