Hey there fellow bookworms! Has anyone else here noticed that the page quality of books is declining?
I think I know why this is… there’s a paper shortage and this could be solved if publishing companies/production companies had more choices in *types* of paper they could use but there are actually legal restrictions and for some reason big world governments won’t approve the alternative paper types.
Anyway, what I’m saying is that sometimes the pages in new books feel flimsy… almost as thin and flimsy as the pages in a bible (I may be spiritually agnostic but I’m still somewhat familiar with the Bible). Not that I’m comparing the written contents of a book that people read for pleasure to a religious text, but this is really the best example I can think of. And sometimes the quality just isn’t much better… I don’t think I’m exaggerating.
One of my big questions is whether the paper quality can change based on a books printing (first vs. second vs. third), or even it’s location. For example: maybe a copy of a book in a bookstore in Washington state has flimsy crap pages. Meanwhile, the exact same edition and printing of the exact same book sits in a bookstore in Vermont and it actually has excellent pages.
I ask if anyone else has had this happen because I could swear that I have!
I once waited for a book to come out in paperback. When it finally did, I went to the bookstore to purchase it. They had several copies of the book but all of their stock had crappy pages. And this book I’m talking about is by a world famous, prolific author who has won the Nobel peace prize in literature… how embarrassing for his publishing company.
Well over a year later I visited friends in an entirely different part of my state and went to a different bookstore. They only had one or two copies of this paperback book but the pages were of a much higher quality. Other than that, everything seemed the same.
Now I’m being let down again by a book release that I’ve waited years for- it’s actually the new V.E. Schwab book (Fragile Threads of Power). I own each book in her Shades of Magic trilogy, The Near Witch, and The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue. All five of those books have pages that feel near perfect! Not too thick, not too thin. Just right. Substantial and of a high quality.
So why are we being shortchanged on her new book?? I flipped through it in Target one day and was very disappointed. I wonder if I’d go to a Barnes & Noble and check out their collectors edition, whether it would be the same low quality. Or maybe the British edition (with a whole different cover) has better pages. For now I might as well borrow from the library while investigating and this is just so frustrating for someone who likes to collect and enjoys the act of building their bookshelf.
Have any of you noticed this with your favorite books? Do you feel like the downgraded quality of interior pages is now a common practice in lengthy sci fi and fantasy books? I’d love to hear everyone’s thoughts on this matter.
by Tulip816