Mass or Trade

[billy]

carolinec said:

Sorry, Billy, I wasn't trying to be flippant with my story, or devalue what you were saying in any way. I'm sure your reasons for prefering books of a certain size are very valid to you - like me with my large print!
;D

Don't be silly, carolinec, it fair made me smile.

[Craig Herbertson]

I used to have Gardiner's Egyptian Grammar at University. Great Read; had to give it back because I couldn't afford it.

I totally endorse your view Dem. What is the point of lugging these large books around when the cute Pan's and the Gollanz editions looked just dandy on the shelf.

[Calenture]

I've seen a lot of points I agree with here. I hate getting aching wrists holding an oversized book when I'm trying to wind down before sleep. It also annoys me when I build another bookcase, deliberately setting the shelves further apart - and thereby losing space for one shelf - then finding that just a few books still won't fit!

It's interesting in a pedantic way to look at some of the sizes, too. The 17th Best New Horror is actually about three-quarters of an inch smaller than the 2nd.

And that 17th Best New Horror (published last year) is about an inch-and-a-half short than Gaiman's Neverwhere published by the BBC in 1996.

BNH 17 has 562 pages and feels quite comfortable to hold, good readable text.

Neverwhere has 287 pages of pretty large print and actually weighs over 100g more. The extra weight seems accounted for by the wider margins and space between the lines of text...

I know that 'meadows of margin' is one of the nice things about an antique book, but hell it's only a paperback.

I haven't seen the oversized DVD cases - unless you mean the cases for the newer compact disks? I think these are packaged in standard DVD boxes to appeal to buyers through larger cover pictures?

[billy]

calenture said:

I haven't seen the oversized DVD cases - unless you mean the cases for the newer compact disks? I think these are packaged in standard DVD boxes to appeal to buyers through larger cover pictures?

They're not common, but they do exist, usually when you import from the States I find. They are identified by the thick cardboard inner sleeve, as opposed to the glossy thin sleeves that come with the Amaray DVDs. That thick stuff is a bugger to cut through when trimming down.

[Dr Terror]

I would have preferred the Black Books to have been mass market size, but with POD it's not really possible.

[carolinec]

billy said:

carolinec said:

Sorry, Billy, I wasn't trying to be flippant with my story, or devalue what you were saying in any way. I'm sure your reasons for prefering books of a certain size are very valid to you - like me with my large print!
;D

Don't be silly, carolinec, it fair made me smile.

That's OK then. I thought afterwards it made it seem like I wasn't taking you seriously.

[coral]

I tend to go for reference books rather than fiction, novels or such, and they are so variable there's always one in each topical section that has to go in sideways, or lie on top of the bookcase.
Non fiction books could certainly do with standardising.
Not particularly relevant, I suppose, but it was nice to get that off my chest

[billy]

Sorry to drag up such an old thread, but I emailed Waterstones yesterday to ask if Mass Market and Tradeback paperbacks are released simultaneously. This is the reply I received and I can only presume my question was mis-understood as this doesn't make a lot of sense to me - not when you consider the experiences I've had trying to seek out MM editions of certain novels.

"Thank you for your email.
Obviously with publishing issues it always better to go straight from the source but I can express from my experience that 'trade paperbacks' are generally released with the hardback, which will be before the standard paperback is issued.
It is worth noting that not all titles will be issued a trade paperback, and they are not always stocked in high street stores. The whole idea behind trade paperback was to initially sell them within airports, but it is not uncommon to see these also sold in book stores- but they are generally few and far between.
I hope this helps.
Kind Regards,"

Tradeback few and far between??
So why is it that whenever I'm scouring amazon for something new to read, I fail, virtually everytime, to find a Mass Market copy?

[dem]

Never worry about reviving a thread, Billy, especially one that's only a few weeks old! Likewise, if someone has commented on a book, that's no reason for others not to chime in, and if they offer a polar opposite viewpoint, all the better. One of the liveliest threads of late was 'Mammoth Years Best Horror 18', stalled on just the initial post from October until it finally burst into life six months later.

I don't know enough about the subject to comment with any confidence but I suspect that, while "It is worth noting that not all titles will be issued a trade paperback", not all titles are issued in mass market paperbacks either, a case in point, sadly, being the entire output of P.S. Publishing.

[billy]

Thanks, demonik.

I'm still perplexed by the statement 'few and far between', regarding the trade paperback, though.