Book sizing

[slemslempike]

ETA: Can anyone recommend a good Australian/New Zealand (what's that adjective? other than "kiwi") online bookshop that ships internationally? I want a few things that I think are only in print there.

[Poll #730761]

I got my Amazon order today, which contained the new Jaclyn Moriarty, and it's HUGE. It's really wide, but because it's B format, it looks enormous. And I am a bit cross that I didn't realise it would be trade, because why would it? It's a huge waste of paper, and it's to try and make money before the A format, as far as I can tell. When I worked in Dillons it was always the literary and popular fiction that came out this way, and there were so few that they were in a special bay. Now they're doing it for children's books? Why? They don't match the rest of the books on my shelves, they're a lot heavier, and I don't like it.

I also got The Bookshop at 10 Curzon Street. I am in the middle of reading Laura Thompson's biography of Nancy, which I am finding rather irritating. She criticises people for using Nancy's novels to infer details about her life, and then does the same thing for huge chunks of chapters, claims that Decca was mostly interested in communism because of Romilly (I thought she was mostly interested in Romilly because of communism), keeps saying that Nancy was "penniless", dismisses other people's recollections as mere conjecture and then presents her own assertions as plain fact, and has an insanely annoying style of setting up straw men to knock down (often "these feminists" who apparently devote their lives to disapproving of the Mitfords). Also, I was amused that the page of photos of all the girls has everyone posed as a youthful beauty, except Decca, who has a more candid picture from her late middle age. (Obviously this is mostly because of her elopement, but it's so representative of the representation that it makes me laugh.)

I am at home, having completed everything, and left my keys, id card and job behind. I don't quite understand it yet, but I will probably go to the job centre in the next few days, and then it might sink in. I should have lots of time to read all these books. Unless I go a bit strange and do some phd work.

Comments

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Yes! I really like it - Helene Hanff is the girl. I also have her book about New York, and when she came to the UK after the letters. Can't say I've read the New York one.

Yes, I had a lovely tea part with chocolateness. Appropriate noises can involve "yay!" if you like. I am mostly quite happy about it, but also quite scared about things. But happiness.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I have two lots of doubles in my surname. It's fun to spell. You could change your name maybe?

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

No - Ceccillia MaccDonnalld. Just like that! You could be Ffrances as a middle name. Do you have a middle name?

[cosmolinguist]

All three of my names have double letters in them. This pleased me greatly as a young person.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Holly Molly Llama!

[coconutswirl.livejournal.com]

I like the trade paperback because it's a cross between a proper hardback and the paperback. It's lighter than the hb, but maintains certain paratextual elements and is generally of a higher quality from a material p.o.v.

I mean, the spine is more durable, the paper is better and often it is typeset in a superior way too.

*geeks*

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Hmm, I find the spines of smaller books far easier to keep un-creased - trade paperbacks are so unwieldy that they end up with broken backs all over the place. I suppose the only thing I do like about them is that they often have the wraps. But if I want a hardback I will buy a hardback! When I want a paperback I want a paperback for paperback reasons.

[coconutswirl.livejournal.com]

But ... sometimes it's nice to get a third alternative!

Well, the pages of pbs can fall out which is unlikely to happen with trade paperbacks!

EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!!

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

My pbs NEVER have pages fall out. EVER. Except ones that have not been mine from the start, and that is the fault of their previous owner. I would not mind nearly as much if trade paperbacks did not seem to hold up the publication of PROPER paperbacks. It saddens me greatly.

HURRAH!!!!!

[sollersuk.livejournal.com]

I dislike them because the taller the book, the fewer shelves I can fit in between floor and ceiling (and given my book collection, that is a serious consideration!)

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

This one should just fit in my new thin shelves. I had to transfer a couple from YA to Adult shelving and it frustrated me greatly.

[sam-t.livejournal.com]

Agreed, and if you have the narrower shelves anyway the large paperbacks play merry hell with any sort of organisational system. I have a shelf for books that won't fit where they're supposed to. So far I've only got about a metre of them, but I'd rather not have any more, really.

The only time I like the large format paperbacks in when I'm getting more than one novel bound together and a normal-sized paperback would need tiny print.

[gair.livejournal.com]

Can anyone recommend a good Australian/New Zealand (what's that adjective? other than "kiwi") online bookshop that ships internationally?

No, in short. There are some good second-hand ones, which I can dig out if you're interested, but the only new-book online bookshop I know of in Australia is shit (Gerald ordered a copy of the latest Garth Nix from there because she wanted the Australian edition to match the previous ones in the series, and they sent her an American edition and now won't do anything about it). I can let you have the URL if you like, though (don't have it to hand, will have to ask G).

