--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This was an age before e-books. We all…" description: "\"This was an age before e-books. We all knew that the only way you can allow a book to survive in print in the long term is in paperback. The hardback h..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/salman-rushdie-153_age_this-was-an-age-before-e-books-we-all-kn_799981.jpg" --- # This was an age before e-books. We all knew that the only… ![“This was an age before e-books. We all knew that the only way you can allow a book to survive in print in the long term is in paperback. The hardback has a certain life, and then it stops having that. It stops selling, and if you want the book to just stay around there has to be a paperback…” quote by Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/salman-rushdie-153_age_this-was-an-age-before-e-books-we-all-kn_799981.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/salman-rushdie-153_age_this-was-an-age-before-e-books-we-all-kn_799981.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/988/salman-rushdie-153_age_this-was-an-age-before-e-books-we-all-kn_799981.jpg) > “This was an age before e-books. We all knew that the only way you can allow a book to survive in print in the long term is in paperback. The hardback has a certain life, and then it stops having that. It stops selling, and if you want the book to just stay around there has to be a paperback edition. So if there were not a paperback edition the book would eventually disappear from the shelves, and we would have lost the battle.” [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The author argues that paperback editions are essential for a book's longevity, as they keep works accessible after hardcovers fade from the market. **In simple terms:** Paperbacks keep books alive after hardcovers stop selling. Key Takeaway Publish paperback versions to ensure lasting availability. Themes publishing accessibility longevity Mood analytical nostalgic Type commentary historical When to use this quote - library acquisition - bookstore stocking - author contracts - reader habits Key Concepts economics market dynamics digital vs print Questions to Reflect On - Will paperbacks always be necessary? - How do e‑books change the preservation equation? A Different Perspective Digital formats may also preserve works without paper. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Battle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/battle/) [Book](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/book/) [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Long term](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-term/) [Paperback](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paperback/) [Selling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling/) [Writer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writer/) ## Related quotes > [I often get asked, 'Is the book dead?' It hasn't happened yet. It's different than music. Music was always meant to be pure sound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-kidd/i-often-get-asked-is-the-book-dead-it-hasn-t-happened-yet-it-s/) [Chip Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-kidd/) > [“Fanfiction belongs online, books are published to be held.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sky-diamond/fanfiction-belongs-online-books-are-published-to-be-held/) Sky Diamond > [If you're looking for a book that will spike in sales and then go away and then spike again when it comes out in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/if-you-re-looking-for-a-book-that-will-spike-in-sales-and-then-go/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [“A paperback book was wrapped around Barney's massive index finger as he held his place.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-harris/a-paperback-book-was-wrapped-around-barney-s-massive-index-finger-as/) [Thomas Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-harris/) > [The mass-market paperback, for one, is too expensive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-jon-williams/the-mass-market-paperback-for-one-is-too-expensive/) [Walter Jon Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-jon-williams/) > [None of my books are best-sellers. In fact, the only thing that's kept me alive is the books that are in paperback. People find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-purdy/none-of-my-books-are-best-sellers-in-fact-the-only-thing-that-s-kept/) [James Purdy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-purdy/) > [Mass market paperback thrillers are a dime a dozen. The trick is to find something that actually sticks to the ribs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-dean/mass-market-paperback-thrillers-are-a-dime-a-dozen-the-trick-is-to/) [Michelle Dean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-dean/) > [I'd sold the book first. Actually to a paperback publisher. I had nothing. I just had the idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-peter-blatty/i-d-sold-the-book-first-actually-to-a-paperback-publisher-i-had/) [William Peter Blatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-peter-blatty/) > [This paperback is very interesting, but I find it will never replace a hardcover book - it makes a very poor doorstop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-hitchcock/this-paperback-is-very-interesting-but-i-find-it-will-never-replace-a/) [Alfred Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-hitchcock/) > [“Choosing a color for your paperback book cover feels like entering a mall and seeing a dress you love, just your size, and available…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sahara-sanders/choosing-a-color-for-your-paperback-book-cover-feels-like-entering-a/) [Sahara Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sahara-sanders/) > [I write a kind of surreal fantasy, but they can't put 'surreal fantasy' on a paperback.