Paperback Heroes

[Katie-Ellen]

Last night UK BBC 4 at 9 PM....'Paperback Heroes 'with Andrew Marr. What makes a paperback compulsive reading?

Last night they looked at the detective story. Val McDermid was on to Jimmy Savile and put him in a novel...disguised by being handsome and charming or he might have recognised himself and sued.

Next week Fantasy.

BBC i player

 

[James Marinero]

It's a strange idea - why should any paperback be more compulsive than its hardback equivalent (if it has one)?

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Maybe they're thinking to place the focus on whatever is 'popular appeal.' Like the Beatles song, and the paperback writer.

 

[Carol Rose]

Maybe they're thinking to place the focus on whatever is 'popular appeal.' Like the Beatles song, and the paperback writer.

I was thinking the same thing.

 

[Boopadoo]

It's a strange idea - why should any paperback be more compulsive than its hardback equivalent (if it has one)?

Because I can't put my hardback of "The Maltese Falcon" (my current reread) in my back pocket to protect it from a downpour while walking from my car to my desk at work ( a 1/5 mile hike), umbrella in one hand, coffee in the other, so I can read on my lunch break.

 

[Peggy Lou]

Agree with Boopadoo. Hardbacks are heavy too. And often takes up too much space in a handbag.

 

[KG Christopher]

Hardbacks are for serious, reading types. Paperbacks are, well, stuff you would keep under the table. Who in their right mind would have a hardback cover of The Di Vinci code on display on their bookshelf? Paperbacks are the best medium for bath time. Kindle is the best medium for reading in a rush. But, paperbacks on a train allow you to show off to the other commuters what you are reading.

Imagine reading 'Girl on a train' in paperback, on a train. Or having a paperback copy of 'The Di Vinci code' in the Louvre. So sometimes, the paperback medium should be avoided in particular settings.

Point to fact is the recent case of the lady interrogated by security after reading a book of Syrian Poetry returning from her Honeymoon.

 

[Katie-Ellen]

Wow. Did they have a translator on hand, to check that it was poetry, not encrypted code, and a special light to check it was not written with lemon juice anywhere?