Once a week I receive an email newsletter from Library Journal called “Prepub Alert.” It consists of brief descriptions of upcoming books that might otherwise slip past a librarian’s attention. The person who produces this newsletter is Barbara Hoffert. At the top of the newsletter is a photo of Barbara curled up on a red sofa with a sleepingdog using Barbara’s bare feet for a pillow. For some inexplicable reason, the dog is wearing a bejeweled crown. I tell you all this, so that you may have some information to judge the gravitas of Barbara’s pronouncements.

This week she made note of a new book to be released in the spring called Cold Light by British author Jenn Ashworth. My friend Barb says that she hopes that we librarians take notice of this book because the whole mystery/thriller book industry is heavily weighted with just a few big-name authors. You know who they are. Somehow they manage to produce at least a book a month apiece. After I read that the average author receives about $3 per hardbound book sold, I began to resent the greedy so-and-sos and I try not to read what they print.

Not only did she want us to give this newish author a chance, she wanted to point out that it will be published in paperback format. Now, remember, we’ve talked about this before. These are not your grandaddy’s paperbacks. Most paperbacks these days are the larger “trade editions.” The pages are about the size of the pages of a hardback book and the print is also standard size. If you can read a newspaper or magazine, you can read a trade edition. Barbara thinks that we should all be thrilled that more and more publishers are issuing these trade editions more frequently and at a price lower than that of a hardback. It gives us a chance to get more books for our bucks. It gives us an opportunity to try out new authors without shelling out $30 for a hardback.

What she doesn’t realize is that it just doesn’t fly in Humboldt. I extol this subject at least once each year. A book in a trade edition gives us a chance to try out an author before the rest of the world jumps on his/her bandwagon. If you, like me, think of yourself as a discriminating reader, someone who can venture a step or two off the mainstream path, give a trade edition a try.
And watch out for Cold Light in March. It’s a story of a teenage suicide pact and the repercussions for years to come. After I read it, it will be available at your library.