So if anyone does recommend one, let me know too!

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

The only one I've found is Dymocks - is that the awful one? The books I want seem to only have the really expensive versions on the secondhand market. (The Alex books by Tessa Duder, and I was going to try Tiggie Thompson.)

[gair.livejournal.com]

The Alex books by Tessa Duder are amazing (I think the copies we have are a bit too precious to lend - old, not-very-sturdy, signed paperbacks) and you should try and get hold of them). Gerald says 'Ooh, has she found Dymocks online? We should try them!' (The rubbish one was Angus & Robertson.)

Oh - and incidentally I saw another book by Tessa Duder in Oxfam v cheap here the other day - an adventure story about some kids on a boat called, like, 'Up the [name of river]' or similar - do you want it?

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I have the first one, and I think I might have read one or two of the others in the not so distant past. I have ordered them, and her Tiggie Thompson books as well, from Real Groovy in New Zealand, who have a strange pricing structure for postage, but had all the Duder books. It was recommended by theantichris, who is also being lovely and bringing me the Duder books to the AF conference.

Yes please to the adventure boat Duder if it's still there!

[jendleberry.livejournal.com]

I am overcome with icon love. Gair! Eee!

[gair.livejournal.com]

Hahahaha icon love thankyou!

[edithmatilda.livejournal.com]

Books: Small books are easier and I can hold them better without losing blood supply to my hands (my circulation makes modern hardbacks near-unreadable, because my body takes the piss) and also when going to places for three days you can take about ten books "to have choice" if they are small. Jam-sammich Penguins are how books ought to be, clearly.

Bras: I cleared out bras so may have fewer than 5 but do not think so. I only have two that fit and only one of those is not shite. So there are many, many answers. Also, my breasts can't decide what size to be. This is annoying of them.

JSA: I tried JSA to see if it would motivate me better than T'Sick. It didn't. It just refused to accept things like the fact that volunteering is the best route into my Planned Career and that I am TOO SCARED to work behind a counter but not to advise people on benefits. This is because Creepy Impersonal Human Contact actually DOESN'T SCARE some people. How?

So yes. Small books and useless bras and dole. All exciting.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

My bras are mostly lots of sizes, but I stil have about 15 that fit and I wear. I spent ages not knowing anywhere to buy my size, and then a while going crazy whenever there was an opportunity.

I find Creepy Impersonal Human Contact a bit easier than Personal Human Contact sometimes. I find it easier not to care about them at all. But only if I don't have to initiate contact. And it's not by phone.

But JSA should be okay because at least at first I can say I'm looking for research, and there are no research jobs around that I can do at the moment, so I can relax a little and wait until I find something.

Holiday books yes! Much better if they are small. And I have to go to Namibia at Christmas for a month, so I will need to stockpile. My mum joined a library, but it only has one shelf of books.

[edithmatilda.livejournal.com]

JSA usually will not make serious attempts at getting you employed for at least three months. My three-month review lady talked to me for a bit then referred me to the disability advisor, which suggests that some level of realism exists also. And if there are clearly things you can do they will probably be a bit sensible about trying to make you work in Burger King.

[sinsense.livejournal.com]

I like the oomphy large trades because they have whopping big margins that I can scribble things in. This is mostly convenient for theory and school texts, but I do get irritated by it in popular stuff.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I don't really mind the work stuff, but the stuff I buy because I want and want to keep, I want to be small. And people should always pander to my desires.

[slammerkinbabe.livejournal.com]

I'm wondering whether the book sizes are different from the U.S. to Australia/New Zealand. Here we do have two paperback sizes, 'tis true, but mass markets, which are the smaller ones, are more shoddily made and typically only available for romances, thrillers, etc. The higher-end literary fiction is nearly always published as trade paper; they range in size, from just a smidge taller than a MM to almost as tall as a hardcover, but the standard TP size is 20 cm, yes.

So I read and love the TPs because most of my favorite books are only published as TPs, and besides, the binding is tighter and the covers are prettier. I don't find them at all unwieldly unless they're like 800 pages long, but maybe that's just because I'm used to them? Hmmm.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

From what I remember of being in the US, UK MM paperbacks are much better quality - better bound and better paper. (But they're also a bit more expensive...) So most of the books are almost identical in quality, the size being one of the only differences. I don't know of many - if any - books that are only published in TP.

