Paperbacks
 

Whenever it comes to a choice of Hardback or Paperback, or always seem to choose Paperback. Not sure if its the smaller size which i like but its something i noticed when i checked my book collection.

However Recently i was looking to order the Briar King from amazon.co.uk and at first only found it out in hard back. Then i saw that there were 3 paperback version one of which is currently available.

Basically im asking which you prefer, and apart from the obvious are there any differences between the editions ?

Out of those two I would choose hardcover, though I would prefer trade paperback over either fo those

I believe the massmarket paperback of The Briar King will be out on Mar 30...so check back in the store on Tuesday :)

I buy mass market paperback...well if I have the choice. I already have 4 or 5 large bookcases full of books...I shudder to think how much space the books would take if they were all hardcover!

Hardback, almost always. For the obvious reasons...

Although, truth be told, paperbacks are more manageable. And perhaps you shouldn't really worry about things like wear & tear. Books are meant to be read, after all...

Still, I love the attention and detail sometimes spent on HB's. Like the subtly embossed "Robin Hobb" signature on "Fool's Errand" (US edition). Or the small format of the the recent books by Patricia McKillip.

And - let's face it - I like being able to more or less afford the hardback editions (and getting them as soon as they come out).

Having said all that, a great number of my favorite books are paperback editions... Including Tolkien. Stephen Donaldson, Eddison, Peake, and the like.

I'm a paperback guy, myself. First, they're more affordable, and even if I could afford buying all my books in hardcover, I just can't justify it. As much as I love reading, there are just so many other more important things to spend money on.

The second advantage if paperbacks is their size. I simply wouldn't have room for all my books if they were hardcover. Then there is the portablility issue. I like being able to read a book while standing and eating a chili dog, and you just can't do that very easily with a hardcover.

The major disadvantage, as Julian mentioned, is having to wait for the paperbacks to be published. I will admit, I have bought a few hardcovers when it was a book I really didn't want to wait for. For the most part, however, I'm used to the wait. I have plenty of other books to read in the meantime.

Don't like paperbacks since they are easily torn. But hardbacks is too expensive so I only buy them when I know it is a very good book I will read many times.

I choose paper backs over hardbacks because of the cheaper price. Hardbacks usally costs three times the price of a paperback.

When there's not a large difference in price I purchase hardbacks since I like to be able to throw a book into a bag without worrying that it'll be deformed by the end of a trip.

A bigger dilemma for me is whether I should purchase UK editions that have a prettier covers and spell words such as colour correctly or US editions that costs less.

Welcome to the forum, Wolhay!

As an aside, I ofter prefer the American HB versions, in spite of the sometimes corny covers. They're better bound, generally.

I don't have a preference. I quite like the large paper backs, as they are cheaper than hard backs but easier to read than hardbacks. Generally, the weight of a hardback is reassuring, as I tend to buy hard backs by writers I really like. But then I buy them regardless. Whatever format the books come in really as long as I get a good book!

well..............the covers of hardbacks don't get creased or spoilt, but then, paperbacks are cheaper and you can hold them in one hand.............so.........i guess i'm torn between.

How do you get torn between a paperback and a hardback?

Does that make you a harderback? Or perhaps a haperpack?

In any case, it doesn't sound very comfortable... ;)

Paperbacks. Cheaper means I can buy more books!

I usually get paperbacks. Once upon a time i lived in places where the bathtubs, while not luxurious, were deep enough to take a bath in. While I was taking these baths, I liked a book light enough to hold comfortably, and about which I wouldn't be too upset about ruining should they fall. I hope fervently that I will someday once again have a bathtub with bath-taking characteristics, and I buy paperbacks still against that hope.

:D

I generally buy mass market paperback, but if I can get a book in trade paper, I like to, because that is probably my favorite format as far as comfort.
Now that I belong to a book club, my collection of hardbacks is mushrooming, though!

Hmmmm. Why? If you you're going for big, surely HB is better? I can understand the argument for paperbacks, but trades? Seems the worst of both worlds, really...

