Mass market paperbacks will all but vanish from the publishing scene in a few weeks

[jhowell]

Paperbacks were missing covers because the book seller would return those to the publisher for a refund on unsold books. The rest of the book was then supposed to be discarded. That message was only added because some dishonest book sellers did not honor the agreement.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by jhowell

Paperbacks were missing covers because the book seller would return those to the publisher for a refund on unsold books. The rest of the book was then supposed to be discarded. That message was only added because some dishonest book sellers did not honor the agreement.

Or someone dumpster dived for them, which I think is more likely. (Publishers kept tract of that kind of thing.) I worked for a paperback book distributor in the 1970s. I "stripped" a lot of books and magazines. For the first year or so I was there, they were just taken to the dump. Than someone figured out they could pulp them and turn them into insulation, so the started coming in each week and taking them. (I think they sprayed something on them to make them fireproof or, probably more accurately, fire resistant.)

[Paperbackstash]

This is a major bummer to me. Mass Market paperbacks are still my favorite physical format when it comes to reading and bookshelves for keeper favorites.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by issybird

I think some of you kids are missing the point. MMPBs were cheap and portable. Indeed, the first line of MMPBs produced in the US were called Pocket Books. If you were a person who wouldn't leave the house without something to read, they were life-changing. Their defects resulted from their virtues.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I wouldn't read one now. But they were great. They made it possible to own a bunch of books and always to have something to read. Why disparage them? And they could still serve that exact purpose, too. As well as being lendable and giftable.

Absolutely this. My first classics as a kid were "two for $1" MMPBs from Wal-Mart of all places. I read my first Henry James, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Jane Austens that way. I grew up an hour away from a decent library (my parochial school banned books like they were hard drugs), and i didn't see the inside of a bookstore until I was 17. But I had 200+ MMPBs by the time I left home for college.

Ebooks, even with the benefit of thousands of PD books, are just not as accessible in the same way. My parents would throw fifty cents at a book far faster than any tech (though cell phones didn't have color screens until I was in law school).

[Apache]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Absolutely this. My first classics as a kid were "two for $1" MMPBs from Wal-Mart of all places. I read my first Henry James, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Jane Austens that way. I grew up an hour away from a decent library (my parochial school banned books like they were hard drugs), and i didn't see the inside of a bookstore until I was 17. But I had 200+ MMPBs by the time I left home for college.

Ebooks, even with the benefit of thousands of PD books, are just not as accessible in the same way. My parents would throw fifty cents at a book far faster than any tech (though cell phones didn't have color screens until I was in law school).

I loved them and always had one stuck in a pocket. Anytime I had even one minute the book would come out. I did not matter where I was. If I had a chance to read, I did and still do. If I was close to finishing one I carried two.
Apache

[pdurrant]

The role of the paperback has been taken by the ebook. Cheap, readily available, carry it anywhere.

[ekbell]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Absolutely this. My first classics as a kid were "two for $1" MMPBs from Wal-Mart of all places. I read my first Henry James, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Jane Austens that way. I grew up an hour away from a decent library (my parochial school banned books like they were hard drugs), and i didn't see the inside of a bookstore until I was 17. But I had 200+ MMPBs by the time I left home for college.

Ebooks, even with the benefit of thousands of PD books, are just not as accessible in the same way. My parents would throw fifty cents at a book far faster than any tech (though cell phones didn't have color screens until I was in law school).

I have fond memories of picking up paperbacks from a small convenience store, mostly star trek.

On the other hand my catholic high school had a small but very, very eclectic collection of books; both Dante and Dune for example. The most surprising find in my *catholic* high school library was Bear by Marian Engel. It was with a collection of Can Lit, mass market books in boring, boring covers suitable for the dreary, dreary lives, (complete with depictions of bad sex) encased in many of the books. However while Bear starts with the protag living a dreary, dreary life, it doesn't stay there It was the sort of experience where I later needed to verify it was an actual book not some sort of warped dream/nightmare.

From what my teen says, most of their class mates in this low income area have cheap phones which would allow for reading on them. I doubt most bother.

