Types of Books

For the most part, books come in two different general types: Hardcover and paperback. Hardcover speaks for itself — it’s any book that has a hard cover. Paperback books, though, get further broken up into trade paperback and mass market paperback. Trade paperbacks are, for the most part, a bit larger than mass market paperback books, printed on higher quality paper with a larger, more spread out font and printing style. Mass market paperbacks, are smaller in size and printed on lower quality paper. These are the types of books you’ll see at airport newsstands. Wikipedia has a great article on paperbacks that really defines the differences between the two types of paperbacks.

Why Trade Paperbacks Rock

This article, however, is my “shout out” for the trade paperback. Many people claim that the hardcover version of a book is the best. While it is often the best in terms of simple quality (the paper, the ink, etc.), from the practical standpoint of actually being able to read a book, nothing beats the trade paperback.

Trade paperback books have many advantages over both hardcover and mass market paperback books. First, they are generally easy to leave open flat on a table without breaking the bindings. For someone who loves to read while eating, this is almost a necessity. You can sometimes do this with a hardcover once you’ve read a quarter of the way through it, but you’ll have no chance doing this with a mass market paperback.

Second, they are just the right weight. Certain hardcover books can almost throw your back out when you’re trying to carry them in a backpack, not to mention the amount of room they take up. Mass market paperbacks, on the other hand, sometimes don’t have any real weight or heft to them. With a trade paperback, you feel like there’s some substance there, but you won’t have to “lift with your legs” to pick it up.

Third, they are just the right quality. The margins in trade paperbacks are generous, so you don’t feel like the publisher tried to squeeze every inch out of the page. Unlike mass market paperbacks, you don’t have to bend the binding just to read the words close to the center of the book. The paper is thick enough, too, to keep from bending when something in your bag rubs up against it.

And last, but not least, they look nice on the shelf. I’ve never been a big fan of the hardcover dust jackets. In fact my wife and I removed all the dust jackets from our hard cover books that we keep up on the shelves. I’ve also never thought that mass market paperbacks look great on a shelf either. Mass market paperbacks and hard cover books both suffer from too much conformity. For the most part, they’re all the same size. On a bookshelf, this is kind of boring for the eye. Trade paperbacks come in all different colors and sizes, and this can add depth and interest to any shelf.

Of course, my adoration for the trade paperback can sometimes leave me wanting. Most publishers publish the hardcover version of a book first, with any form of paperback coming at least six months after that. This means that I have to wait to get my hands on the newest book. For example, right now I’d really like to get Anathem by Neil Stephenson. It looks like a very interesting read, and I’ve enjoyed Mr. Stephenson’s books in the past. However, the only version available right now is the hardcover version. The book is very large, and the weight of the hardcover version could probably knock a small child unconscious.

So, I wait.

Maybe one day, publishers will know that there are people like me craving the trade paperback version of their latest title. Until then, I’ll just try not to look at the new hardcover displays.

Are you a trade paperback fanatic? If not, what’s your favorite style of book. Tell us in the comments.

I don’t think they will, and in this post, I’ll explain why I think that way.

Photo courtesy of tanakawho

If you’re reading this site, you’re more than likely an avid reader. So, off the bat, I’m writing to a readership that probably doesn’t think books are dead or dying. However, you are reading this on the internet, so you might also be a bit more tech savvy than the average book reader. You might see where things such as the internet or digital readers could foretell the death of the book.

Let’s look at a book for a second, though, and examine it from a material aspect. The book as a form has a long history, with copies of books being mentioned in Roman texts. When the printing press was introduced in the 15th century, books were mass produced for the first time, and almost anyone could have one. The book as a form is certainly not a new thing.

Books themselves have physical qualities that the internet, audio books or digital readers just don’t have. First, and foremost, is that they are extremely portable. A small paperback book can slip in your pocket. I remember running around Portland shortly after college with a copy of The Catcher in the Rye in the back pocket of my jeans. No laptop will ever fit there.

Another thing that a book has going for it, that these other technologies don’t, is that a book doesn’t need batteries or a plug. In fact, if you’ve got a candle handy you can even read a book when all the electricity in town is out. Not to mention, you can read a book under a tree by a stream, miles away from the nearest outlet without worrying that it will cut out during a suspenseful chapter.

One of the biggest things a book has going for it, too, in this world of DRM’d music and copyrighted movies, is that you once you’re done with a book — you can loan it to a friend. Then, they can loan it to another friend. It could spread between your network of friends and not cost anybody one cent more than what you originally paid for it.

Books also just feel right in your hands. This is more of an aesthetic quality, but still important. There’s a weight and substance there that is comfortable. There’s a fragrance and a texture to a book that just can’t be reproduced with a plastic shell.

Now, as you can tell, I also use the internet. I’ve played with the digital readers, and I’ve listened to quite a few audio books. They have their place, and they serve their purposes, and in many cases do it well. Do these technologies spell certain doom for the book itself, though? I don’t think so. A book, as an entity, has too much going for it, and has lasted long enough that it won’t be going anywhere any time soon.

Now, go out there and enjoy your books.