My dune series is an old mass market. The pages are yellow and some are falling out. I love it! The smell and look just gives me the feels of cozy library haha
Before I decided to go primarily ebooks, MMPBs were all I was interested in buying, to the point I'd wait the typical year between hardcover and MMPB release to read some books. They just made more sense for me being cheaper and taking up less space. And if you're careful with them, they last very long.
They're easily portable, they were affordable, and they take up so much less room on my booksheves. Trade and Hardcover might look pretty, but they can be heavy and the floppy books are more difficult to hold and read. Also, mmpb's are so much easier to hold in one hand while eating with the other. 😊
I'm old. SFF used to be pretty much only mmpb. Few authors got hc and trade was mostly for omnibus editions. I find it easy to not crack the spines, and I hate when they are. I find the UK trades are hard to read without cracking the spines. Plublishers started moving to trade in the late 2000s, and it drove me crazy because I have so many series I was already collecting in mmpb, but then they changed to trade. It felt like a money grab to me. Now I choose to buy a lot of hardcovers when they are available.
@@angelamccollister I don’t remember a lot of trade growing up. It almost felt like I had to shift away from mmpb. I’m trying to shift back where I can when I can
The uncomfortable truth is that, in order for the text in a MMP to be fully enjoyed, the spine MUST be cracked 😅 otherwise the imner-edge of the text won’t be as visible, especially if the book if beefier. I prefer MMP and was legitimatelly pissed off when Christopher Ruocchio’s publisher gave up on the format after book 3 of the Sun Eater series. Now THOSE are some lovely looking covers on a MMP.
@@vajs6312 it’s definitely an under appreciated format. And yeah the cracking of the spine is almost mandatory 😂. Sun eater does have some really pretty copies
I get my deluxe books and then never read them. They're too heavy and/or big to hold in my hands so they become shelf queens. I pretty much either read from my kindle or from my mass market books. Slowly going back and picking up copies of all my 70's and 80's Stephen King mass market editions again
I feel you on the cracked spine thing. It bothered me at first so I would not try to open the book up too much to keep the spine from creasing. I had to make myself not let that bother me. I have that issue with everything. Here at work we have a temporary fence line with some poles that are longer than the others in a row. At least they are all together or I couldn't handle it at all. I can't wait until I stop letting it bother me. As far as nostalgia in books, I forgot what they were called, something classics, little tiny books with illustrations on one page and condensed classic literature on the other, every two pages. My favorite was the Count of Monte Cristo. I still have some of those illustrations burned in my head from those tiny classic books.
I live in Ireland, so before I became a kindle user Massmarkets were my only affordable option when it came to Malazan and there's just something cool that its epic as hell, but can fit easily on a shelf and not take up too much space.
I don't like to break the spines on my books, at least not on the first read through. To me, cracked spines mean the book has been read over and over and is well-loved by the owner and is one I want to hear them talk about in depth because they know it so well.
These honestly are tied for me with trade paperbacks. I generally prefer hardcover > TPB/MMPB > ebook > audiobook (just because I've never really tried audio book, worried my brain will wander too much lol)
I’d say I got recently got more into mass market paperbacks. I think there’s a few reasons. I noticed that I tend to read through mass markets faster. With such limited shelving, mass markets give me more space. I’ve dedicated my entire top shelf to them. Lastly, mass market vintage sci-fi and fantasy can have some beautiful covers! Better than trade backs at times.
Mass markets is how I’ve almost exclusively enjoyed Malazan more. I’ve been thinking for my next read in the series to go for trade to compare. But I will miss my MMPB
Cracked spines just mean you actually read the book. If your after "beautiful" shelfs buy hardcover and read ebook. I love mmpb but sometimes the pages are to flimsy imo. Read what feels good though. Me personally i really enjoy the trade paperbacks.
I just picked up To Green Angel Tower books 1 and 2 on Mass Market Paperback because the trade was just too unwieldy to hold and read. I suppose I could have picked it up digitally, but I like the Mass Market artwork.
@@thatsci-firogue I don’t know when the switch happened that I started disliking them. They were fine my whole life. Glad to be falling back in love with them
Love me some MMPB! My copy of Runelords is also an mmpb and I’m considering getting the rest of the series in that format. Some series I have in MMPB include: Malazan (all 10 books) Stormlight Archive (debating if I will wait for Wind and Truth to come to MMPB) Saga of the Forgotten Warrior by Larry Correia Riftwar Saga by Raymond E Feist (got a complete set of the 1994 MMPB in perfect condition for $18, couldn’t turn it down) Probably a few more I’m forgetting right now.