[slammerkinbabe.livejournal.com]

Oh, yeah, see, most literary fiction is published solely in TP here. It's very much a what-audience-is-this-aimed-at distinction. "Mass markets" are just that - aimed at mass marketing, so, your Dan Browns and James Pattersons and Danielle Steels and the like. TPs are for the other stuff.

Mitfords

[callmemadam.livejournal.com]

I've read Selina Hastings' biography of Nancy Mitford and she also peddles the 'too, too sad' line about her life, which she got from Nancy's dreadful sister, Diana. Her death was pretty awful but I can't see that her life was that bad, compared with most.

Re: Mitfords

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Yes. I mean, obviously it wasn't all plain sailing (not much point in a biography otherwise), but it's the relentless attempt to drag sympathy out of the reader.

[glitterboy1.livejournal.com]

It's strange, leaving a job, isn't it? A part of what's been your life - and people, too - suddenly finishing. I hope it's not going to be too weird.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was thinking about what I've learned in the last nine months, and it's been kind of consuming. But it'll be nice to have a rest, and I'm hoping to stay attached to the project as a visitor, as it feels a bit like my baby.

[sangerin.livejournal.com]

I don't know if they ship internationally, but Abbeys and Readings are both very good, independent bookshops who sell online. http://www.abbeys.com.au/, http://www.readings.com.au/

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Ooh, thanks! I'll check them out.

[ankaret.livejournal.com]

I find trade paperbacks rather annoying because they don't have the durability of hardbacks, but are still often too large and awkward to read lying on my back in bed. (Yes, this is too a real problem)

I have three black bras, one depressing flesh-coloured bra for wearing under things that aren't black, and two sports bras, and I wibble on about bras often enough that I have a bra icon.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Also, they are too heavy to comfortably carry around in a shoulder bag. Bad all round.

That's a nice icon. I feel I might one day need a bra icon and shall go in search.

[jendleberry.livejournal.com]

I have very little love for trade paperbacks. Not only are they too big to carry around, they are also too tall for most of the shelves at work and take far too much storage space.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Mostly, they are just bad.

[debodacious.livejournal.com]

Is the word antipodean?

And boo to rightwing Mitfordiana. Like the horrid House of Guinness version with hardly a mention of Decca once she went to the US.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I was looking for something specifically about New Zealand, is antipodean all the Australasian countries?

I do quite want to read the biography of Unity, which I think should be fascinating. But, oh, everything's so dull in this one, apart from anything else.

Is your icon a Persephone end paper?

[the_antichris.livejournal.com]

I don't think we have an adjective that isn't Kiwi. We have to use the noun adjectivally, because New Zealandian/New Zealandish sounds stupid.

Real Groovy can be good, although obviously I've never used them internationally. They're primarily a music shop, but I've bought lots of books from the website, and they have Tessa Duder.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Oh, that looks great! They have exactly what I want, and now I just have to decipher the international shipping table, which makes very little sense.

[the_antichris.livejournal.com]

Hundred-gram increments for books? I do not understand. Why don't they just weigh the entire package and calculate it from that?

It all looks HIDEOUSLY expensive, anyway. If you'd like, you could get them shipped to me and I could bring them to Marlowcon.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

Could you possibly? That would be fantastic if you don't mind - I suppose it could be seen as earmarking space for a possible return journey? I have an address for you that is care of someone with the initials CZ - is that one to use? There are six books I was planning to buy - I think they're all small paperbacks, but that seems rather a lot. How many would you be able to put in your case? Even one would be enormously helpful!

[the_antichris.livejournal.com]

(You get comments emailed, don't you? If you don't, my clever trick is not so clever.) Let me know when you've ordered them so I can bite my nails and wonder when the courier will arrive.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I do! It was a fiendishly clever trick, and I will order them later as a reward for having done my errands. Thank you!

[lsugaralmond.livejournal.com]

I tried to sign on for Job Seeker's Allowance just after I graduated from my BA but they wouldn't let me because I had too much money in savings accounts. Which I know is not something to be complaning about but I thought it was very mean at the time. I wasn't even allowed to qualify for free prescriptions.

I HATE B format paperbacks. They are nothing but the publisher trying to make more money before releasing the reasonably priced A format paperback. And let me tell you, a B format costs virtually the same to produce as an A format, so it's all just inflated profit. AND they're harder to read and don't fit in all my bags. Grrrr.

[slemslempike.livejournal.com]

I am fortunate in that most of my savings have gone on fees! I might have a wrangle over housing benefit though, as my parents own the house but don't live in it, and we all have individual contracts. Bah.

Yes! There is no upside to an A format!