Paperbacks vs Hardbacks: which do you prefer?
 

When i was reading Feist they were paperbacks for most of the series, then hardbacks. I loved paperbacks, then I loved hardbacks. As for Jordan: I like his large paperbacks (or soft hardbacks - i think they might trade paperbacks or something). As big and easier to read as a hardback, but as soft as a paperback.

Don't forget the ebooks!!! http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif

Paperbacks.

I absolutely hate trying to read books on the computer.

Hardcover overkill is an archived topic on this debate.

I didn't know that one got archived. Cool. I was actually in on that discussion! For the record, I did end up caving and buying the Storm of Swords hardcover, but only because my dad gave me some spending money and at the time there was nothing I wanted more.

I think hardcovers are better to read (love how can set them there and they stay open, so's you can eat and read at the same time) but I like paying for paperbacks a lot more. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif

..but the point that we made there Saintjon, (I think!) was that if you are quick enough you can buy the HB (or a HB club edition of the HB) for the price of the PB, about a year before the PB. And of course, it can be cheaper to buy the HB when they split the HB into two PB's.

(Gggrrr....gggrrrr...pet hate!)

Hobbit

True, but it was driving me nuts not knowing what happened. Besides, I thought Storm of Swords has been out for two years already and they were still selling it at full price. I couldn't resist.

Gotta be paperback. Unless it's not out yet and I have to read it.


I don't know why, I'm just weird, but there's just something special about paper back http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif

Yeah, cuz it's cheaper. :P

...and your arm muscles ache less... http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/biggrin.gif

Another thought whilst I'm here...I've found that I can't read text as well from a computer screen as I can the printed page. There's something about scrolling...not to mention the tactileness of paper and pages. I actually tend to print the things out and then read them, to be honest.

Hobbit

I prefer the large paperbacks. It seems like you are getting 'more' (not literally size) and are easier to read.
Hardbacks are too bulky for me and take up to much room on my bookshelves. Never seem to have enough bookshelves....

Paperbacks definetely!

Trade paperbacks are preferable, but I'll accept mass market, assuming the print and paper quality are acceptable. I dislike hardcovers, since I carry a book to read everywhere I go, and hc's take up too much weight and space.

I seem to recall a similar discussion on this issue sometime ago and I agreed with someone else (don't recall who) to disagree on this subject. I find hardbacks rather insulting to my intelligence. They cost more and are too bulky. A good softback is more what I like.

jb-the discussion you mention is the one I've linked to in my earlier post.

I think it was me. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/frown.gif http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif

[This message has been edited by FitzFlagg (edited March 15, 2002).]

I prefer to read trade paperbacks, but I don't prefer the prices. I really don't like it a book comes out in hardcover, then a year or so later, the publisher decides to release the book in trade paperback form instead of regular paperback size. It's all about the $$.

If there is a book that I love and think would be worth keeping forever, I try to find it in hc.

I know it is stupid and a waste of money, but I really love collecting first edition hardbacks. For pure reading, mass market paperback is fine...they are easier to carry in my purse and I don't have to worry about dings and bindings and all. E-books have no appeal to me. I have tried to read stories on the net and all and I hate reading my screen. I want to feel the book in my hand.

Okay... hardbacks for library rentals, because that way they don't get bent, folded, split in two. And paperbacks for buying, due to cheapness. Anyone else notice that some books are taking longer and loger to find their way to PB? I'm not buying them until they do, so publishers better wise up.

I buy and read paperbacks.

The only hardbacks I have are ones which haven been given me. I find hardcovers detract from the reading experience, which should be a joy, not a travail imo.

Btw...what is a "trade paperback" or a "mass market paperback"?

Is there some obvious difference?

Trade is the size of a hardback but has paper covers. I tink mass market is a US term only as other places call small books just plain old paperbacks http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif

Thanks Cald : )

I like to read mass market paperbacks, mainly cos they're lighter to hold up/carry around, but i do, do , do like to own my favorite books in hardback (so pretty!) - so i grab 'em if i ever spot them reduced. I also buy hardbacks if i can't bear to wait for the paperback to be published.

I have a 'thing' against this recent fad for trade paperbacks - they're more expensive, and bulkier than mass market pbs, yet they don't look as pretty as hbs. So there!

Harbacks pretty?

Not meaning to knock your choices, but funnily enough, apart from the sheer convenience, another reason I prefer paperbacks is often the cover art (and its part of the book, not a flimsy paper wrapping over a blank cover).

I collect books so I buy series I like in HC but I find these series by first reading them in PB.This creates a problem sometimes like now.I read the first 2 G.R.R.MARTIN books in PB and i'm now looking for them in HC.Cheapest I can find them now is $650US. As you can see this makes HC collecting expensive but I feel the books stay in better shape longer and retain their value better.

I once asked a publishing executive from Wizards of the Coast why they do not publish in Trade Paperback only hardback and softback. He replied that trade paperback did not offer anything that massmarket paperback couldn't and took away alot of the advantages that the massmarket paperback did. So my quesiton is this, why do publishers bother with trade paperback format at all?

I prefer paperbacks. Not only are they easier to handle while adjusting your position on the couch while reading for eight straight hours, but FOR THE PRICE OF ONE HARDBACK, YOU CAN PICK UP THREE PAPERBACKS!!! That means I get more bang for my buck...

... or more 'backs for the bucks?

Never mind... http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif

I read usually mass market PB for the price, and and then a few HC for the right feeling. But Trade PB´s are not very nice, IMHO, they feel unproportional (sp) and look hmm... awful, at least in my book case.

Why bother with the Trade paperbacks? They do not add anything to the book just delays the publication of the mass marketpaperback.

I think publishers like trade paperbacks simply because they can charge more for them than the regular papersbacks. Usually 5 to 7 US dollars more. I think they know that many people wait to buy the paperback edition of a book instead of spending the exorbitant amount of money that it costs to buy hardbacks these days. Then, after a year or more, they finally release the book in trade paperback. Luckily, the pubs don't seem to do it too.

I've also noticed that some speciality books come out exclusively in trade paperback, like re-releases of classics, import books, etc.