Yep , coal fired steam engine . <| sep |> You near Baltimore by any chance ? <| sep |> I think US and UK sizing for massmarkets are slightly different so check what market they were printed for that might be why . Otherwise the standards may have changed over the years . How books are printed , like covers , is based on marketing in the country they ' re made for . The US and UK place a high value on the aesthetics of books though the aesthetics between the two is a bit different so covers of different books are different sizes depending on what the publisher thinks would be best , except in the case of these standardized books . If you hate it so much , I suggest learning French . Books in France are often very standardlooking . 1 . bbci . co . uknews 624 mediaimages 71500000 jpg 71500201 bookshelf . jpg