What does this mean?

[Alex]

What does Mass Market Paperback mean?

 

[David181173]

Big gold embossed letters on the front? The sort of book that sells by the truck load in airports and supermarkets, but is looked down upon by critics for being populist. To be fair, even many of us elitist types now speak favourably of some works in this genre.

 

[Ell]

Perhaps it means something different in the UK?

In Canada & the US, "mass market paperback" generally refers to the medium in which the book is published not the quality of the book's writing. - e.g. The same book can be released in hardcover, trade paperback, and mass market paperback. The mass market paperback is usually cheapest in price.

Ell

 

[murphyz]

I would consider the cheap paperback releases of 'classics' by Penguin and Wordsworth to be 'mass market paperbacks'.

Mxx

 

[Ashlea]

Yep, mass market refers to the binding only, and is the small, universal size printed on cheap paper, sold on racks in grocery stores and airports. The binding isn't very good, so it is only good for 3 reads or so. If I really like a book, I often try to replace it in hardcover, or I try to buy books in the trade paperback to begin with. Unfortunately, it's hard to do with genre novels as they often skip the trade paperback release.

 

[Alex]

Are you talking about the skinny thick versions?

 

[Ashlea]

If I'm understanding your question correctly, yes. Mass markets are approx. 4 inches by 7 inches, and tend to all use a similar type.

 

[Alex]

sorry . that qestion didnt make much sense, I meant skinny in width.

 

[Wolf]

A mass market can be any width. For instance, the Robert Jordan Eye of the World book was first released as a trade paperback that stands up well to rereading. It is now available in a "mass-market" version that is over 600 pages but the same height and width of your standard pulp fiction. Pulp fiction would refer to serials such as low end romances and westerns that tend not to get reprinted and are usually only ever offered as mass-markets.

This is the terminology as I learned it at Border's Books & Music. It could easily mean different things in different places.