Interestingly enough, I came across this thread just after buying Naomi Novik's "A Deadly Education" (currently
on sale @ multiple retailers). I'm a fan of Novik's, although I don't own many of her books; I keep meaning to get more.
Looking at the prices for
Uprooted and
Spinning Silver I was quite dismayed that the publisher was charging so much more for the ebook than the mass-market paperback.
Until I discovered that'd I'd made a faulty assumption. Those books haven't been published in mass-market paperback. They're both only in what I always saw referred to as "trade paperback", simply called "paperback" on amazon.ca ($19.87 CDN) and chapters-indigo.ca ($23).
Which makes it another case of the ebook being the cheapest option. By a fair margin if you're buying from Chapters-Indigo (which I'll admit, I do somewhat prefer. I figure Bezos & co. have enough money coming in, and at least Canada is the primary market for Chapters-Indigo.)
I do find it odd that a successful author like Novik isn't getting a m-m paperback release of some of her books. Is the format on the downswing I wonder?