Why cant they produce high quality mass market paperbacks? They don't have to be bad quality. I'm tired of these 200 page tall wide books, so uneccessary, I'm tired. There is no goddamn space for those hardbacks. Just minimize the books I beg of you. eBooks be damned. The new paperbacks are tearing me apart.
by PuzzleheadedBag920
9 Comments
They don’t produce them probably because there is no longer a mass market for them anymore. At the end of the day selling books is just a business like any other and it will be treated like one by publishers and manufacturers.
Blame Kindle. E-books killed the cheap-book physical market.
https://www.concordmonitor.com/2026/03/02/rise-e-books-killed-pocketbooks/
They’ll never come back because the market has demonstrated that publishers can charge twice as much for a trade paperback and people will still buy. It drives me nuts, honestly, because I can afford like $12 for a paperback on a whim, but $30 for a trade paperback makes me not buy the book.
So true, and they are [disappearing.](https://youtube.com/shorts/wFOi7Izeeyo?si=F2V_sebExnaBBdJx) I’ve been buying some on thrift books, but I am aware that even at $5 and free shipping I am overpaying. They also keep coming with DoorDash coupons (for new users only so not useful) but it makes me wary of their corporate ownership. Still the best way to get Mass Market Paperbacks that I know of right now (other than library book sales and thrift stores — but those are more like finding a gem. Sometimes I want the book I want in the moment.) Very frustrating.
Yeah I’m afraid that e-readers, while not being the end of paper books at all, did ruin that market, so they’re just not worth it to make anymore.
I generally like the taller paperbacks. They’re the easiest to hold while reading and they’re easier on my eyes too because of the wider middle margin. And when I am strapped for luggage space, I download a couple e-books. So I’m part of the problem, I must admit.
I think you’ve just described… regular paperbacks XD
Used book stores have 5 lifetimes worth of old mass market paperbacks, at least the ones near me. Find a use book store and you should be set!
Don’t worry, the powers that be are working to crush the ability to read so pretty soon it won’t matter.
I miss when books where smaller, lighter, and actually fit in my bags.