Why you Should Care about Mass Market Paperbacks

In this totally off the cuff video which is almost a response to ‪@saintdonoghue‬ I ramble on about the importance of preserving Mass Market Paperbacks and why they matter.
------------------------
This is a place where I talk about Books and other things I love. I have a specific love for Science Fiction especially older material, but I also love many other Genres. I talk about these things plus much more here and on my blog. Feel free to leave comments, I am happy to talk, or find me at the places listed below. This and my blog site are both hobbies and therefore unaffiliated to anyone. None of my content is ever monetised or behind Paywalls.
Where to find Me:-
Contact Me: BAFTD (at)outlook (dot)com
My Taplink with kinks to individual Blog Posts and all my Social Media:
taplink.cc/backawayfromthedon... Blog:
Individual Links:
www.backawayfromthedonkey.co.uk/
My Instagram: / backawayfromthedonkey
My Facebook Page: / backawayfromthedonkey
My Goodreads: / duncan-known-as-d
If you feel like buying me a Coffee ko-fi.com/backawayfromthedonkey

[@bookssongsandothermagic]

Yeah this is my favourite format too. Love it when I find a good condition paperback like you’re showing here. Great video mate.

[@CulainRuledByVenus]

We should, and I do! I don't know the user you referenced, but my feed led me here from watching Outlaw Bookseller and Bookpilled, and glad for it. Why does anyone collect anything? Because we love and appreciate various aspects of the physical thing(s), and differing versions of it (or them). Also, regarding books only, this new phenomenon of "sensitivity readers" who are deciding what is and is not appropriate for modern audiences are forcing us into action about protecting artists' work as it is, rather then what they're forcing it to become (reflections of their own politics), but then keeping the author's name as if that's how it was written originally. In collecting physical books, we have the original work untouched by the this generation's censors. Same goes for DVDs as opposed to streaming movies. From one bibliophile to another - thank you for this!

[@backawayfromthedonkey]

Thanks for dropping by. Outlaw Bookseller and Bookpilled are both excellent channels I watch them myself.

[@ernestschultz5065]

I only collect mass market paperbacks! They have a charm and bring back good memories the way hardcovers and trade paperbacks just don't do!

[@backawayfromthedonkey]

For me they are the perfect format

[@poopyman961]

I love them too! As a general Gen Z they were already going away when I was born, but I feel a strange nostalgia from them

[@backawayfromthedonkey]

They are the perfect size as far as I'm concerned 😁

[@BigJesse579]

My favorite format as a long haul truck driver.

[@whalesequence]

As a truck driver myself, I couldn't agree more.

[@kiwidave218]

I'm probably not the first to say this, but from a visual point of view I think there's a good analogy with physical music formats, with hardbacks being the LPS of the book world, trade paperbacks the CDs, and mass market paperbacks the cassette tapes. In my view, the middle item is the least appealing aesthetically.

[@bigaldoesbooktube1097]

Completely agree mate 👍 Keeping fighting the good fight

[@royreadsanything]

No argument from me - it's my preferred format really.

[@forenichtreader]

I'd always assumed Steve was exaggerating when he talked about mass market paperbacks disintegrating when he read them, but then it happened to me earlier this year! It was an Ace paperback from 1993, Virtual Girl by Amy Thomson, and the cover snapped right off when I opened it up to read it. The inside covers were very tanned, so it looks like the cardstock had become brittle over the decades.

[@backawayfromthedonkey]

A lot of it depends on the glue, in a former life I was a Printer and my friend still runs a Print firm, apparently glues have come a long way, modern glues are a lot more flexible and don't go brittle over time. I have some glue he sent me as I have a hardback book I want to do a proper repair on. In my personal experience I find US printed paperbacks to be worse quality and more likely to have issues than British ones (that could just be my luck though). No matter what though it really depends on how they were kept and treated. The Ron Goulart book I showed in the video as much as externally it's in good condition they used such poor paperstock the pages inside have got some weird colour transference. It's still perfectly readable though.

[@ernestschultz5065]

I can believe it. ACE paperbacks are particularly cheaply produced. When you take an already cheap to produce book and try to make even cheaper well you saw yourself what can happen.

[@mikewendland4982]

I prefer MMPs, They're my favorite type to read. Like you, I'm not an animal while reading them - and I hate when pages are dog-eared and covers creased or torn!

[@backawayfromthedonkey]

I get rather obsessive about their condition also

[@_Mike.85]

long live the mass market paperback. Always been my favourite format.

[@backawayfromthedonkey]

Yes still the best, thanks for the comment

[@mamaAimEC]

Absolutely agree!!!

[@kimesch9698]

I’ve replaced all of mine as I’ve because gotten older because I can no longer read the small font or hold the book open enough to read it. I have to break the binding- which is also hard on my hands- so I don’t have to keep them forced open while reading. It hurts my hands now a-days. It’s not the fault of the book, just my health. Always did love the artwork.

[@backawayfromthedonkey]

Yes sometimes that can be a bit of a problem, they're not the perfect format but I have such a fondness for them. My Wife has issues with her hands so ebooks have been a godsend for her. Thnakyou so much for your comments.

[@neMgieTV]

True