These quirky holidays are awesome, but I always like knowing how they became a holiday in the first place. Luckily I managed to track down some information on another blog called A Year of Holidays. This is what they had to say about the origins of this holiday:
“Penguin Books published its first paperback books on July 30, 1935. Although other books with paper covers had been published for many years (such as penny dreadfuls, yellow-backs, dime novels, and even pulp magazines), only one other publisher had attempted to publish any respectable quality writing without a hardcover.
That company (Albatross Books) printed several books in 1931 and 1932, but went under quickly. However, when Penguin Books began printing a few years later, their cheap reprints of popular books became immensely popular very quickly. Therefore, their opening day, July 30, can now be celebrated as Paperback Book Day!”
I don’t know about any of you, but I’m a sucker for a nice cover. Paperback or hardcover, I’ll buy it if it’s pretty. If a book is an easy read that I don’t take too seriously, then I’ll happily buy it in paperback. Classics and other books that I want to keep for a long time really need to be hardcover. It’s all about longevity. I’m not exactly easy on my books. Working in a bookstore is a double-edged sword. You respect the books, but you also learn that you don’t need to put them on a pedestal.
I’ll be celebrating this day by starting one of my newest paperback acquisitions from a used book store.
So, what’s your preference? How will you celebrate this day?
The Literary Counsellor 
I love my paperbacks. I’m not a hardcover fan. Too heavy. And if I’m not sure that I’ll like a book, I get the electronic copy. If I end up liking it, I sometimes get the paperback.
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I do the same. 🙂
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