Help a Writer Out

In our discussion on the “Venti” sized paperbacks now adorning the shelves of a bookstore near you, many of y’all had some strong feelings about the new format. From how it fits on the shelf to how it fits in your bag, and how much bigger is the typeface, anyway, we’re picking the Venti apart. Some hate it outright, but there are some for whom the new size is an attempt to differentiate new publications from older rereleases. Others have big honking huge hardbacks that fit much easier in to the Venti paperback printing format.

In a recent comment, a relatively new author, whose books might not be familiar to some of you, asked for help from the Bitchery.

Nora Roberts wrote:

“So, is there anything anyone likes (or doesn’t absolutely hate) about this new size paperback style? Or is the consensus here it’s just annoying, crappy and inconvenient?

I can’t—or don’t want to—go into a lengthy explanation of why a cover ‘look’ won’t really work to distinguish (if it’s really necessary anyway) my original paperbacks from the reprints. Frankly, I don’t push my brain into this sort of direction often, or deeply. I’d rather be writing the book, and leaving those problems or concepts to people who think about that stuff all the time, and know more about it than I do. But when I’m asked to consider something like this, it’s helpful to get input from the people who buy the books.”

So, help a writer out – is there anything good about the Venti style? What can make a book stand out from its peers in the first place size-wise, and what recommendations would you as a reader have about a potential new format? What would be the best possible scenario – perhaps taking the best parts of a paperback and the best parts of the trade size? Bring it on, Bitchery!

 

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Random Musings

Comments are Closed

  1. J-me says:

    ooooo…. flashing lights!

    maybe only just the right censoring places…

    :wow:

  2. Amanda Lee says:

    When I first saw a Venti on a shelf I picked it up and thought, “What the hell is this?”  I continued to examine it as if it was some horrible publishing experiment/accident gone awry.  I opened it, well, to be more precise, tried to open it because lo and behold I had a bag in my other hand and could not open the paperback one-handed!  So after the added nuisance of freeing my other hand I managed to open the book and found not my familiar and “friendly” spaced format but columns with lines with so much space in between the page looked more blank than texted.  I then went to read the cover blurb and found something familiar to bring my anxiety down. 

    Then I looked at the price.

    My eyes bulged a little bit, I fully admit it.  I then put “Northen Lights” back on the shelf and have not considered picking it back up.  I have no issues paying for hardbacks if I simply can’t wait.  I have no issues paying for a trade paperback if the book simply looks that good, I’ll just grumble a bit.  I refuse to purchase a tall/venti MM paperback for more money to pay for extra length I don’t even want. 

    I am a 20-something and fairly new Nora Roberts reader.  I almost always leave the bookstore with one of her books (and now at least one SB recommneded title and/or author 😉 ).  The Venti format does not appeal to me, unique spine and cover art does.  That’s what got me to pick up Nora’s Key Trilogy in the first place, the unique cover colors caught my eye.

  3. Miss Tonia says:

    I do not like the venti format. I like the smaller format. I usually don’t even read a new release in hard back (unless I really really want to read it, and have barrowed it from friend) because of the size. The smaller size fits in my purse or bag better. And I agree with some of the other readers, if authors like Nora let the publishers know what their readers think, maybe they’ll get the idea.

  4. Nora Roberts says:

    My only experience (and since I knew how it ended, I didn’t read Northern Lights again) with the new size was like another poster’s. I found it heavy, awkward AND most annoying, the type too far into the spine. Disliked the form immediately.

    I haven’t, however, read anything in this new size. And I need to make a point of doing so.

    I don’t believe the concept for the new size was just some whim or only a way to charge more money. I know, because I’ve gotten letters myself, that many readers complain about mm being hard to read. Do I think this new size fixes that problem? Not so far, or not by and large.

    I do know that with the popularity of trade, this new size was an attempt to offer something new and intriguing. I don’t know if it’s accomplished that either.

    Fortunately for me, I married a carpenter so I have acres of bookshelves—adjustable ones. So I can house all sizes of books. If I couldn’t, I’d likely be put out trying to display my books nicely.

