I grew up on cheap mass market paperbacks. They were the only formats in which most romances were available, and they were well within my budget even as a teenager with no allowance. (I had an allowance, but my mom was too broke to pay it. She always claimed she was keeping track of what she owed, and after her death I found the proof that she did. Meanwhile, though, I had only the money I'd saved from Christmas and birthday gifts. It was enough, because our local public library system was great and supplied me with all the latest in fiction. Well, except for Valley of the Dolls, which they would not carry, claiming it "wasn't a book.")