Is it my imagination, or are the myriad paperback books on my shelves looking just a wee bit prouder all of a sudden?
As The Baltimore Sun’s Read Street blog observes, it was 75 years ago this week that Penguin Books “brought out the first modern paperback. The idea came from British publishing exec Allen Lane, who was seeking a respite from a Depression-era revenue slump. The cheap, convenient, color-coded format caught on with readers and within months Penguin books were selling in the millions. Today, half of the books bought each year are softcover, the [U.S.] Census Bureau says.”
READ MORE: “Paperback Birthday Update,” by Bill Crider (Bill Crider’s Pop Culture Magazine).
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