    I’ve also asked my husband, who has read books in this new format, what he thinks. No problem for him. But he’s 6’7” and has big, strong hands. (also lucky for me.) I, however, don’t have big, strong hands so I’m going to have to see how I feel reading this new size.

    Covers and packaging DO matter, especially to the new reader. As I believe has been pointed out here on this thread. Plus, if they didn’t, I doubt I’d see so many stunning awful covers posted here on this board. A fun time missed by all.

    On-line book buyers, while we love them, still generate only a small percentage of overall sales. So no, I don’t think this new concept is aimed at the on-line buyer, but for the reader who walks into the bookstore. The reader who may reach for a book simply because it caught her eye. A bookseller will agree that the pick-it-up is an important step to the what-the-hell-I’ll-give-it-a-try.

    It all matters. It also matters to me if the majority of readers I ask dislike a particular kind of packaging, and have good reasons for it.

    Nora

  5. Nora Roberts says:

    Oh, believe me, I will let my publisher know what readers have told me about this. That’s not to say it’ll make any difference at all. If the format sells well, that voice speaks very loud and clear.

    This little survey is to help me in making my own decision. Can’t make that decision for other authors, or publishers.

    Nora

  6. rascoagogo says:

    The venti are a bit big, the standard pb a bit too chunky. Why not compromise with a grande? I like the book size and feel from the “fiction and literature” section much more than the chunky standard paperback. They’re the ones that are around $12-15. Not so big as to be unweildy or tire the hands, but not so fat that they’re uncomfortable to hold.

    The standard pb is nicely portable, but they are so frequently fat enough that you can’t read them without breaking the spine midway through the book. I have smallish hands and can’t hold one for a very long time without them hurting (and I don’t have arthritis!). Publishers keep raising book prices without making any improvements in the format or covers on trade pb books (romance, mystery, whatever). Might as well get something for our extra bucks…

  7. Jennie says:

    Two words…

    New Coke

    Anyone but me old enough to remember when Coke reformulated its product?  remember the “new coke” vs “coke classic” battle for shelf space?

    Personally there is nothing that I like about the venti books (except for the writing inside if its a favorite author—hi Nora Roberts!).

    If its a book I really want to read and its only in that format, I try to find it at the library.  If I strike out there, I *may* check out the UBS if it’s an author I really really like, but I’d never buy that format for an untested by me author, and if its a choice between buying two books and one is in MM format, all other things being equal, the MM book will be the one going home with me.

    The Ventis just don’t fit into my “tuck a book in my purse and go” lifestyle.

  8. Megan says:

    I don’t really like them.  They throw off my bookshelf.  I don’t really like the feel of them in my hands either.  But that also doesn’t mean that I won’t buy one.  I will buy a book basded on:

    1. Author
    2. Back cover blurb
    3. friend’s recomendation
    4. Title

    Don’t know if that helps, but I could take them or leave them.

  9. Alex says:

    April, it’s interesting that you bring up the idea of making books wider instead of taller.  If I’m interpreting you correctly it would make them a bit more like the Brit mass markets, which are a slightly different size/shape from the American ones but not enough to cause the problems the Venti size does.  They seem to have better quality paper too, and I wouldn’t object to paying a little mroefor something similar to those.  Otherwise, count me in on the refusing to buy anything in the big size, even used.

  10. celeste says:

    Having spent way too much of the last 20+ years typing on computer keyboards, I’ve really done a number on my wrists, and a larger-than-usual paperback pretty much equals pain, for me. I won’t buy paperbacks that are too tall or too thick. I’m better off with hardcover if the book is over 500 pages.

  11. Tonda says:

    I gotta say, in my perfect world MM and Venti would both die away and I’d get to buy all my favs in Trade. I love Trade. I’ll GLADLY pay twice what a MM costs for the “hand” of a Trade book (what E says about the paper makes perfect sense now that I think about it).

    In my slightly imperfect world, I’ll keep buying MM and avoiding Venti like the plague.

