James Bond and the end of MASS MARKET paperbacks

Below is a story from NPR about the imminent demise of the mass market paperback book. Mass market (MMP) refers to books typically sized 4x7. The idea was that they could fit in a pocket or handbag, and could be sold on uniform displays, such as rotating spindles (people of a certain age certainly remember these). The mass market format was how most people consumed books, including James Bond books. For more, listen to the story below.

This got me thinking: what was the last James Bond mass market paperback? 

One candidate is Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks, released by Vintage in the U.S. in May 2009. Interestingly, a trade paperback (classified as any book larger than a mass market) with different cover art was released at the same time.

Vintage, May 2009.

While Devil May Care may have been the last traditional mass market paperback, there is another candidate for the last. Jeffery Deaver's Carte Blanche was released as an oddly-sized paperback in the U.S. by Pocket Star in February 2012. It's very close to a mass market. In fact, the width is exactly the same. However, it's about half an inch taller. In my bookseller days, I would struggle with whether to ring this up as a mass market or trade paperback, and I'm still not sure today. Nevertheless, it did come after Devil May Care, so this might indeed be the last James Bond mass market paperback. It's just not a classic example.

Pocket Star Books, February 2012.

Mass markets vanished much earlier in the UK. As far as I know, Raymond Benson's The Man With The Red Tattoo was the last new James Bond novel released as a mass market paperback by Coronet in 2003. After this, all new James Bond paperbacks in the UK were released as trade paperbacks.

Coronet, 2003.

What about Fleming? This 2006 edition of Casino Royale is the last U.S. mass market Fleming title I'm aware of. It also got a trade paperback release. I was pretty excited when this appeared, as it fits beautifully on my shelf of mass market movie tie-in Bonds.

Penguin Books, 2006.

In the UK, Penguin released the Quantum of Solace collection as a mass market paperback in 2008. This is the last UK mass market paperback on my shelf (it completes my UK movie tie-in shelf). As I don't collect later Fleming titles, I don't know if this was the last UK mass market paperback. But it could be!

Penguin, 2008.

Here's a nice video by a bright young YouTuber about the history and demise of mass market paperbacks.

Have I overlooked something? What do you think of the Carte Blanche paperback? Should it be disqualified? Are you sad about the end of mass market books? Sound off in the comments below.

Happy New Year!

SilverFin 20TH ANNIVERSARY edition from IFP

Ian Fleming Publications has released a special 20th Anniversary edition of Charlie Higson's first Young Bond novel, SilverFin. It's signed and limited to 300 copies. You can purchase it from the Ian Fleming Publications website.

An Ian Fleming Shop global exclusive, limited to just 300 copies.

There's something in the water at Loch Silverfin. Something that must be kept secret. Something deadly...

Introducing a special twentieth anniversary edition of Charlie Higson's SilverFin, the first adventure in the Young Bond series, first published in 2005. This exclusive edition features a new cover design, a new introduction by the author and a hand-written signature.

In 2011, I wrote a series of blog posts about the history of Charlie Higson's excellent Young Bond novels. You can read the first installment covering SilverFin here: THE SECRET HISTORY OF YOUNG JAMES BOND, PART I.

JAMES BOND 007 under the Christmas tree

As I contemplate the holidays and another year without a new OO7 book or film, I'm feeling nostalgic for John Gardner's License Renewed. While the book was released in April of 1981, I received it as one of my Christmas presents that year. 

While I had found my dad's stash of Ian Fleming novels and had sampled some of them, this was the gateway book that made me a fan of the literary OO7. This was a Bond who walked in a world I was familiar with. And when For Special Services appeared the following year, I was a goner!

So here's a toast to License Renewed and the return of James Bond in 1981. We had a book every year and a movie every two years. It was all about entertainment, and James Bond never died. It was a great time to be a Bond fan.

Below are a few John Gardner-related posts you might enjoy. Happy Holidays.

THE RENAISSANCE OF '81

Rick Tulka's LICENSE RENEWED

BOND'S BEAST - WHEN OO7 DROVE A SAAB

JOHN GARDNER U.S. (true) first edition hardcovers

Calvin Dyson reviews the RAYMOND BENSON novelizations

Calvin Dyson reviews the three James Bond movie novelizations by Raymond Benson. I enjoy Calvin's book reviews, and for those who have never read the novelizations, you may be interested in learning how the books differ from the films. Take it away, Calvin!

IFP launches THE JAMES BOND BOOK CLUB

My heart always leaps when I see a new press release from Ian Fleming Publications in my email. Could it finally be news of a proper James Bond novel, perhaps the first of a new series by Charlie Higson? Will it contain some glimmer of hope that this prolonged drought is coming to an end?

Nope, it's a book club.

But this does sound kind of cool, and the first book, The Lifeline, sounds intriguing. I will send you to the newly redesigned Ian Fleming Publications website for more details. Just click the image below.