NEW YORK, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Recognizing that U.S. baby boomers are aging, paperback book publishers are printing paperbacks with larger type and more white space.
"We've been losing the foundation of our customer base because their eyesight is getting worse, and the books are getting harder and harder to read," said Jack Romanos, chief executive of Simon & Schuster.
More than 535 million paperback books were sold last year, but sales have dropped 11 percent in the last five years, reported the New York Times Friday.
Penguin Group and Harlequin Enterprises, the biggest seller of romance novels, have both introduced larger print books.
Some discount retailers have been critical of the $9.99 price of several of the larger-type books -- some $2 to $3 higher than the regular size type paperbacks.
