Dan Kois finds them perfect for summer reading:
There was a time when I spurned mass-market paperbacks. They’re small and flimsy, unbefitting real literature. They’re cheap, and their disposability invites a certain unseriousness in the reader. Whenever I had the chance (and the funds), I replaced the mass-markets in my collection with hardcovers, or at least larger-sized trade paperbacks.
It’s funny how the things that once seemed like bugs now seem like features. Especially that wonderful disposability! If I’m just not that into a book, I want to be able to ditch it. I don’t want to feel beholden to a bad novel just because I spent $35 on the gorgeous hardcover, or because it’s so large and heavy that I couldn’t bring a backup book with me. At 38, with two kids and limited brainpower and scores of shelf-feet of unread books in my house, I am looking for books that I can cast aside without a care if it things don’t work out. On the beach this afternoon, this happens twice. Luckily, I’ve got backups.
The Dish 