Realized a few more I have: Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind, box set of the first 3 books Chronicles of Narnia, very old box set His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman And of course, Lord of the Rings and Hobbit box set from when the movies came out
I have a problem reading books. When a paperback is in my hands .. it’s folded back on itself, dog eared, scribbled in, a coaster, a fly swatter, it’s all around multifunctional… 🤷🏼♀️
The vast majority of my paper fiction books are mass-market paperback. (I have thousands.) I've always disliked trade paper, because the format is floppy and hard to hold in one hand and historically the binding on trade paper has been suspect. Hardback is fine, but it's expensive and takes up too much of my limited shelf space. I'll still buy that format for some purposes, but it's a special purpose thing for me. And special editions have always seemed more for people who want books as decoration than for readers. ("I need three feet of books with maroon leather bindings.") Plus they're even more expensive. I read hundreds of books per year; monetary efficiency is rather important to me. And I don't like selling or giving away books, so space efficiency is also a primary consideration. Mass market is my preferred format (well, other than audio, which takes up no space at all and which can be quite economical if you're careful).
@@AndrewsWizardlyReads Yeah, I have five 8-shelf (3' wide) bookcases for mass-market SF&F, and I really need at least two (maybe three) more bookcases for the stuff that doesn't currently fit. Those bookcases were specifically built to hold mass market books. The other books are on more traditional moveable-shelf bookcases. We're planning to move when my wife and I retire, and we're definitely not looking forward to moving the books. Which is the other reason to dislike trade paper and hardback, since the denser paper they use makes those boxes even heavier than the ones for mass market.
Hi 👋 I prefer not to buy Mass Market books… sometimes you can’t get normal size books.. I guess reading is reading whichever size of the books…. I like my books tidy lol 😊
I think you might just be high on nostalgia 😂. JK I think you answered your own question by saying a big part of it is that you get to simply focus on the book itself. You aren't worrying about damaging it or the aesthetics of reading it. You've unburdened yourself in a way and that's made the experience more enjoyable. I think it's probably kind of like if a travel influencer decided to just spend a day at a nearby beach with no cameras/phones, no fancy gear or special outfits and just got to be at the beach. I'm not personally a massive fan of the format, but it is nice to have one for traveling. Even smaller trade copies can be nice to have on hand to just take outside to read or bring along on your commute. I was very pro Kindle for a very long time but that's lost a bit of its luster for me lately.
![October 2023 Book Haul [60 Science Fiction Mass Market Paperbacks]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/bHiZFdZLS9I/mqdefault.jpg)
My dune series is an old mass market. The pages are yellow and some are falling out. I love it! The smell and look just gives me the feels of cozy library haha
@@jacklynkirsch7968 nothing beats a well loved set of mmpb
Before I decided to go primarily ebooks, MMPBs were all I was interested in buying, to the point I'd wait the typical year between hardcover and MMPB release to read some books. They just made more sense for me being cheaper and taking up less space. And if you're careful with them, they last very long.
@@OnlyTheBestFantasyNovels I had a set of Wheel of Time in Mmpb that I had for YEARS. They held up well through a lot of rereads
They're easily portable, they were affordable, and they take up so much less room on my booksheves. Trade and Hardcover might look pretty, but they can be heavy and the floppy books are more difficult to hold and read. Also, mmpb's are so much easier to hold in one hand while eating with the other. 😊
@@sarahwebb1450 I love the imagery of being able to snack and eat while reading! It’s super true
As a person in their late 30’s reading books in mmpb is always my favorite. Sad that since the pandemic they stopped publishing the format
@@85dresden it was great returning to the format. Very nostalgic
I'm old. SFF used to be pretty much only mmpb. Few authors got hc and trade was mostly for omnibus editions.
I find it easy to not crack the spines, and I hate when they are. I find the UK trades are hard to read without cracking the spines.
Plublishers started moving to trade in the late 2000s, and it drove me crazy because I have so many series I was already collecting in mmpb, but then they changed to trade. It felt like a money grab to me.
Now I choose to buy a lot of hardcovers when they are available.
