I know this is probably an odd question, but... in which format do you prefer to read books? Hardcover, trade paperback, mass market paperback, the new "upperback", ebook, audiobook?

I may be an exception, but I usually prefer paperbacks over hardcovers. So many books in the genre are positively huge, and I just hate to hold those 800+ page hardcovers because they're so heavy! Even though my paperbacks tend to look really beat up after I'm done with them, I prefer the lighter, smaller format.

What about you?

You're right, so many fantasy books are huge and heavy, so paperbacks are easier to read. I don't just read sf though, I read all kinds of stuff. Also, I collect books(signed first editions etc.) so most of those are hardcover. I don't like those new slightly taller paperbacks...just another scam to charge more money...do we really need 3 formats of paperbacks? And I have no interest in ebooks at all. I like real books.

I prefer to read a trade paperback that I've protected with clear contact paper.

For my permanent collection, especially signed first editions, hardcovers are it. But then again, I don't read them, I collect them.

I only read mass market if it's all I can get. Since I tend to read epic fantasy, the mass markets are unwieldy and not well made. Even with clear contact paper to hold them together, a very large volume will start to lose pages upon multiple readings.

I'm reading an ebook now via my laptop (and occasionally my BlackBerry). It's not my favorite, but it's cheap (i.e. free since the novel is a 19th century classic of English literature).

I only do audibooks for non-fiction or a re-read of fiction to refresh my memory.

I prefer the price and portability of mass-market paperbacks, but I'm getting to an age where it's sometimes really hard to read them. Trade paperbacks are much more eye-friendly, but they're expensive.

My preference is ebook followed audio book and then paperback (don't really care what kind of paperback). I really like the portability and ease of storage I get from the ebook. I find audio books very relaxing.

For reading I prefer paperbacks - mmp for price and trades for readability. I carry a book around with me everywhere I go, so portability is essential. Hardcovers are generally too heavy to carry around but I like the fact that they stay open... I also like the look of them better on my shelves. Sigh.

For me in depends on my situation. I ride a bicycle in the summer months (April to Nov) and its unweildy to read hardcovers and lug a huge tome like Anathem.
So in the summer I tend to read mass market, but not exclusivly, right now I am reading a Hard Cover. Winter months I tend to read Hardcovers and Trade Paperbacks, again not exclusivly.

It's interesting to me that so many people have clear preferences... I don't have an eReader of any kind and am not sure I'd like one, but I'd probably have to try it. I'm not a fan of audiobooks although I have used them on occasion--I associate them with using the NordicTrak or treadmill, so maybe that's why I don't care for them.

As for "real" books, I prefer whatever I can buy that's not too expensive and is in good shape. I'm buying more and more used or overstock books, so I take what I can get. Sometimes the hardcovers are cheaper than the paperbacks, or SFBC or bookwarehouse.com will have an amazing deal, and then I get mostly hardcovers and the occasional trade paperback.

I'm usually just so glad to find the book for which I'm looking that I don't care too much what format it is!

Overall, I prefer to read mass market paperbacks. They are small, portable and travel well. I just cannot get into ebooks, I need the actual book in my hands. Plus, new paperbacks (or books in general) smell good...

I prefer paperbacks. They usually die after a few decades, but they're so portable. They fit in my lunch box, often in my back or coat pocket. Perfect for every day living.

I don't mind hardbacks or trade paperbacks, but they aren't as convenient to carry around. Some of the latter fit in my lunch box (a small Igloo cooler) but most won't. That's just one more thing to juggle on the way in & out of the house. They don't hold with one hand or position as easily, either. I have to wear reading glasses now & the correct distance from my eyes is way more important.


I'm lusting after a Sony Reader, though. I have a hundreds of books in electronic formats, but $300 is just too much money to come up with right now. The ability to make the text larger is pretty cool, but I'm still wondering about converting the various formats & how well it will work when I'm reading outside during lunch. I can't even see my cell phone screen half the time.

In the past I was a paperback all the way kind of girl - mostly for cost and portability.

But as books get longer and more and more text gets squeezed on the page I find them harder and harder to read.

So these days I prefer an ebook or, if reading in paper, a trade or hardcover with bigger text and more white space.

Sadly, I am a bit of a snob - I avoid mass market at all cost! They smell musty, make my fingers dirty, and seem to be too small/hard to hold. I have lupus, and sometimes my hands get a bit sore holding mass markets. I always gravitate to the trades, hardcovers if I must.

I was so sad when one of my "I'll buy whatever they write" authors switched from printing books in trade, to hard cover then mass market. I have all of his books in trade! The new one just looks out of place. But, I'm told its a sign he's doing well, so I have to wish him well. Does this bug anyone else, the change of format, I mean?

