Aside from being wonderful, tactical air-weapons when thrown with the proper aim, mass market paperbacks are some of the finest, cheapest examples of the printed word. Here's a cool little essay about the history of these books and the Library of Congress.
Here's the link:
http://aic.stanford.edu/sg/bpg/annual/v17/bp17-08.htmlAnd here's another link for an archive of mass-market paperback covers:
http://www.bookscans.com/