Last week, The New York Times published a piece on the death of the mass market paperback.
The portable, pocket-sized books gained massive appeal in the early and mid- 20th century, due to their widespread availability in supermarkets and train stations and their low cost (you could buy one for the price of a pack of cigarettes). With the rise of e-readers and audiobooks over the last two decades, however, pocket book sales have faltered. Modern consumers, it seems, also have no interest in the inexpensive mass market paperback, willingly spending three to four times the amount on hardcover and special edition books, according to the Times. ReaderLink, the country’s largest distributor to mass merchandisers, announced last winter that it would end the distribution of pocket books by the end of 2025.
Much has been said about the end of physical media. Concerns over ownership and preservation of artistic works are typically at the forefront of these conversations. In recent years, we have witnessed entire bodies of work be deleted from streaming platforms, with some series and films receiving no physical release, effectively rendering them lost media. Physical media, like DVDs and CDs, also give ownership to the consumer. We have all found ourselves in the crosshairs of the streaming wars: one day you wake up and discover your favorite film or TV series has been taken off one streaming platform and is now being held hostage by the one you aren’t subscribed to.
What to Read Right Now, According to Cool Men
We talked to journalists, authors and editors about what books men should check out right nowBut with the death of physical media, particularly as it concerns mass market paperbacks, is the erosion of something, I’d argue, as equally unsettling: sex appeal. Man’s hottest accessory is not a pair of sleek sunglasses, a hoop earring or even a backwards baseball hat. No, it is but a book. A book that slightly juts out of the back pocket of your pants.
You may remember when Jacob Elordi was spotted at the Sydney Airport with books stuffed in his cargo pants. Okay, maybe you don’t — but I do. Elordi’s chosen mode of book transportation spurred a ton of internet discourse, even jump-starting an entire fashion movement of men shoving books in their drawers. Some argued that carrying a book in the back pocket is a performative trend. Men are trying to appear literary for aesthetics, or to appeal to women, rather than reading for the love of the game. One journalist actually told Elordi that he had “started an epidemic of men carrying books in their back pockets.” When asked for his thoughts on the trend, Elordi replied, “I think people need to get out more, maybe.”
It’s well-documented that Elordi is an avid, well-rounded reader, so his pocket books feel pure of heart (plus, he’s a 6′ 5″ Australian hunk, who does he need to impress?) But truth be told, if I did see a man strutting down 5th Avenue with The White Album peeking out of his back pocket, the cynic in me may instinctively raise an eyebrow or throw a silent eye-roll. This is, I understand, completely hypocritical. I’ve written at length about the appeal of a literate man, declaring that the hottest thing you, a man, can do is read a novel. But TikTok propaganda does seep into my mind from time to time. I can’t help but think, every time I see a man drinking matcha or hauling a tote bag, of the performative male archetype.
To me, however, there’s a fine line between true bibliophile and performative lit male, and it’s measured by the size of the book in your pants. I believe part of the reason the book in the back pocket trend was so ridiculed is that people were walking around with full-sized paperbacks in their pockets, which, frankly, just looks goofy. Whereas a pocket book is specifically designed to sit comfortably in your back pocket, right at home.
I also find a mass market paperback so sexy because, by nature, it’s unpretentious. It’s the type of book you steal from your dad’s library or grab for $2 in a bin outside a used bookstore because you found the back cover genuinely interesting. You absentmindedly throw it in your back pocket before you head out the door, as you would your keys and wallet. There’s no performance there.
The Hottest Thing You, a Man, Can Do Is Read a Novel
Straight men reportedly don’t read fiction. Here’s why they should.The good news is that a man reading a physical book, regardless of size, still prevails over any stupid TikTok trend. And you certainly look far more appealing engrossed in a novel than you do hunched over doomscrolling on your phone. (Have you ever been in an elevator and realized every single person has their head down looking at their device? It’s started to give me the ick.) As I’ve written before, the desire for a man who reads is maybe best exemplified by the uber-popular Instagram account Hot Dudes Reading, a page with over one million followers that solely posts photos of men reading in public.
Old pocket books will still be in circulation, but the death of any physical media is a scary thought. Owning a physical work of art, whether it’s a VHS, vinyl or mass-market paperback, is, once again, integral to the preservation of artistic works. But as physical media begins to get phased out, we also lose something else: a pathway to connect. Lending someone a physical copy of a book is such a personal, thoughtful gesture. So much is communicated through that simple exchange.
The only thing hotter than a man who reads is a man who pulls a book from his back pocket and says, I read this and I thought of you.
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