@@angelamccollister I don’t remember a lot of trade growing up. It almost felt like I had to shift away from mmpb. I’m trying to shift back where I can when I can
The uncomfortable truth is that, in order for the text in a MMP to be fully enjoyed, the spine MUST be cracked 😅 otherwise the imner-edge of the text won’t be as visible, especially if the book if beefier. I prefer MMP and was legitimatelly pissed off when Christopher Ruocchio’s publisher gave up on the format after book 3 of the Sun Eater series. Now THOSE are some lovely looking covers on a MMP.
@@vajs6312 it’s definitely an under appreciated format. And yeah the cracking of the spine is almost mandatory 😂. Sun eater does have some really pretty copies
Great video Andrew! I love MMPBs for their portability.
@@BookishChas thanks Chas! Me too
I get my deluxe books and then never read them. They're too heavy and/or big to hold in my hands so they become shelf queens. I pretty much either read from my kindle or from my mass market books. Slowly going back and picking up copies of all my 70's and 80's Stephen King mass market editions again
@@davidaldinger3666 SAME! I keep telling myself I’m gonna read from these deluxe editions and never do.
I feel you on the cracked spine thing. It bothered me at first so I would not try to open the book up too much to keep the spine from creasing. I had to make myself not let that bother me.
I have that issue with everything. Here at work we have a temporary fence line with some poles that are longer than the others in a row. At least they are all together or I couldn't handle it at all. I can't wait until I stop letting it bother me.
As far as nostalgia in books, I forgot what they were called, something classics, little tiny books with illustrations on one page and condensed classic literature on the other, every two pages. My favorite was the Count of Monte Cristo. I still have some of those illustrations burned in my head from those tiny classic books.
@@momo_genX lol 😂 it’s definitely harder to get ok with cracked spines but im getting there
I live in Ireland, so before I became a kindle user Massmarkets were my only affordable option when it came to Malazan and there's just something cool that its epic as hell, but can fit easily on a shelf and not take up too much space.
@@thatsci-firogue well said! It’s just epic as hell
I don't like to break the spines on my books, at least not on the first read through. To me, cracked spines mean the book has been read over and over and is well-loved by the owner and is one I want to hear them talk about in depth because they know it so well.
That is a great way to look at it!
These honestly are tied for me with trade paperbacks. I generally prefer hardcover > TPB/MMPB > ebook > audiobook (just because I've never really tried audio book, worried my brain will wander too much lol)
@@NerdLevelRising lol it took me a while to get into audio and now it’s my main source of reading. It can be addictive
I’d say I got recently got more into mass market paperbacks. I think there’s a few reasons. I noticed that I tend to read through mass markets faster. With such limited shelving, mass markets give me more space. I’ve dedicated my entire top shelf to them. Lastly, mass market vintage sci-fi and fantasy can have some beautiful covers! Better than trade backs at times.
@@marianneguevara8279 I agree with all of this!!!!
Mass markets is how I’ve almost exclusively enjoyed Malazan more. I’ve been thinking for my next read in the series to go for trade to compare. But I will miss my MMPB
I think the page turning aspect of it-and the way the story flows through that style of book that just makes it so endearing
@@Chance.Dillon I have been buying them on MMPB
@@AndrewsWizardlyReads yesss and there’s some cool ones I wanna collect for it too😂
Cracked spines just mean you actually read the book. If your after "beautiful" shelfs buy hardcover and read ebook. I love mmpb but sometimes the pages are to flimsy imo. Read what feels good though. Me personally i really enjoy the trade paperbacks.
@@acidunicorn1225 I love trade paperbacks as well! I definitely look at cracked spine now as an indicator of how loved a book was
I just picked up To Green Angel Tower books 1 and 2 on Mass Market Paperback because the trade was just too unwieldy to hold and read. I suppose I could have picked it up digitally, but I like the Mass Market artwork.
@@Jonpat I initially read To green angel tower on mmpb and loved it!
Mass market paperback all the way for me. I don’t have the room on my shelves for hardcovers and trade paperbacks
@@NevsBookChannel They are fantastic space savers
Mmpbs as a dying breed now is such a shame. Right with you in loving reading from them (I’ve been reading from my Fool’s Quest mmpb the past few days)
@@BooksWithBenghisKahn reading from them is just such a beautiful experience
Never understood the hate tbh. More affordable, take up less space and if not an ebook reader or audio-listener, much more convenient for travel.
@@thatsci-firogue I don’t know when the switch happened that I started disliking them. They were fine my whole life. Glad to be falling back in love with them
Runelords dude. I own the entire collection in MMP. Took me ages to hunt them down!
