You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion
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Hardback or Paperback? the quarrel of the ages!
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Heather
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Jan 29, 2009 10:32AM

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I've bought a few paperbacks in the US (not sure if trade or mass market) and they were noticeably better quality than UK ones: the paper, the binding, even the layout of text on the page. They flop open better.
I prefer paperbacks because they are more comfortable to hold, are cheaper (so I can buy more of them) and can (usually) fit in my handbag, so I always have a book with me if I get held up somewhere.


Mass Market books are the cheapy little ones that are made for massively popular books, romance novels, mysteries, that sort of thing.
TP books are a larger format, often the same size or comparable to the size of a hardback, with much nicer paper and ink than a mass market.
does that explain??

I'm a sort of mix kind of book person... specifically if I find a hardback of an author I like and tagged with a reasonable price, I buy it.. the same thing with paperbacks or trade paperbacks...
I guess it's just a matter of what I will find first and if the price is cheap...
I only buy books from secondhand bookstores here in the Philippines...
You'd be surprised just how outrageously priced books here... Maybe with all the shipping and all that makes the price that expensive I guess...

I try to buy hardbacks if it's a book I plan on keeping. They seem to last longer and are more durable, and look quite nice on my bookselves.
If I'm not sure, I buy paperback (though I generally try not to buy a book I haven't read yet). I've been buying Bantam Classics, which is a VERY compact edition, with small margins and small print, and the chapters continue in a roll, instead of each one starting on the same page. This is helpful for massively huge books, because it just compacts everything, and if I have to carry it around it's not such a pain. The first Bantam I read was Great Expectations, which I read for school and had to check out from the library, and at first I hated the small print. Since then I've bought Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, Uncle Tom's Cabin and Huck Finn in the same style. I think I like it better, compared to the hardback Barnes & Noble classics edition of Pride and Prejudice, which has a lot of wasted space by large margins and wide spacing between lines, and is a pain to carry.
My only disappointment is when a series doesn't have hardbacks, such as Bernard Cornwell's Sharpe series. Or at least I can't find the hardbacks for them, except the book I have from one of the first printing that my mother lent to me (and that I haven't given back). The unfortunate thing about having books in hardbacks, paperbacks and mass market is that new books are generally in hardback and you have to wait a few months for the paperback, or as I mentioned, you can't find the hardback.
Sorry for the ramble.

Gosh, it just occurs to me that there are a whole lot of variables that have to be taken into consideration when answering this question. I didn't realise I had such an involved relationship with my books. :-)




It reminds me of an anecdote in yesterday's paper. A book reviewer recalled a lengthy conversation with someone in the book industry about a much hyped new book. When he asked if she'd read it, she said "Yes of course - though not personally"!





more durable- though only get hardback if they are cheap/special offer an a few of my fav authors because can not wait.
I collect the Discworld Novels and have 2 bookshelves of hardback books - they look lovely - and then I have a range of other hardback books that have either been presents of picked up cheaply.
Sometimes though the online booksellers cut the prices of hardbacks by so much that it is almost the same as the undiscounted price of the paperback.
Sometimes though the online booksellers cut the prices of hardbacks by so much that it is almost the same as the undiscounted price of the paperback.

..."
Yes
look at Under the dome. I looked at the price amazon was selling it for and what they will be selling it for in paperback and was only a £1 difference and it was £7+ for the paperback so thought for that big a book best to have hb esp only £1 difference.
I also bought The Girl who Kicked the Hornets nest in hardback for £5 as part of a deal that is cheaper then paperback pre any discounts!!!




If its the price that everyone's so worried about, there's always the BOOKSALE. Where you can buy hardbounds so cheap and paperbacks cheaper :)

And for that first purchase...it depends on how much I REALLY want to read it, how much the hardcover is going for, and if I have a coupon/discount for the expensive ones.


Hardcovers look better on my shelf. And I'll buy hardcovers when they are newly released because I cant wait for the paperbacks to come out. But I do prefer paperbacks because they're easier to hold and carry around and if I fall asleep reading it doesn't hurt as much when it falls on my face;-) Even though I already have the hardcover I'll keep those on the shelf and then buy the paperback to read and read again.


Hardbacks are my personal fave but paperbacks are more easy to take care of. I remember the first hardback i bought by the time I got home its cover was ruined!

I like paperback books best. besides the fact they're cheaper (I believe in owning every book I ever read and liked) but also because there's just something about a paperback book that appeals to me more than a hardback book. I'm not sure what it is, but I think it's that paperback books are shaped differently (shorter, more squat) and always seem to fit easier in backpacks, bags, hands, etc.

I find paperbacks easier to read in bed or on the bus/train etc too simply because they are lighter. I don't like it when the edges and the spine get creased though.