Yes, generally if I start buying a series in one format then I like to stick to that format. Sometimes I have to buy a different format for various reasons, but if I see a used copy in the format to make my collection uniform, then I will purchase and trade out the odd one.

I prefer trade paperbacks for reading because of the handling, but if a less expensive format is available (MMPB or remaindered hardback) then my budget demands those.

Budget almost always trumps my book format preference, too. Only on a few, special series will I push for a single format.

When I designed & built my wall-to-wall bookshelves, I tried to make sure everything from an MMP to an HB would fit just so I can keep authors & series together in different formats.

Oooh...wall-to-wall bookshelves...

*is jealous*

For me, I prefer reading books either in ebook format or listening to audio books over reading an actual paper book. I have a visual impairment which makes reading from a book a little difficult sometimes. I find it much more comfortable to read on a screen where I can change my color scheme to a black background with white text, whether it's my computer, Blackberry or Ipod.

I still also love paper books, and will continue to purchase and read them as long as my vision will allow. I do prefer hard covers, but I'll buy whatever I can find the book in at the time if I'm looking for something specific. There's nothing like that experience of settling into a comfy chair with the cat purring in your lap and a great book in your hands.

I prefer MMPs - they fit my hands just right and I like to be able to flip easily to the map in the front, the author bio, the blurb on the back and to look at the artwork on the cover - all of which are hard to do with audio and ebooks.

However, I do have a kindle and I'm finding it more and more convenient and easier to use the longer I have it. I've been listening to audio books for over 20 years and love the new advances that transfer an entire mp3 file to my player instead of the constant turning of cassette tapes.

Because I don't pay for audiobooks and rarely if ever for ebooks, and they are stored only on my computer, they don't feel permanent. If a book is by an author I 'collect', I like a nice hard cover for the shelf.

I'm not particularly fond of trade paperbacks, I find them cumbersome and expensive, I'll only buy them if they are the only option.

And I feel insulted by the new 'upperbacks'. They are one to two dollars more expensive.

Just an add on to my previous post.
Cant say I am really pleased with e-books. I have some issues with the price point, You cant read them in the tub (Haven't had a bath in a while but still...). I would hate to drop a 400 dollar e-reader in the water.

I like as much book for the buck as I can get, which means small paperbacks, ideally second-hand. I mostly only buy trade paperbacks or hardcovers if I can't get a title in mmpb, or if I just can't wait for a favourite author's new title. (Sometimes this works out--"The Mists of Avalon" never did come out in mmpb, did it?) Also, I am fairly tough on books, I read the hell out of them, so it's not really fair to use library books.

For long books, I prefer hardback. It is difficult to read the middle pages of an 800 page mass market paperback. For medium-sized or short books, I prefer trade paperbacks. But if I'm taking a book to a medical provider's waiting room, I'll take a mass market paperback, because that is easier to transport, and because I'm less upset if I accidently leave the book there.

I haven't tried e-books, and, I must admit, I'm not interested in doing so.

I keep costs down by going to library sales and used book stores (both brick-and-mortar and online). At my local used book store, used trade paperbacks usually cost less than used mass market paperbacks, which suits me just fine :0)

I preder cloth bound but I have been doing pretty much all audio books past couple weeks. I have been very week and audio books dont need to be held. I have delvoloped a new respect for them. They are wonderful in they let you read when you cant. I have also found some of the readers are wonderful performers

Renee - a great reader can absolutely make and audibook, can't they? (Although conversely I terrible one can ruin it - I can think of two offhand that I had to stop listening to because the narrator was so bad). I'm glad you've found a way to keep reading.

Its funny. I have actually asked the librarin to look for books for me by certain readers. I have devolped a liking for one called Scott Brick. He did a couple of Demille books and oh my I just loved them

I think people do become fans of particular readers, just as they do of particular books.

I listened to Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising Sequence and four of the books had one narrator while the other one had someone different. That different one was set in Wales and the alternate reading did such a wonderful job of all the Welsh words and accents that the last book, also set in Wales with the original narrator, seemed to pale in comparison, even thought it was still very good.

I'll give anything read by Davinia Porter a go! I love her voice. There is a young reader I'm quite fond of too, she lends a lot of pluck to her characters.

I'm a read-everything kind of gal. I usually get my books from the library, so whatever format they have, I'll get. When I buy for my collection (must-have authors or series), I like hardcovers the best, or whatever matches the rest of the series I have.

For ease of reading, I prefer hardcovers for longer books. I'm another that gets hand-strain from trying to hold open an 800 page monster in mmp. I'd rather let the book do the work with a trade pb or hardcover. For shorter books, I'm fine with any format, but mmps do carry around easier, and since I always have a book in my purse, the poundage does make a difference.

I'm old-fashioned and prefer paper books of any kind over audio or electronic.