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submitted 5 days ago by Tychoxii@hexbear.net to c/news@hexbear.net

ReaderLink, the largest distributor of hardcover, trade, and paperback books to booksellers in North America, stopped distributing mass market paperbacks at the end of 2025.

Mass-market paperbacks are usually about 5-by-7 inches, printed on lower-quality materials, and designed with affordability in mind. Trade paperbacks, on the other hand, are a bit larger and use higher-quality paper, making them more durable.

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[-] Dort_Owl@hexbear.net 20 points 5 days ago

You will own nothing and be happy

[-] forcefemjdwon@hexbear.net 10 points 4 days ago

Just teach people how to pirate ebooks.

[-] Dort_Owl@hexbear.net 10 points 4 days ago
[-] peanutbuttercupola@hexbear.net 9 points 4 days ago

I guess that makes sense. I used to like the mass market paperbacks because they were cheap and small enough that you could read them with one hand, but ebooks have the same benefits so there's not much point in the physical object anymore.

[-] zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 7 points 4 days ago

Considering that trade paperbacks end up not being much cheaper in practice, but are noticeably crappier and don't hold up, I'm ok with this. I want books that I buy to survive enough that I can loan or give them to people and hey can pass it on many times.

this post was submitted on 28 Jan 2026
45 points (100.0% liked)

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