Sales of mass-market paperbacks — the compact, inexpensive books found in bookstores, supermarkets and other retail outlets — have been soft in the past five years. So major publishers, including Harlequin, Penguin and Simon & Schuster, are tinkering with the format, hoping a slightly bigger "premium size" will increase their appeal.
The traditional paperback is usually 4 3/16 inches by 6 3/4 inches; the new premiums are 4 1/4 inches by 7 1/2 inches. Premium type size is slightly larger; words and lines are more loosely spaced for easier reading.
I don't know. I hate to be the Banquo at the banquet here, but could this have something to do with the fact that people are just reading fewer books? After all, mass market paperbacks are designed to appeal to, well, a mass audience, the kind of crowd most likely to favor TV, cable, VOD, etc., instead.
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