Kinds of Books
trade paperback -- A paperback book more similar in size and typeface size to a hardcover book, than to a mass market paperback, which has smaller pages, and usually uses a smaller typeface. The quality of the paper used in trade paperbacks is also superior to that of mass market paperbacks, which begin to yellow, due to the poor quality of their paper, in a relatively short period of time. Trade paperbacks are usually published soon after hardcover versions of the same novel, and more and more frequently, in place of them; while mass market paperbacks are usually published a few months to a year after the hardcover edition.
     Currently, most hardcover novels are about 6 1/2 by 9 inches in size, and retail for twenty-five to thirty dollars; trade paperbacks are about 5 1/2 by 8 inches in size, and retail for fifteen to twenty dollars; and mass market paperbacks are about 4 by 6 1/2 inches in size, and retail for six to nine dollars.

Book Structure
front matter -- That part of a book which comes before the actual text of the book, and introduces the book to the reader. It always includes some of the following parts, but others are used infrequently, or only in some types of books:
half-title page -- The very first page inside a book, consisting of the title of the book, and nothing else. In the past, more than now, books might be published by one firm, but bound in special editions by other firms. In such cases, the half-title page was used to inform the binder which title was being bound, and was often removed, beforehand. In modern hardcover and trade paperback books, half-title pages are often used, but in mass market paperbacks, the introductory pages are usually used for promotional blurbs.
epigraph -- A quote, poem, or paragraph placed on a page prior to the start of a book, which sets the tone of the story for the reader. It is much shorter than a prologue, which is usually a scene that is part of the story, but set at an earlier time.