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harlan-ellison/i-write-a-kind-of-surreal-fantasy-but-they-can-t-put-surreal-fantasy/) [Harlan Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harlan-ellison/) > [You could buy my book in a paperback edition for a dollar, and in hard covers for $3.50. And for fifty cents extra, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-hope/you-could-buy-my-book-in-a-paperback-edition-for-a-dollar-and-in-hard/) [Bob Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-hope/) > [“I need a job and I want to be a paperback writer...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-beatles/i-need-a-job-and-i-want-to-be-a-paperback-writer/) [The Beatles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-beatles/) > [I've come to think of Europe as a hardcover book, America as the paperback version.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-delillo/i-ve-come-to-think-of-europe-as-a-hardcover-book-america-as-the/) [Don DeLillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-delillo/) > [“I cannot tell you how exciting it is when you first see your book in paperback, then when the good reviews roll in it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-stokes/i-cannot-tell-you-how-exciting-it-is-when-you-first-see-your-book-in/) Sue Stokes ## More by Salman Rushdie > [If my child had prejudice in his head, I'd be ashamed. I would see it as my failure as a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-my-child-had-prejudice-in-his-head-i-d-be-ashamed-i-would-see-it/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [It's a terrible thing that your life turns into a good story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/it-s-a-terrible-thing-that-your-life-turns-into-a-good-story/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I want to write novels. I want to write stories. I want to do the stuff that I became a writer to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-want-to-write-novels-i-want-to-write-stories-i-want-to-do-the-stuff/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If you want to be a serious writer, then you have to write what there is to write about. If you're going to pull…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-you-want-to-be-a-serious-writer-then-you-have-to-write-what-there/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“Después de exigir mi marcha, ya no posees jurisdicción en lo concerniente a mi salud.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/despu-s-de-exigir-mi-marcha-ya-no-posees-jurisdicci-n-en-lo/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [If there is a choice between absolute safety and freedom, then freedom must always prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/if-there-is-a-choice-between-absolute-safety-and-freedom-then-freedom/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm not a prophet, but I always thought it was natural for dictatorships to fall. I remember in 1989, two months before the fall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-not-a-prophet-but-i-always-thought-it-was-natural-for/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'd wanted to create a storm so that I could become more famous and richer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-d-wanted-to-create-a-storm-so-that-i-could-become-more-famous-and/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [Who what am I? My answer: I am the sum total of everything that went before me, of all I have been seen done,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/who-what-am-i-my-answer-i-am-the-sum-total-of-everything-that-went/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“...proving once again that there was no escape from recurrence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/proving-once-again-that-there-was-no-escape-from-recurrence/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [“information, in a stream-of-consciousness soliloquy that revealed the extent to which he had internalised the adversarial fragmentation of American culture and made it a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/information-in-a-stream-of-consciousness-soliloquy-that-revealed-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [A little bit of one story joins onto an idea from another, and hey presto, . . . not old tales but new ones.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/a-little-bit-of-one-story-joins-onto-an-idea-from-another-and-hey/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I'm a novelist. Fortunately I don't have to rule the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/i-m-a-novelist-fortunately-i-don-t-have-to-rule-the-world/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [The First Amendment defends all forms of speech including hate speech, which is why groups like Ku Klux Klan are allowed to utter their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/the-first-amendment-defends-all-forms-of-speech-including-hate-speech/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) [Explore all 1,087 Salman Rushdie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. 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But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This was an age before e-books. We all knew that the only way you can allow a book to survive in print in the long term is in paperback. The hardback has a certain life, and then it stops having that. It stops selling, and if you want the book to just stay around there has to be a paperback edition. 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