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philips 4 hours ago

This is exactly why I love e-books as an adult.

As a kid I loved "pocket books"[1] because they didn't make my hand feel weak trying to hold them on a road trip and I could fit a few in my backpack.

But, obviously, not every work was published in a pocket book format.

[1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pocket_Books

jrmg 4 hours ago | parent [-]

These are more generically known as ‘mass market paperbacks’ - and are sadly basically extinct:

https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/end-mass-market-pap...

Last year, ReaderLink, the country's largest distributor of books to airports, pharmacies and big-box stores, announced that it would no longer carry mass markets. The books can still be found in some places, but "as a format, I would say it's pretty much over," Ivan Held, the president of publishing imprints Putnam, Dutton and Berkley, said to the Times.

I too mourn them - much more of a convenient size than the now ubiquitous ‘trade paperback’ - but we’re obviously in a small minority.