If I lived in a perfect world, I would buy the paperback first, and if it was a really great read, I would buy the hardback. I love hardbacks. I love the way they feel in my hands and the way they look on my shelves. But, a paperback fits in my purse and I can carry it about all day. I also like to think of myself as an amature collector, so getting the first edition of any book is important to me. But, I hate shelling out big bucks for books that turn out to be a waste of money (from either a collector's standpoint or a reader's standpoint). I sure wish I could read them first! I tend to buy a lot of used books, Hardbacks for collecting and paperbacks for reading.

For both space and price limitations I prefer paperbacks. They are also more portable if you want to take your reading with you.

After paper I then prefer Tradepaper, mostly due of the price. Trades however combine the worst of both Paperbacks (easily mangled) with Hardcover (Large Size).

I will buy Hardcover only if there is no other way to get the book, or if I must have it as soon as it comes out. Even if they are selling really cheap hardcovers (remaindered) I would prefer a Paper or a Trade style book. Hardcovers are just so unwieldy and hard to hold and read from non-traditional positions;)

I prefer mass market paperback.

Sometimes there are hardbacks that I fall in love with too - but honestly: hardly with US hardbacks. German ones often have a better quality and are not too large. The format is among the reasons for me to prefer mass market and I don't have a problem with keeping my books in good shape even though I take them with me everywhere.

So, generally I wait for paperback - if I absolutely can't, I buy the hardcover.

And you know what: I am happy that the trade paperback is not yet a standard in Germany as much as in the US and UK.
The first time German publishers tried to introduce trade paperbacks I was quite pi**ed - the shelves in our bookstore and the format clashed all the time. :p

Would have been a good topic for a poll . . .



:)

I buy paperback because of the price. Finnish prints are so small that they usually have only the hardback so I tend to buy books in the english language and not the translated books. Of course, only a few authors are translated, so I have to get them in english anyway.

Personally I find hardbacks too unwieldy, particularly with books of 600+ pages. However, I can never bring myself to wait months for the paperback to be released if it's a book I really want so it's something I'm stuck with. Fortunately I've only started reading fantasy relatively recently so lots of books I plan on reading have already been released in paperback.

On a more general note, the best solution is to release both formats simultaneously (e.g. Erikson's latest book Midnight Tides), to give the reader the choice of not shelling out the extra money if they don't mind having a book more susceptible to the rigours of repeated reading.

You get used to that... And they're good for bashing people on the head when you feel like it. Oh, and they look a lot better on a bookshelf...

Welcome, Mr. Metz!

It comes down to affordability for me - paperbacks cost less, have all the same words as the hardback and allow me to buy more new books at a time. However, I do have a fair number of hardbacks - usually bought second hand - of favourite books by favourite authors.

Some books like Erikson's, I guess I'd prefer in hardback because, even though it is unwieldy, the paperbacks have a way of falling apart under all that strucutural stress. :(

I buy mostly paperback. However, if it's a favorite series I buy in Hardback. I think hardbacks look better on my shelf. :D Plus alot of paperbacks fall apart easily. I want my favorites to last.

I hate hardcovers. They are too awkward to hold during long reading sessions. I usually only read paperbacks. Lately though, I've been making big creases in my books. I think my eyes are starting to go because I have to hold the book open really wide.

Just this weekend I realized how much I prefer paperbacks. I was at the Los Angeles Festival of Books, and there wasn't much SF/F there, of course. However, I came to booth that was exclusively SF/F. And I was perusing the collection. I saw some good stuff, but I walked away empty handed, since it was only hard covers so everything was $20+. Later on I came to another SF/F booth, This one had mostly TOR paperbacks, and I ended up buying 11 books there. I guess I just feel that paperbacks are the same bang for less buck, as it were. :D

Paperback.

I always ruin hardcover.

I'm on a fixed income so it's usually only paperbacks for me. The only time I splurge for a hardcover is if it's a Star Wars novel.