The 8th May is Make a Book Day. The process has changed considerably from the first scrolls in the 4th Millennium BC, through to block printing on 800 AD to the invention of moveable type in 1000 - 1400 AD. These were initially made of wood, but were not a reliable method due to the complexity of Chinese characters and the soaking properties of wood making it very labor-intensive to use. The first metal movable type called the Jikji, was invented 1200 AD, in Korea, during the Goryeo Dynasty, and the first book printed using this method was produced in 1377 AD. It was not until 1439, that a methodical and reliable printing press was designed by Johannes Gutenberg. This began the mass production of books as we know it. The first book was the Gutenberg Bible, printed in 1455 using this model.

The inventions did not stop there. In 1500 AD, Italian Aldus Manutius established the Aldine Press in Italy, in which he used italic type, the widespread use of the semicolon, and began the precursor of the modern paperback - a small volume bound together with Vellum.  Swedish chemist Carl Wilhelm Scheele discovered the element chlorine in 1744 AD to produce the now familiar white sheets of paper. Detachable paper jackets, or book sleeves came onto the scene in 1834 AD, followed in 1832 - 1860 AD by the mass production utilizing cheap pulp. In England these were called 'penny dreadfuls', 'penny blood', or 'penny number', as that is how much they cost. In America they were referred to as 'dime novels'.

It wasn't until the 1900's that hardback books were produced. These were considered higher quality and most publishers looked at paperbacks as inferior.

However, it was the Boni brothers founders of the Modern Library, which evolved into Random House, one of the largest publishing houses today. They regularly sent out via a mail order book club, high quality literature in paperback form. In 1937 Penguin ushered in the comeback of paperbacks by printing 20,000 copies of the best “high-class” titles.