  12. Nicole says:

    I do think a few people here are getting trade and venti mixed up, but ah well.  Just a few.

    Working in a used bookstore, the ventis are almost always in incredibly bad shape.  Spine is almost always curled or cracked significantly.  Most likely from the poor reader trying to read the damn things easily. 

    While I’ll usually buy MM over trade just because of cost, I do prefer to read in trade.  It is just easier.  Most likely because of the paper and width of the book. 

    I haven’t bought any ventis and doubt I will unless I had no choice.  but oh wait, I always have a choice.  Hello library and UBS.

  13. I haven’t bought anything in Venti – mainly because most of the books were hard covers first, and if I’m a fan of the author chances are I read the book in hard cover.

    As a librarian the Venti size is annoying.  A lot of libraries have special shelving specifically for paperbacks, and the Ventis are too tall to fit in them.  Which means they have to be shelved with the hard covers (which just looks weird I think) or placed on their sides (which also looks weird).

    As a reader “easy to read” for me means larger margins and more white space.  Which the Ventis were supposedly going to have.  But the few I’ve picked up at the store had the same kind of spacing found in many mass market paperbacks.  Also, I find the taller size means less flexible and I’m one of those anal freaks who HATES to crease the paperback spine.  Seriously, I need help.

    That said, while I’m not wild about them, if they DID have more “white space” I’d find them desirable.  But I’m the type to actively seek out books with short chapters because it makes me feel like I’m reading faster 😉

  14. Robin says:

    As a reader “easy to read” for me means larger margins and more white space.  Which the Ventis were supposedly going to have.  But the few I’ve picked up at the store had the same kind of spacing found in many mass market paperbacks.

    I would gladly pay trade prices if publishers merged the comfort of the trade with the larger margins the Venti is supposed to have.  I don’t mind paying for trades, really.  But ironically, a couple of bucks more for Ventis galls me, because they don’t deliver what they promise on any level, IMO.  AND the extra height is awkward (not that you ever really get perfectly standardized sizes with MM or trade, either).  With MM I figure I get what I pay for, and with most trades I feel that way, as well.  And as much as I like the ‘look’ of hardcover, now I’ve really come to prefer trades over both hardcover and MM.  But the Venti—no no no.

  15. Amy says:

    I love the way trade PBs feel—the paper, the font size, the way they are easy on both my wrists and my eyes… Given this, I thought I’d like the “venti” size PB but I really have to say they don’t deliver on their promise. I’d much prefer to spend a few more dollars on a trade version of the book.

    (All that being said—If a book is recommended to me or is by a favorite author, I’ll buy it in pretty much any format!)

  16. Taekduu says:

    I suspect I have come late to this discussion but I personally agree with basically what everyone else said about the Venti size.  I won’t buy them.  Truthfully mine has less to do with the book budget which can always expand as necessary (what’s a few ramen noodle meals vs. a tasty book).  I am stingy on trade paperbacks as well because many of them are far too short and so not worth the 12-15 I might be spending.  Of note the trades are somewhat more comfortable for my hands, however I tend to engage in more abusive behavior towards said books because they lend themselves so easily to it.

    In terms of a new format, I have some books that a friend sent me from Australia, I am not sure if they are the normal standard there but they were definitely just a little wider and a little taller than the american paperbacks, the paper quality was better, and everything was centered properly and so I wasn’t trying to dig into the center of the book to catch a word. 

    I will also point out, mostly because I have packed my books 3x in the last year for various moves, not all MM paperbacks are the same size, many books released in the last few years have slight differences in size that can often be as much as a half inch of difference all around and they are definitely larger than much older books of mine.  It is difficult to fit in the bookcase because the business of triple shelving horizontally and vertically is affected by the various sizes.  I have had to invest in extra bookcases. 🙂

    On the whole, I will not pay $2 extra for a crappy story, I don’t care if it has a pretty cover (this isn’t going to comfort me as I weep tears of rage at the bad writing) or if it is an author I love.  Of course, I have been known to buy two to three copies of a book that I love dearly.  Mostly because I know damn well that in rereads it will fall apart since in the end they were so cheaply made and bound.

