Farewell to the mass market paperback

Last week, Publisher’s Weekly shared an article entitled “Last call for the mass market paperback”. I was stunned, and saddened. In fact, I may have been a little misty-eyed.

On my shelves

When I was in junior high school (yes, I'm old enough that it was junior high, not middle school), high school, even undergrad and grad school, I loved mass market paperbacks.

Not only were they small enough to fit into my purse or my book bag, they were inexpensive enough that even a poor student like me could afford to buy them.

And yes, I would count the months after the hardcover release of a particularly desired title in anxious anticipation.

When I worked in independent bookstores (two different ones, at different stages in my life), they were the most popular format.  And one of the most often-asked questions was "When will that be released in paperback?".  And we booksellers knew that the customer meant "mass market paperback" because there were few books that went to trade paperback format first back in the late 1980s.

On my shelves

Years later, in the early 2000s (well before e-galleys existed), when I first started my book review blog, I used to purchase mass market paperbacks.  At the time, cozy mysteries were often published only in that format.  And that suited this reviewer just fine, because I could afford to purchase more of them.

I still have shelves full of mass market paperbacks.  And I'll keep them until they crumble.

 

 

 (Cross posted to my Substack.)

Three New Cozy Series!

There are several existing cozy series that I love, too many to list here, actually. But I still get excited when new series debut, and there are three next month!  Read on for my mini-reviews.
Also, the authors of these books will be guesting on Stuff and Nonsense over the next couple of weeks, and there will be giveaways. Stay tuned!

***

Murder in the Mystery Suite (Book Retreat Mystery #1) by Ellery Adams (Berkley Prime Crime mass market, 5 August 2014).T

Storyton Hall is crumbling, so in order to increase the resort's income, manage Jane Steward decides to try themed getaways.  The first one, appropriately taking place during the final week of October, is called Mystery and Mayhem, for aficionados of all types of mystery novels.
One of the highlight events is a scavenger hunt, with a rare book as the prize.

But the winner is found dead in his room the next day.
Storyton Hall is amazing; Ellery Adams has once again created a world that her readers certainly wish were real.

Jane is an intelligent and resourceful protagonist, as are the supporting cast, including her twin six-year-old boys and her elderly aunt and uncle. Thankfully, she includes a list of characters at the beginning of the book.  And check out her website for a map of Storyton Village!

***

Well Read, Then Dead (Read 'Em and Eat Mystery #1) by Terrie Farley Moran (Berkley Prime Crime mass market, 5 August 2014).

Mary "Sassy" Cabot and Bridge "Bridgy" Mayfield left their hectic lives in New York City to move to Fort Myers Beach, Florida, where they opened a café/bookstore called Read 'Em and Eat. Like many small town establishments, it has a regular, and eccentric, clientèle, some of whom attend at least one of Sassy's book clubs, where the discussions can get very heated.

But no one expected a book club participant, especially the sweetly mild-mannered Miss Delia Batson, to be murdered after one such set-to.  Delia's cousin Augusta asks Sassy and Bridgy to find out who could have done such a thing, and the two younger women have no choice but to agree.

Moran's first novel for BPC is a winner, with offbeat small-town characters aplenty (including the police) to complicate the investigation.  I'm eagerly anticipating the next book in the series!

***

Death of a Crabby Cook (Food Festival Mystery #1) by Penny Pike (Obsidian mass market, 5 August 2014).  

Nobody expects to be made redundant, not even newspaper restaurant reviewer Darcy Burnett.  Luckily, she's already living rent-free in her Aunt Abby's RV, parked behind Abby's house.  

While she's trying to figure out what to do with her life, Darcy begins to help her aunt run her food truck, the Big Yellow School Bus, which serves comfort dishes with names reminiscent of the school cafeteria where Abby once worked.

Shortly after Abby threatens a local restaurant-owner with a Ginsu knife, he's found dead in his office.  Because of Abby's very public argument with the unpleasant Oliver Jameson, she's the primary person of interest to the police.  

But, as a reporter, Darcy knows how to investigate as well, and she's determined to find the real culprit and take the focus away from the elderly Abby.

Penny Pike (a.k.a Penny Warner) knows how to create believable characters and entertaining stories, and she's done so again with Darcy and the rest of the cast.  The descriptions of food are mouthwatering, especially the pastries sold by the Dream Puff truck.  (Don't worry, some recipes are included at the end of the book.)