Don't Mess with Reading Traditions

They're changing the dimensions of mass-market paperback novels. Taller and thinner. I don't like it. Reading is a lifelong sacred habit for me. This represents a capricious change made without my approval. So I'm against it.

Right now I'm reading my first book in this "Premium" format, John Sandford's Broken Prey. Book publishers must be getting some resistance, because a page inside the back cover goes to great lengths to convince me that this is a Eureka-class change intended solely for my benefit. That's bunk. Somewhere along the line, this design makes money for Berkeley Books--in paper production, the printing process, how books are packed and shipped or arranged on shelves, or something. This drastic change requires a bottom-line benefit. Call me a cynic.

Berkeley's parent company, Penguin, says "research suggests that paperback readers prefer the new Premium format, and are not discouraged by the higher price point of $9.99." Compared to the previous $7.99. There you have it. They've noticed the increased popularity of trade paperbacks, which are more the size of hardbacks and have similarly loose line spacing. But trade paperbacks are just scaled larger. They aren't unduly narrow.

This "Premium Format," they explain with enthusiasm, is "specially designed for comfortable reading," and it features "remarkable improvements on the interior design." These improvements are totally lost on me. But what do I know? I'm just a mindless end user.

"The book itself is larger, for easier handling." I don't see that, either. Seems to me like more difficult handling. Especially in keeping the book open, the narrowness requires that I hold it differently than I've held books for my entire life. The type is larger, with more space between lines, "so reading is less of an eye strain." Yes, I did notice the increased leading. In addition, the paper is allegedly of the same quality used in hardcover books. Well, lovely.

I feel awed by the intense interest the folks at Berkeley Books take in my reading comfort. But the book is an odd size and feels odd, and I'd like to shoot whoever participated in focus groups and said they like the new size. Because I don't like it. There.

Posted on October 13, 2006 09:30 PM|

Comments

But I like the smaller format, I can fit them in my purse and take them places that are going to be boring, and I can use one hand to hold the book and the other to do something else. I wholeheartedly agree with your sentiments.

Posted by: Victoria | October 14, 2006 08:06 AM

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