  17. desertwillow says:

    I skipped the other thread because, well, I just did. Now I’ll voice a thought or two. The Venti size is a turn off for me primarily because of price. But then I picked one up and it was awkward in my hands. (I guess my hands are small) On the one I looked at there was also a stitch out of line in it that made me suspect the durability of the book and that bothered me. Who wants to spend 10 bucks for a book that’s going to fall apart? It may have been just that one. If new releases need to be shown off perhaps the publishers can try expanding out maybe 1/4 of an inch both ways?

    That’s my two cents…

  18. Miki says:

    There are two women I “swap” books with at work.  We have each purchased one – and only one – book in the Venti format.

    We have each declared we hate the new format and decided it’s just an excuse to get an extra $2 from readers.  I don’t think we’ve claimed that we’ll never buy another…never is a long time.  But we all hope that we won’t be faced with the decision to either buy a longed-for book in Venti size or miss out on an anticipated story.

    Unlike many of the other posters, I would prefer to never buy another trade paperback either.  And I never buy even my favorite authors in hardback.

    On the other-hand, for those who have despaired of the Venti’s inability to fit in most purses, let me say “P-D-A”!  You can carry 100 books in your purse in less space than even a single MM paperback.  I absolutely love reading on my PDA or eBookwise reader (which is larger than the PDA, but a little easier to read long-term).

  19. Meril says:

    I haven’t bought anything in this format yet, and probably wouldn’t unless I had no choice. I don’t mind the tallness, as much as I mind the fact it’s not proportionally wider. A few people in the thread have mentioned British and Australian mass market paperbacks, which are slightly (and proportionally) taller and wider. No, they don’t match the rest of my North American shelf, but I do genuinely find them as easy to read and hold as other similarly-sized paperbacks.

    I also have no problem with the standard size of English-language manga volumes—which is also around the standard size of translated Japanese ‘light novels.’ Both of these are easier to hold than the ill-proportioned venti.

  20. Nancy Gee says:

    I have to admit that I’ve never seen, let alone held, a venti edition. But, from what’s been said here, I won’t be inclined to purchase one. I have small hands and a suseptibility to wrist strain, so the ventis seem like a Very Bad Idea for me.

    Most of my books, now that I look at the shelves and stacks around me, appear to be trade pbs, fwiw.

    As far as the question of how to distinguish new releases from reissues, especially for a prolific writer with many loyal readers… well, I don’t really see the problem here. Can’t the reissues just be labeled as such? “A Susie Creamcheese Classic” or some such phrase on the cover, perhaps with a nifty little symbol on the spine?

    One assumes that the potential buyer would actually read the cover copy. And a Loyal Fan would be familiar with titles in the author’s backlist anyway, so there shouldn’t be any confusion.

  21. Nora Roberts says:

    It’s not the loyal reader—who usually knows—but the NEW reader who often gets confused—then ends up with, say, a reissued Silhouette Romance package that was written in the mid-80’s, when they’re looking more for what I’m doing now. Result, often, is reader disappointment or annoyance. And guess who takes the heat? But don’t get me started.

    And as the reprints are done by various publishers—over which just let me add, I have NO control, there’s no way to make them consistent. So while we’ve done the NR seal on new books to try to make it more clear for anyone out there buying, we’re looking for another way to pull the original paperbacks I do out of the mix.

    I initially thought, yeah maybe this new size might be a compromise between trade and mm—and do the job. But I’m leaning more against that now. Not two thumbs down, not quite yet, but they’re heading that way.

    Also, though it’s usually bannered somewhere on the individual books of the trilogies, there are still those readers who pick one up, then get pissed off because they didn’t realize it was part of a trilogy. What can you do?

    I guess we’re trying to figure that out.

