Paperback books

Paperback books

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What are paperbacks?

Paperbacks were first introduced in 1935, with the publishing of ten “Penguin” books. A paperback book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover and is often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. Before paperbacks, leather-bound books were published which took money and time.


Paperbacks Pros

Paperbacks have their benefits. Firstly, paperbacks are easy to carry around; these books can be carried to and from school, during traveling, etc. Paperback books are cost-effective and easily the best option for printing and binding. It requires no need for stitching and cloth but could easily do with staples and thick paper, leading to less time spent on each one and less money.

Another benefit, especially to writers is, they can be made into any vision the publisher, illustrator, or writer might have. The covers could be designed with digitized graphics, illustrating attractive covers. Paperback is easily acceptable worldwide by any bookshop or book distributor; hence the books are sold to a large market locally and internationally. Paperbacks are affordable to be mailed to customers saving the hassle to deliver them through proper courier services.


However, …

Paperbacks are gradually being replaced by e-books in the modern world. This transition has greatly affected the tradition of 88 years as people are now attracted to e-books, hence not buying paperbacks. E-books are a great and suitable source for reading but could they ever give the satisfaction of holding a book, marking the pages with turned corners, and neatly stacking them on shelves? I think not. E-books are easily accessible, mostly free or at half the price of paperbacks, cost-effective, and need almost no space physically.


E-book cons

E-books are up-to-date and advanced, but some things can’t provide a certain satisfaction. The major cons of e-books are that not every book has an electronic version, e-books strain eyes, lead to poor sight, and the device can run out of battery just when you reach the climax. Oh no! Another disadvantage is you can’t share most of the e-books, now who will lend your BFF the ending of a beautiful, adventurous story?

A drawback might be that some sites don’t allow access to books for free after a certain time, paying one way or the other.


Library, home of paperbacks

Libraries are almost an essential infrastructure in a country like hospitals and schools. Despite the digital age, the need for libraries is still alive, young people often find libraries as a perfect place to complete their assignments and homework with silence and no distractions. Around the globe, students visit libraries to access free course books as well as other reading materials. Libraries preserve paperbacks with careful handling and setup. Students as well as research workers visit libraries to get resources for free and can borrow them for a week or so. Libraries prefer paperbacks to hold years-old magnificent stories and make them available to readers. However, with the digital world, some libraries had started to offer e-books as well with the facility of the internet. Whatever it might be libraries prefer paperbacks because of easier categorization and all-time access rather than e-books.


Hence, …

Paperbacks are essential for tales to live up to future generations. Libraries need paperbacks to fill the shelves while people fill their hearts and minds. Paperbacks can be preserved and have low chances of ever getting lost. Paperback books can have your name on them to show ownership and can be easily passed on to someone else’s. These books have the proper cover to show what’s inside and are the only way to remember great writers through generations.