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Hardbacks or Paperbacks
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message 51:
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Petra X
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Dec 06, 2008 06:31AM
The paper in trade paperback is much better and more expensive than in the mass market-size paperbacks. Yes they do make more money, but when you think how little the author actually gets out of it - not even a dollar a book for the mm-size, they have to try to sell the hardback and trade paperbacks first.
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I think Trade paperback (the ones that are larger, on high quality paper) i.e. a hard cover book with a soft cover binding are the greatest things since sliced bread!The hardcovers can be heavy and expensive. The cheap paper, small fonts, and tight spacing of traditional paperbacks take away a lot of the enjoyment for me.
I'm so glad that publishers are using Trade paperbacks more and more now.
Wife of GR author: Michael J. Sullivan | The Crown Conspiracy (10/08) | Avempartha (04/09)
As a student, I can't afford hardbacks, so I always buy paperbacks for myself (with one exception this year), since that's what I can afford. But when I receive books as a present, like from my dad, I always get hardbacks, and really like them.
Ashley, I didn't mind what the binding of the book was when I was a kid, but as a teenager I only liked paperbacks and just couldn't get into the book if it was a hardback.
Kristina, if you like hardback fiction and don't mind waiting until the paperback has come out, the hardback will then be cheaper than the paperback if you look at the online discount stores.
I'm also a fan of trade size paperbacks. I tend to go for those when I have a choice. Some books that I don't want to wait for paperback for I do buy in hardback.I also have to have all the books in a series match.
I don't usually go on price, i get 99% of my books second hand anyway.I do prefer paperbacks though because i like to take my books basically everywhere, just in case i can fit in some reading, and paperbacks are perfect for carting around and i find them easiest to handle, hardbacks are way to bulky for me.
I like them both. That said, I prefer hardbacks because they look nicer on my bookshelf. And there is something about buying a good book before everyone else finds out about it in paperback. That said, I really enjoy taking paperbacks on trips or to the beach. They are less cumbersome.
I like classics and books I know I will re-read, because of the story or the author, in hardback. As far as just run around reading books, I prefer the club (?) editions. They are the paperbacks that are bigger. They don't really fit in my purse, but they are easier on my eyes!!!
I'll always get my books in paperback if possible, just because they're so much easier to carry around with you. Then again, a lot of the books that I pick up in the second-hand bookstore are hardback and I'm fine with that.
I also have to have all the books in a series match... Me too! It irritates me to no end when I have a series and the books are all different sizes with different cover editions.
As awesome as hardbacks are, I prefer paperbacks, both because they're cheaper and I can carry them anywhere. Not to mention if I've started a series in paperback, I have to buy the remaining books in paperback as well to keep them all uniform xD I only by hardbacks if it's a book I really like or an author I really like. Or if it's Steve Berry :)
Due to money constraints, I rarely buy books new anyway. When I do, it's always paperback. That being said, I prefer hardbacks for reading. If I am given the choice at a thift shop or yard sale, I'd buy the hardback over the paperback. Then again, I can squeeze more paperbacks into my bookshelves. One reason I don't like paperbacks as much is the print tends to be smaller, and sometimes lighter with occassional smudging. It's crisper and cleaner to read hardbacks. 
I only buy hardbacks when I have to, or if I find them on a bargain rack somewhere. If I'm addicted to a series (which I am to numerous ones) I usually can't wait for the paperback to come out. If its a series and the books are easy reads, occasionally I just go sit at Barnes and Noble and read the hardback, then buy the paperback a year later or just get it through bookmooch...haha.But like you said Fiona, why pay 4x as much for a book that will end up with a ripped dust jacket and scruffy looking covers? Drat these authors that get me addicted to their books!
Paperbacks are so much more convenient for me. Being that I tend to read as much as three books at once, I can fit all three paperbacks in my purse without a problem. But, if it were hardcover, I would find it difficult to fit even one in it. Also, hardcovers are ALWAYS more expensive. Granted, they look great sitting on my bookshelf, but I can buy three paperbacks for the price of just one hardcover. I'll take a paperback as opposed to a hardcover any day. :)
I can't stand the small type and small pages of paperbacks - I really like Trade Paperbacks - less expensive then hard backs but same size and quality paper.
I like paperbacks. They're easy to grip, they're light and they cost less. Oh, and also, I regularly transport my books from my condominium (I'm in college) to my house in the province and paperbacks are easier to pack and carry around.
Depending on price, I like both.
I am a paperback lover. I hate reading books in hardcover. They are too bulky, they are uncomfortable to hold, the dust-jacket always slides off the book and gets ripped -- or, if I take it off the book first, it gets stepped on or something --, they take up far too much room on my bookshelf and they aren't convenient to carry around. Paperbacks can fit in my smallish purse, they are easy to hold, stackable and more convenient for me.