    Nora

  22. We readers are a feisty bunch.  I’ll bet you that almost everyone here can burn through a 120K romance in a day or so. 
    It’s the price!!!  “It’s the economy, stupid.”  I can’t afford my book addiction NOW.  Add a Venti XLarge for more money and I’m screwed.
    I’m lucky to get out of a second hand bookstore for less than $50.  Then you buy the third book in a three book trilogy (because it looked interesting) and you’re screwed.  Now you have to buy the other two.  *Le Sigh*.  *My hand to my forehead*  What a tragedy.  What a dilemma.  How shall I live!  What will I do!
    And I hear my accountant saying “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

  23. Publishers spend so much time worrying about how to sell books. Covers, size (god the Freudian implications), shelf placement, etc.

    Just print good books, and we’ll buy them.

    Concentrate on that for a while, publishers!

  24. skapusniak says:

    (let me try that again, sorry if this comes out doubled)

    I think the only thing that could possibly help the ‘how does the casual, or new to the author, reader know this is a brand new book, not a reissue’ problem is by plastering something like ‘the exclusive first printing of…’ above the title in the fabled large friendly letters.  Or going even further toward information overload ‘First printed in {month and year of first printing}!’

    The large friendly letters need to be in a consistent typeface style and positioning across all the new Nora Robert books.

    Yeah, potentially very tacky, I admit.

    But I can’t see how having a different size of book, conveys that something is a new release in any way at all—it just wouldn’t to me—and stylish cryptic symbols are not going to mean anything to anyone who isn’t already in the know, and we have to assume the new to Nora Roberts buyer isn’t going to be in the know.

    Being horribly explicit is the only thing that could possibly work, short of the whole industry standardising on something.

  25. skapusniak says:

    Also I’m theorising the reason having a consistent cover art design theme/style for new issues, which I think was the main suggestion in the other thread, doesn’t work, is due to:

    – Books taking a long time to write.  They just do. And fashions in cover art change. Therefore this book’s happenin’ new cover style, is going to be looking fuddy duddy by the time the next book to want to use it is ready.

    – If the new book is monsterously sucessful, then the publishers might want to put out a bunch of reissues of the back catalogue with a look&feel that matches the big hit, so brand new fans know to pick up all the older stuff.  Which is going to be confusing if we’re trying to have a consistent style that applies only to new issues.

  26. Lyra says:

    A couple thoughts on this (many of them have been voiced by other people, but it never hurts to know there are more people who share this opinion, right?):

    1) Ease of Reading
    I am 5’ tall and thus have very small hands. I already have trouble with very thick mass market paperbacks (which is a shame because I love thick books). The Venti adds to that problem because now the book also flops inward at the top and bottom if I hold it open in the middle.

    2) Price
    College student. I spend more money on textbooks than on food, and my recreational book budget is already ridiculously small. Given a choice between the Venti and an MM, even if I didn’t find the Venti awkward to hold, I’d go for the MM.

    3) Portability
    My main criterion for a purse is that a book fits into it. A Venti doesn’t fit into my purse, and I refuse to buy a new purse to accomdate these things.

    4) PDA and ebooks
    I don’t absorb information as well reading off a screen than off a printed page. If there’s a large portion of text I have to read off the Internet, I usually print it out. Thus, an ebook is not going to fly with me.

  27. Nora Roberts says:

    Once again, thanks for all the input.

    I have some thoughts of my own—if you care to hear them. And if you don’t, well, I’m putting them down anyway.

    First, if only it were simple enough for publishers to publish ‘good’ books. But tastes vary and swing. What one reader loves, I might find mediocre. Or I might find it just plain crap. What I think is great, another reader might throw against the wall. Can’t please everyone.

    I hated The DaVinci Code. Obviously hordes of other found it (and continue to find it) fascinating. Go figure.

    Second. Money. Everything costs more than it did, and that’s a dirty, rotton shame. It’s also a fact of life. However, the cost of this new format is a factor for me. It’s just not the big factor. Now, if this were only, or primarily, about money from my end, or the publisher’s, the trilogies I do would be published in hardcover. I have very specific and very strong reasons for doing them in paper—and my publisher doesn’t pressure me otherwise. But when a reader says the price is too much, off-putting, mean and nasty—and then talks about getting the majority, or a good chunk of her books from the ubs or the library, then that complaint doesn’t ring very loud for me.

