Books, like people, come in a variety of sizes. Hardcover books are a great size to read, but their extra cost makes reading in the bathtub an ill advised risk. The majority of the paperbacks in the local Barnes & Noble are traditionally sized, but awkward to read without breaking the spine. Amazon books are offered in hardcover and the bookstore sized mass market paperback, but also in a size described only as paperback. The Amazon paperback size is the perfect porridge temperature of books. As much as I want to walk in a bookstore and shop, I am not going to deliberately buy a tiny book that is both awkward to hold and eye strain inducing during all night reading marathons.

When I’m deeply immersed in a series and fail to pace myself so that I have the next book waiting at home, I do run in the bookstore to avoid having to go five minutes between books. Every time I do so, I hate it. I’ve even taken to shopping for something new at the bookstore, but ordering the slightly larger paperback version of it online. Do I feel guilty about this behavior? Yes. I know I’m going to regret my book buying habits when I no longer have a bookstore to peruse. Will I continue spending most of my book budget, err, going way over my book budget at the online giant? Yes. Even if Amazon does occasionally surprise me with a paperback that is extra large, I will still prefer the paperback over the mass market paperback.