I have several books in HC now, mostly Stephen King novels, and I am working on trading them out for paperbacks. Two, Desperation and The Regulators, have corresponding covers, so I might keep those and just get PB copies to read.
I'll read either, but I really like hardbacks.
I prefer hardcover cause I think they'll look nice in the library I plan to have one day (a dream of mine) but paperback is more affordable at times.
Li wrote: "Not to mention if I've started a series in paperback, I have to buy the remaining books..."Li, I'm the same, but it goes both ways. If I started a series, or an author, in either hardback or paperback, I prefer to stick with the same format, so they all look nice on the shelf together! In general, I prefer the feel of a hardback in my hands when I read, but paperback are much more economical and I buy plenty of them, too.
I don't really know. I love the way hardbacks look on a bookshelf and since I tend to buy most of my books used, price doesn't really factor in all that much. But seeing as I walk to work (it's about a half hour walk), it's much more annoying to carry a hardcover as opposed to a paperback. I am dreading the day that I read the Complete Novels of Jane Austen only because it's this huge hardcover book and it's going to be hell walking it back and forth from work to home. The only type that I really don't like all that much is the mass-market paperbacks; they're just too small.
Good question! With money so dear, I guess this question is dependent on how much you have to spend? Hardcover wears better, but soft cover is cheaper (of course, one could do like the libraries do and laminate the soft cover!).
Mostly I read when I go to bed at night. I hold the book in one hand, and a hardback just doesn't get it. I do have some hardbacks, but they tend to sit on my TBR shelf for longer than a paperback.
I really like paperbacks the best, but not the mass market ones (I can't find a non-awkward way of holding them). I'll get hardbacks, but I don't think they travel around so well in my purse.
I prefer hardbacks, but buy paperbacks because they are cheaper and easier to carry. If the book is factual rather than fiction I may buy it in hardback or if it is a 'bargain' I may be tempted. Unfortunately my wife does not allow me to enter a bookshop unless I am accompanied by a responsible adult.
I prefer hardbacks because I think the words are printed larger but I always buy paperback because of cost and convenience of carrying around.
I am finding more and more that I can't stand hardback books. I have so few of them that they look silly with my hundreds of other books, save my non-fiction section, and they just don't feel as comfortable when I am reading them.I recently decided to try to stick to buying only paperback books because I am so partial to them. On paperbackswap, I have only wish listed paperback versions of books that I want, except for one book that is not available in paperback yet.
Jessi, I agree with you. I think it's easier to "curl up" with a paperback. Hardcovers get heavy after awhile! Also, paperbacks are easier to carry with you to assorted waiting rooms or wherever you want to take a book along for company.
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I am a trade paperback lover.
I like paperbacks to transport. But if I am at home I like hardbacks. Also if it is a book I will want to keep I will buy it in hardback.
Yay Hardbacks!They are my friends, all lined up, stacked in piles, arranged on tables, under tables, next to comfy chairs ... it's like visiting friends as I dust them and re-read their pages ...
I love them ♥
I love 'em both! I definitely agree with Suzanne. I love hardcovers. I love setting them on my lap, and I love how they lay open flat on a table. :) I love paperbacks for traveling and putting in my purse. Much easier to carry around! I don't care much for the mass market paperbacks either! They are difficult to read comfortably- especially the Outlander Series in mass market paperback! Agh!
Hardbacks are too bulky and mass market paperbacks are too small. Trade papebacks feel just right. Sounds kind of like a distorted Three Bears.
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I much prefer hardcover books above all others. They may be more expensive, but the paper is so much nicer. I also love looking at the end papers and the actual cloth chosen for the book itself. Dust jackets come off while reading!Trade Paperback-sized books are my next choice. I prefer to avoid Mass Market if at all possible-- but this is not always the case.
I am also annoyed by a switch mid-way through a series-- I want all hard covers or all trades. I don't like buying 3 trades, only to find out the 4th in the series comes in hardcover!
I never travel with books if I can avoid it, since I am extremely picky about the condition of my collection. No food or drink goes anywhere near my books (etc). So hardcovers work just fine for me. :)
I prefer to have hardcovers, mostly because I am super picky of the condition of my books. They tend to last longer, plus when I read them, I take the decorative slip cover off so it doesn't get damaged, and they can always look pretty. Paperbacks, though cheaper, get beat up more easily. Since I have recently discovered the amazing-ness of Half Price Books (and other second-hand bookstores), I now buy my paperbacks through there, since I can get them for cheap and it won't matter as much if they get beat up while I'm loaning them out to a friend. (Especially expensive paperbacks such as "The Other Boelyn Girl" by Philippa Gregory... $16 for it!)
