This New York Times piece in a recent Book Review supplement that talks about the decline and death of the “mass paperback” was the inspiration for today’s Throwback Thursday entry.
Before the invention of the e-reader, people actually had to carry around books. Can you imagine?
But the publishing industry was considerate. They came up with a type of paperback that was cheap and relatively light, especially helpful when you were desperate for some reading material at the airport or bus station. (Years ago, when my family was on a European vacation, I had to look long and hard to find something in English at a train station in Barcelona. I had to settle on a 500-page historical novel about Jews in medieval Spain.) When I travel by car for vacation, I can pack a box with a few titles. But as much as I enjoy the feel of a book in my hands, I know I have to make concessions from time to time, hence my Kindle.
I used to love going to the used book store where I could pick up something like these for fifty cents.
Now, a copy of one of the few remaining baseball magazines will set you back $15. More on that in a future post.
is available on Amazon.com,