    What does ring, loud and clear, is the repeated complaint about the hard-to-hold, hard-to-transport, hard-to-shelve elements. The complaint that most DON’T find them easier to read, so what’s the stupid point?

    Also ringing is the complaint from readers who buy their books, or most of them, new and would feel the sting. I might still factor that down—hey, everything costs more—but when added to the other complaints it gains some weight.

    If the majority found them easier to read, jazzier to behold then I wouldn’t be overly concerned about the two bucks. But two bucks more for something the consumer doesn’t appear to feel is delivering is another matter.

    So thanks to The Bitchery for taking the time to give me much food for thought. At this point I have one thumb firmly pointed down, and the other on hold until I discuss this again with my agent and publisher. Unless I can be convinced otherwise, the second thumb’s heading south.

    Nora

  28. Colette says:

    They make my hands hurt if I read for too long and are awkward to read while, say, standing on the bus. The distribution of weight is odd and rather unwieldly.
    But if they really did have more readable type I might consider getting them despite hand and wrist cramps.

  29. foggybookgirl says:

    Only mm books for me right now.  They(bought new) are $10.99 a venti if memory serves was marked as $13.99 even with my handy dandy 10% discount card for frequent buyers at the local bookstore that’s a fine chunk of change.

    I haven’t picked up an “impluse” book in ages, within the last year and the book recommendations from the internet/blogs/groups I usually know exactly what book(s) I want and while I may browse while in the bookstore and make mental notes for next time I will go home and “research” the book/author before committing any of my “book funds” towards new buys without some further thought.

  30. Teresa says:

    Out of the 3 of us (my sisters and I), the reactions to the venti sized books are as follows:
    Oldest Sis: “This is actually easier for me to hold.”
    Me: “Awkward.:
    Youngest Sis: “Not bad. Not really good. Eh.”
    Not what the publishers were looking for I am sure.

    Specifically for Nora Roberts books, it wouldn’t matter if they came out in venti or not, as we almost exclusively read NR and JD Robb in audio.  Either from the library in CD or as a download.  Slowly, we are working to get all of the In Death books on MP3 CD. The only problem we have is that the entire series is not in unabridged format, 9 of the early books are abridged, which is just a crime in my eyes.

    Even when we buy a book in paperback, we end up finding it in audio some way or other, so why spend the money to duplicate? Not to say that we don’t have 2 complete sets of the In Death books, and quite a few of the others going back to the beginning of time.

    For me, either mm or hardback, nothing in between. For my oldest sister, whatever she can find the cheapest as she is on a fixed income: either the cheapest format, or UBS.

    For other authors, Christine Feehan is the only author to get me to buy a Venti, and if there had been a choice, I would not have purchased in venti. 

    In all honesty though, I am purchasing more and more of my books in e-book format. It is just plain wonderful to have options when away from home, I can carry thousands of books in my PDA memory card, and it doesn’t add any weight to my purse.  Uh-oh, I just looked, some of the 9 books that are only in abridged audio are in e-book format over at Fictionwise.  How much do you want to bet I will end up with another copy of those books?

  31. Nora Roberts says:

    Just a quick fyi to Teresa:

    Brilliance Audio will be doing the rest of the In Death backlist in unabridged audio. I think they’re starting in September.

    Glad you enjoy the series.

    Nora

  32. Too large, doesn’t fit in my purse, and man, I HATE spending that extra money.  If I’m going to pay way big bucks for a book – I’ll get the hardcover – otherwise it’s just a longer wait until the softcover comes out.

    Kayo, this may be a dumb question – but does the auther get more money for this?  That would be the only redeeming feature of the Trade Paperback.