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Ebooks, even with the benefit of thousands of PD books, are just not as accessible in the same way. My parents would throw fifty cents at a book far faster than any tech (though cell phones didn't have color screens until I was in law school).

Not sure I completely agree (or at least, it might only be true by perception, not by fact). The cost of the eReader is a higher investment initially, but it amortizes over time. Plus, when public domain books are free, it could be far cheaper in the long run.

I'm quite upset at how much money I spent in my youth on "leatherbound classics" from Borders or B&N, which seemed like a great deal and looked very pretty on my shelf...until I discovered that the vast majority of the books were public domain, and so the publisher paid next to nothing to produce it. Those were $20-25 a pop they got in nearly pure profit.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The role of the paperback has been taken by the ebook. Cheap, readily available, carry it anywhere.

I'm not sure I agree either. I'm a poverty lawyer, so all my clients are below the poverty line. A great deal of them would never read a book on their phones and most don't own computers. But they might buy something super cheap in the grocery or big box store. Most of their kids don't have their own phones, so MMPB would have been one of the only options they could have afforded. 12.5% of the population in my state lives at or below the poverty line and I am more sad for them than anyone in the loss of the MMPB.

[John F]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

...until I discovered that the vast majority of the books were public domain, and so the publisher paid next to nothing to produce it. Those were $20-25 a pop they got in nearly pure profit.

Although very profitable, I wonder how profitable. Still paying for the leather, the distribution, "returns", a forward, the printing, layout, company overhead, ...

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I'm not sure I agree either. I'm a poverty lawyer, so all my clients are below the poverty line. A great deal of them would never read a book on their phones and most don't own computers. But they might buy something super cheap in the grocery or big box store. Most of their kids don't have their own phones, so MMPB would have been one of the only options they could have afforded. 12.5% of the population in my state lives at or below the poverty line and I am more sad for them than anyone in the loss of the MMPB.

In the UK there are free public libraries everywhere for everyone.

I can see that in a place with widespread poverty and no public libraries there could still be a place for cheap paperbacks. But it looks like it'll be second-hand ones only in a few years.

[Indio777]

There has been a decline in availability of these for quite some time. I have already missed them. Many were up to $9.99US but they were still less expensive than the trade paperbooks. Plus as others have pointed out they take up much less shelf space. And much more "portable" for those who still would like to carry around physical books.

So for the past several years if I wish to buy a paper copy of something that is fiction I have been buying most trade paperbacks used. Less expensive for me, but doesn't benefit the authors.

[ekbell]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

In the UK there are free public libraries everywhere for everyone.

I can see that in a place with widespread poverty and no public libraries there could still be a place for cheap paperbacks. But it looks like it'll be second-hand ones only in a few years.

My library has bought quite a few 'consumable' mass market paperbacks of popular books, which would be filed in the system as 'mass market paperback'. They would normally also buy a few of the sturdier versions for the whole library system (multiple branches) but the consumable paperbacks would stay with a local branch for those who see and want to read, unlike the regular books which might not see a regular library shelf for months due to holds.

I'll miss those books, they weren't only fiction genres but also popular history and science.

[nana77]

The serie I -kinda- follow switched from MMPB to TMPB, around 2012 or maybe later, and from 3,60 to 7,80/9,90 euros; there are few ones I have and hope them will be digitalized.

In here there is a nice thing about public libraries, which is they (not all) are connected, so one person can order a book from a net of 40 places around the city, having it delivered in a couple of days (when available) to his/her close library. The borrowing time expires changed from 2 months to one.

[nabsltd]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

I'm a poverty lawyer, so all my clients are below the poverty line. A great deal of them would never read a book on their phones and most don't own computers. But they might buy something super cheap in the grocery or big box store.

This just points out one of the largest issues with poverty...being forced to pay too much per "unit" because you don't have enough money to buy larger quantities or amortize the larger up-front cost of something that will save you money in the long run.

And, the stores (e.g., every "dollar" store) that actively take advantage of people who have less are close to criminal.