From the Millions:

What better time than now to bring back the pocket paperback? People have no money to spend on hardcovers, and even the full-sized trade paperbacks are a pricey, given the economic times. There are also strong trends in our society that encourage less waste and the downsizing of our myriad possessions. A return of those classic 6 3/4 inch by 4 1/2 inch volumes, now all but extinct, save for in a few genres and in used book stores, could save paper and space and entice younger readers for whom $25 for a hardcover and $14 for a paperback is too much money to risk.

I’ve written in the past that books are too big — not too long, but too bulky and heavy and expensive — and pined for a return of the pocket paperback, so that carrying a book with you didn’t feel like such a chore.

Here here.

Carrying around farking giant hardcovers was always my least favorite part of being a reader. Especially as a public transit rider. (Although, as a short man I certainly appreciated the addtional height I gained from standing on my hardcover version of Neal Stephenson’s System of the World whenever I found myself on a crowded BART train. My nose is at the average-heighted human’s armpit, so even a mere inch or two extra distance is a relief.)