Complaining about paperback prices is something I’m no stranger to.

Now there’s an insidious middle ground, it seems. I bought a paperback copy of Paul of Dune the other day, and was surprised to see that the MSRP was $9.99. It wasn’t a trade paperback, either; it was the same size as regular mass market paperbacks…or so I thought at first glance. The width was the same, but the book was about 3/4″ taller. In other words…you’re paying an extra two bucks because the book’s slightly taller. That’s nothing but a scumbag marketing move to bilk us out of a few extra dollars for the exact same content that would fit in a standard-sized book.

I also noticed that while Paul of Dune clocks in at over six hundred pages, the book is still rather slim. Why? Because the publisher used a lighter paper. That aggravates me even more; now, not only am I paying more because the book’s slightly larger, but I’m getting lesser-quality paper as well! When is this shit going to stop?