  33. Leah says:

    The only thing I like better about the trade paperbacks is that they stay open without my hands better like when I lay it on a table while I’m trying to do something else and read at the same time.  But this only works if it’s not the beginning or not the end of the book.

  34. Robin says:

    But when a reader says the price is too much, off-putting, mean and nasty—and then talks about getting the majority, or a good chunk of her books from the ubs or the library, then that complaint doesn’t ring very loud for me.

    Although I buy the majority of my books new (you don’t have a whole lot of choice with OOP, and I do buy some others used, and have very specific reasons for doing so), I just want to stick up for the library and UBS users here a little.  I’m not really into clothes or shoes or jewelry, and I’m not supporting kids, so I can probably spend a lot more on books than many, many other readers.  For those who can’t though, and are getting them from the library or UBS, it doesn’t necessarily mean they aren’t supporting an author’s sales.  I have read many, many raves from readers on messageboards like this one, readers who regularly visit the library or their UBS, but who convince me to buy a book new based on their review.  Say a reader who got their book from the library convinces even 20 people to buy the book new.  In a sense, I think that person has done far more than even I have buying ONE book, and certainly more than a reader buying a book or getting it from the library or UBS, only to read it and toss it into a UBS bin without telling one single person about it or passing it on with an enthusiastic recommendation.  I think a lot of readers would buy more books new if they didn’t have so many other real life needs to support, especially since, as you said, everything is getting more expensive.

  35. lovelysalome says:

    Thank you!!  I know that my library rental of Audrey Niffenegger’s The Time Traveler’s Wife has resulted in at least four purchases.  There – I’m doing it again – go read that book.  OMG!  So so so good.

    Do not think that a person who primarily secures reading material from the library never makes a book purchase.  I use the library simply because the tremendous bulk of my reading habit outpaces my income (my kids need food, shoes, and all that), and frankly, the majority of books are not worth owning forever and ever.  I do have some money to splurge from time to time – free money = new books.  And library reads can wind up as favorites that I simply must own, which pleases my in-laws because it provides them something for Christmas purchases.

  36. Susan says:

    I don’t like them at all – the size or the price.  They say the new size makes it easier to read, but I don’t see any difference, just more $$$, which is probably the real reason.  At the rate I read books, I’d prefer the old size (and price)!

  37. Nora Roberts says:

    Please don’t misunderstand me. I have no problem, none whatsoever, with ubs, and certainly none with libraries. I might gain new readers through books picked up there. And though it’s not a particularly popular stand among authors (and being Libran, I see both sides) I’ve been paid already when the book was purchased. After that, it’s up for grabs, imo. Give it to your Aunt Harriet, to your next-door neighbor, trade it in at the ubs or put it in your yard sale. It’s your property.

    However, for this specific question, cost—when the reader is primarily shopping ubs or is most usually using the library—isn’t the heaviest weight on the con side for me.

    Inconvenience, awkwardness, irritation at paying more for something that the consumer doesn’t feel delivers on its stated purpose. That’s weightier for me in this instance.

    Nora

  38. Tracy says:

    I don’t like the new size paperbacks. I hate them. Too big and too much money.

  39. azteclady says:

    Ms. Roberts, part of the problem is that, with the higher price on Venti and no MMpaperback available on specific titles, more people are being forced to look to the UBS for them.

    Generally, I’d rather own new books—they are in better shape and I keep most of the books I buy. However, sometimes it’s inevitable, as with out-of-print backlist titles.

    But if a book is out only in HB or Venti, I just can’t justify the extra $$ per book and still buy the same number of new books per month (single mother on a very strict budget here).

  40. Issek says:

    I don’t like this new size and would never buy one as long as the standard sized paperback was available. I compared the two sizes at a book store over the weekend, the “Venti” is unwieldy, heavy, and more expensive. There are some good reasons for larger paged books (larger type for vision-impaired readers, e.g.) but making more money for the publishers isn’t one of them. Ultimately, this is an economic decision that will be decided by the readers who buy the books. I just hope other readers feel the same as I do, and send an overwhelmingly negative response to the publishers.

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