Book Sizes Grrrrrrrrr!

[Perpetual Man]

I know this is not the first time it has happened, but it's just caught my attention today.

My copy of the final book by Stephen R Donaldson's The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Last Dark has just arrived (no idea when I'll read it but hey, that's not the point.)

Lovely gold cover, sits nicely on the to be read shelf with all the others waiting to be read. Only...

THE FIRST THREE BOOKS IN THE SERIES WERE PUBLISHED AS A SLIGHTLY LARGER THAN NORMAL HARDBACK SO NOT ONLY IS IT HARD TO PUT THEM ON THE BOOKSHELF WITH ALL THE OTHER BOOKS BECAUSE THEY ARE BIGGER, BUT NOW THE LATEST IS TOO SMALL IN COMPARISON!!!!

It's the Terry Pratchett books all over again (although to be fair Discworld has been going so long I'm not surprised)

Why do publishers do it?

What other series have suffered this fate?

 

[Parson]

They all stack nicely on my Kindle.


(I do have this problem with my theological books in my library at church. Grumble, grumble, about whoever built stationary book shelves!!)

 

[ratsy]

I hate that Perp...I have the Jim Butcher Codex Alera and the first is a mass market the other just slightly larger. That bugs me. I have many books that don't size up...not sure why some are standard Trade Paperback size and then others are slightly larger or smaller...and in the same series...baffles me. I think some of it has to do with where they are published...I think that UK and US have different standards.

 

[Abernovo]

My Jim Butcher, and my Richelle Mead books have both been blighted.

And, don't get me started on cover design changes mid-way through the series. Boris Akunin's publishers, I'm looking at you. Okay, they're detective novels, not sff, but you get my drift. If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

[Rodders]

My wife hates the fact that all my books are different sizes.

 

[ratsy]

Don't even get me started on how many series I started in paper back and have moved to hardcover....geez, I think Parson has the right idea.

 

[Ursa major]

Grumble, grumble, about whoever built stationary book shelves!!)

I now have this image in my head of Parson chasing after mobile** bookcases all around his neighbourhood.




** - Obviously his preferred type of bookcase.

 

[Ogma]

It's extremely annoying. What is the point of having books in a series match in size and cover design and then change it completely half way through? Does this happen only to big name titles? It can make buying presents a mine field! Yes, it's the book that your friend/loved one wants but you find out too late, it isn't the format they want.

 

[Montero]

There is also this weird intermediate paperback size. Bigger than an ordinary paperback, smaller than a hard cover. Not quite at the trade size. Seems to be put out more by smaller outfits, or publishers who are normally hard back houses.
Anyway, if you've built all your shelves to take paperbacks this intermediate thing is a real pain. Especially if it turns up half way through a series.

 

[Perpetual Man]

They all stack nicely on my Kindle.


(I do have this problem with my theological books in my library at church. Grumble, grumble, about whoever built stationary book shelves!!)

The trouble is, I've got a Kindle too and I read most of my books on that... but I do so like having the real thing too, especially by my favourite authors.

 

[Parson]

I now have this image in my head of Parson chasing after mobile** bookcases all around his neighbourhood.




** - Obviously his preferred type of bookcase.

I'm literally laughing out loud at this picture! Well done Ursa!!

 

[nightdreamer]

I like some variety of sizes on my bookshelf, but not in the same series. I think a lot of people in the publishing industry are suits first and book-lovers second (or 80th). Their decisions often reflect short-term business factors and not any overarching sense of aesthetics.

 

[Overread]

Ohh I could like a few things here about what I hate:

1) Book sizes changing - yeah its a right pain when you've a nice line of books and then suddenly they decide they'll make the next one smaller or larger than the rest!

2) Book binding differences - I know its supposed to be classy but that rough cut effect just looks like a defect on todays book shelves

3) Cover art/design changes - yeah I'm looking you however decided to change Discworld from fancy artwork to these dull plain black and rather gothic images. I guess its a downside of the author not really having much say in the visuals of a book unles they are an artist themselves or shell out a lot for their own artwork for the cover.

4) Missing books (more an issue with Amazon Kindle than physical books) yeah I hate it when a book in a series, for some reason, ends up not being sold in one territory. Eps when one gets the impression that its a case of "We can't be bothered really"

 

[Ogma]

Rough cut is not a defect. Are you sure?
I remember the first time I saw a rough cut. I was convinced it was a printing error. I don't like it. It looks too much like damage.

 

[Perpetual Man]

3) Cover art/design changes - yeah I'm looking you however decided to change Discworld from fancy artwork to these dull plain black and rather gothic images. I guess its a downside of the author not really having much say in the visuals of a book unles they are an artist themselves or shell out a lot for their own artwork for the cover.

Much as I agree with you in general OR as far as the Discworld books go, I'm not a fan of the new style covers I think they decided to go in a different direction after original artist Josh Kirby died.

I think that put the publishers in an awkward situation, had they tried to find a similar artist to follow on, it might have been seen by some Kirby fans as being somewhat disrespectful. If they went with a totally different artist it might have been a bit like saying he can never be replaced.

Which is what they did.

I don't like it, and think part of what made Discworld Discworld was Kirby's art, that was both fun and detailed and captured the books perfectly, but when your gone your gone, and the publishers moved on.

(All that being said about not replacing with a similar artist, I think Terry has said his daughter will be writing Discworld books after he is no longer able to write, which renders my thoughts moot a bit...)

 

[Overread]

I think Terry has said his daughter will be writing Discworld books after he is no longer able to write, which renders my thoughts moot a bit...)

I'm almost prepared to list this as a pet hate.
Whilst I understand the idea and also the fact that often a hugely successful series becomes ones family income and in effect trade I do tend to find that it doesn't always work.

A younger author hasn't had time to really find their own voice in the world and if they then step into the shoes of an author with decades of experience the writing of the series tends to suffer. C. Tolkien is one of the fewer examples where this hasn't happened, but far as I know he didn't come to writing in Lord of the Rings till much later and furthermore much of what he's done wasn't so much writing as simply organising and putting a flow and story to extensive background and material already written.

Pern and Dune both show where the authors child hasn't quite got the knack to recapture the same magic. Personally I would say let the new generation grow their own writing wings in their own way without slaving them to an existing franchise. They can build their own market and their own experience and then maybe later in their writing career look to adding to the works of their parents.

 

[Perpetual Man]

I think Dune is the best (or worst example) I can think of.

In principle Herbert Jr. and Anderson were just going to work from notes to write the last Dune book (one that Frank Herbert had started allegedly) and somehow we got what 10? books and none of them were that good. (And for anyone who was enjoying them, they decided to stop halfway through the last series)...

 

[Ursa major]

The first two novels in Charles Stross's Laundry series are a different size to the next two. Definitely, "Grrrrrrrr!"

I'm literally laughing out loud at this picture! Well done Ursa!!

Thanks, but it seemed so appropriate: a parson trying** to collar a book from a moving bookcase.



** - Eventual success would obviously be guaranteed if the book were to be... er... clothbound....

 

[Parson]

** - Eventual success would obviously be guaranteed if the book were to be... er... clothbound....

Couldn't resist, could you?

 

[Vince W]

I had The Hydrogen Sonata in HC, but the rest in paperback. Amazon.co.uk delivered my paperback version and now my shelf looks - right. I sleep much easier now.