Two bits. Twenty-five cents. That's I paid for the first "pocket book" I ever purchased. I can't recall the title, but remember that it was published by Pocket Books, whose logo was a kangaroo holding a book. Very cute.
The pocket book was printed on newsprint, perfect bound, with flimsy cardboard covers. And it was indeed small enough to fit in your pocket.
Slightly larger -- presumably made for bigger pockets -- were Bantam books, published by Bantam which, sure enough, had a bantam rooster for its logo. They cost 35 cents. Or maybe 50 cents for an extra thick one.
I bought lots of those because Bantam published the Nero Wolfe detective novels by Rex Stout and the hilarious stories of Max Shulman such as The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.
That was a long time ago, yet it seems like only yesterday. But only yesterday I purchased a new book by J. Maarten Troost, Lost on Planet China. (You'll find my review below.)
It's a paperback -- that's what they're called now -- printed on newsprint (albeit of good quality), and will fit in your pocket if you have cargo pants or other commodious garments. It cost $14.95. And they wonder why booksellers are going out of business!
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