@@Josheatsbooks I scored them off eBay
Love me some MMPB! My copy of Runelords is also an mmpb and I’m considering getting the rest of the series in that format.
Some series I have in MMPB include:
Malazan (all 10 books)
Stormlight Archive (debating if I will wait for Wind and Truth to come to MMPB)
Saga of the Forgotten Warrior by Larry Correia
Riftwar Saga by Raymond E Feist (got a complete set of the 1994 MMPB in perfect condition for $18, couldn’t turn it down)
Probably a few more I’m forgetting right now.
Realized a few more I have:
Sword of Truth by Terry Goodkind, box set of the first 3 books
Chronicles of Narnia, very old box set
His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman
And of course, Lord of the Rings and Hobbit box set from when the movies came out
@@tordawg69 I really enjoyed reading House of Chains on mmpb. I didn’t think I would but it was delightful
I have a problem reading books. When a paperback is in my hands .. it’s folded back on itself, dog eared, scribbled in, a coaster, a fly swatter, it’s all around multifunctional… 🤷🏼♀️
@@nancywolf1467 You EXPERIENCE the book! Thats beautiful IMO
I just read runelords too. I loved it but the last 1/3 was a snooze 😭😭
@@CC_Reads I agree the end didn’t land the way i wanted it too but i still want to continue the series!
@@AndrewsWizardlyReads yes of course I bought the next 2
The vast majority of my paper fiction books are mass-market paperback. (I have thousands.)
I've always disliked trade paper, because the format is floppy and hard to hold in one hand and historically the binding on trade paper has been suspect.
Hardback is fine, but it's expensive and takes up too much of my limited shelf space. I'll still buy that format for some purposes, but it's a special purpose thing for me.
And special editions have always seemed more for people who want books as decoration than for readers. ("I need three feet of books with maroon leather bindings.") Plus they're even more expensive.
I read hundreds of books per year; monetary efficiency is rather important to me. And I don't like selling or giving away books, so space efficiency is also a primary consideration. Mass market is my preferred format (well, other than audio, which takes up no space at all and which can be quite economical if you're careful).
@@dougsundseth6904 thousands!!!! I could get lost In Your collection
@@AndrewsWizardlyReads Yeah, I have five 8-shelf (3' wide) bookcases for mass-market SF&F, and I really need at least two (maybe three) more bookcases for the stuff that doesn't currently fit. Those bookcases were specifically built to hold mass market books. The other books are on more traditional moveable-shelf bookcases.
We're planning to move when my wife and I retire, and we're definitely not looking forward to moving the books. Which is the other reason to dislike trade paper and hardback, since the denser paper they use makes those boxes even heavier than the ones for mass market.
The only con of mmpb is the tiny font size 😭
That is a definite drawback to the format
Hi 👋
I prefer not to buy Mass Market books… sometimes you can’t get normal size books.. I guess reading is reading whichever size of the books…. I like my books tidy lol 😊
@@safinan8008 that’s completely understandable:). Thanks for watching
Mass market paperbacks are for reading, hardcovers are for show and the shelf. It's just that simple for me.
@@360mAN100 I like it! Straight to the point
Mass Market has always been the superior format. Compact, durable, reliable, utilitarian. Anything more than that is just excess.
@@secretfirebooks7894 they are the workhorse of book formats
I think you might just be high on nostalgia 😂. JK I think you answered your own question by saying a big part of it is that you get to simply focus on the book itself. You aren't worrying about damaging it or the aesthetics of reading it. You've unburdened yourself in a way and that's made the experience more enjoyable. I think it's probably kind of like if a travel influencer decided to just spend a day at a nearby beach with no cameras/phones, no fancy gear or special outfits and just got to be at the beach.
I'm not personally a massive fan of the format, but it is nice to have one for traveling. Even smaller trade copies can be nice to have on hand to just take outside to read or bring along on your commute. I was very pro Kindle for a very long time but that's lost a bit of its luster for me lately.
@@derekb.4292 I think you have nailed why I am loving it so much
MMP’s are just not my jam, when I walk down the MMP aisle at my used bookstore it makes sad and depressed at all those broken spines. 😂
@@RowdyPlayer1 lol that is fair! But hey at least you can tell the books were read and enjoyed by someone :)
@@AndrewsWizardlyReads very true 😂
I bet they smell good too!
@@readerinthedesert_SaraBeth you bet they do