cz/cassell miniature h/cvrs are not so bound, in that the cloth elements of a proper binding are completely omitted. [this note will need rewriting, should editions of Terry's books be published in quarter, half, three-quarter or full leather bindings.] mmp/b "Mass Market Paperback" - this term is descriptive of the distribut- ion system used to make these merkin p/bs available to the retailer; essentially, mmp/bs are treated as monthly magazines, their covers being stripped and returned for credit, if unsold on the arrival of the following month's titles. in _size_, the mmp/b is approximately the same as the uk "a format p/b"; but virtually all uk p/bs are in fact tp/bs. (cf. "p/b", "tp/b", "yp/b") p/b "Paperback" - the signatures are blocked together and then trimmed, with the resultant individual pages then being glued to the inside spine of a card cover (also known as "perfect" binding). although p/bs have been produced with their pages sewn in signatures, these in turn being glued either to the inside spine of the card cover (or first into paper or cloth tape) and this to the card cover, no such editions exist of Terry's books. [but see the feetnotes to "h/cvr".] the uk "a format p/b" is roughly the same size as the merkin mmp/b; the "b format p/b" is approximately an inch and a quarter taller and wider that the a format p/b. (see also "mmp/b", "tp/b" and "yp/b") n.b. p/bs listed above are a format p/b, unless otherwise indicated. tp/b "Trade Paperback" - this term is descriptive of the distribution system used to make these (nowadays mostly merkin, for fiction) p/bs available to the retailer; tp/bs are not sold via the news wholesalers, nor the retail outlets they supply (news-stand, chain- store and/ mom+pop store racks, etc.), but via the book trade. they are not "strippable for credit". the tp/b may be a p/b of any size, and so is not strictly of any particular format. (cf. "mmp/b", "p/b" & "yp/b") yp/b "Yuppieback" - this term is descriptive of the uk p/bs manufactured from trimmed signatures of the h/cvr printing: it is a recent uk innovation, normally published at the same time as, or three or six months after, the h/cvr. the term was derived from the somewhat res- tricted perceived custom for this edition: "those who can afford it (the space as well as the cost) buy the hardcover, and normal people like you and me buy the paperback: that only leaves yuppies, to buy the yuppiebacks." the yp/b is necessarily of the dimensions of the trimmed h/cvr edition signatures. (cf. "mmp/b", "p/b" and "tp/b") ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7/7/99 (7/7/99 for merkins) update and revision copyright (c) by p.pinto ppint@lspace.org further information, explanation and detail welcome... love, ppint. (ppint@lspace.org) [follow-up set to "poster"; please remove "y" from reply-to line] [0] - "the perversity of the universe tends towards a maximum" - finagle's third law -- "the life of a vegetable is of absolutely no interest whatsoever - including to the vegetable in question. i speak from experience." - ppint. at interstellar master traders lancaster's sf, fantasy & horror role-playing game and book shop