Paperback oh Paperback...

Sir Allen Lane… Robert Fair de Graff…

Do these names sound familiar? Probably not. But, these two men are an important part of history…

✔️ Paperback

✔️ Softcover

✔️ Softback

✔️ Pocketbook (not that one)…

It’s July 30. What’s so special about today? Well, it’s Paperback Book Day! Another holiday? Hehe. In the Literary World there’s an entire calendar of book related events. Today, we celebrate paperback books.

History:

The year was 1935 when a British publisher named Sir Allen Lane created Penguin Books. He realized that hardcover books weren’t cost effective for the average citizen to purchase. Prior to 1935, most books were sold as hardcover and leather bound. Hardcover books were expensive, costing readers $2.75 (which is equivalent to $40 in modern currency). And the paperback books being sold were made of inferior quality.

Penguin paperbacks were created as an alternative to the pricey hardcover and subpar paperbacks in print. Ever wondered why most older books only had standard colors? Penguin Books were colored-coded: orange = fiction; blue = biography; and green = crime. The first authors to have paperback books published by Penguin was Ernest Hemingway and Agatha Christie.

July 30 was the day the company published its first paperback.

In May 1939, American innovator, Robert Fair de Graff decided that paperback books should be smaller… With support from Simon & Schuster, he launched Pocket Books. These books were 4x6 and sold for 25 cents. Because of its unique size, books were now available in groceries, pharmacies, and airports…

Thanks to these men, readers can now choose books of varying sizes or price points.

(Historical Information Credit: allenlane.org; smithsonianmag.com; penguin.co.uk; daysoftheyear.com)

Paperback Book Day is an annual celebration of Penguin’s first publication. Today, paperback books come in all shapes and sizes, the main ones being Trade Paperback (5 x 8) and Mass Market Paperback/Pocket Paperbacks (4.25 x 6.87). Since the invention of the first paperback, over 2 billion physical books have been sold. And that’s on the lower end of the spectrum.

How can you celebrate Paperback Book Day?

1. Read your favorite book

2. Buy new books (side eye for the true bookworms... we know what really happens...)

3. Go to the library

4. Join a book club

5. Talk to other bookworms

6. Go to a book café

7. Write your own book

The possibilities are endless. However you choose to celebrate, just remember that no matter where you read, paperback books are here to stay…

~Theastarr Valerie